A search on Science Direct for studies published so far in June on cookstoves retrieved the 4 studies below:
S.M. O’Shaughnessy, M.J. Deasy, J.V. Doyle, A.J. Robinson, Field trial testing of an electricity-producing portable biomass cooking stove in rural Malawi, Energy for Sustainable Development, Volume 20, June 2014, Pages 1-10, ISSN 0973-0826, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.esd.2014.01.009
A novel off-grid electricity-producing device has been designed for integration with biomass-fuelled improved cooking stoves commonly in use in the developing world. The device operates on the thermoelectric principle whereby small amounts of electricity can be produced in response to a temperature difference across a thermoelectric generator, or TEG. The energy produced by the integrated generator can be used for direct charging or stored in a rechargeable lithium–iron-phosphate (LiFePo4) battery. The generator is equipped with a standard USB output which allows the user to charge a variety of 5 Volt appliances. Five technology demonstrator electricity generating stoves have been integrated with locally produced clay cooking stoves in the Balaka District of Malawi, Africa. This study details the results from an 80-day field trial of the devices. The data reveals that the stoves are in use for a greater time than was anticipated. The data also indicates that the generators perform adequately in the field and provide the user with the ability to charge LED lights and mobile phones from the generator stoves every day if necessary.
Lalisa A. Duguma, Peter A. Minang, Olivia E. Freeman, Herbert Hager, System wide impacts of fuel usage patterns in the Ethiopian highlands: Potentials for breaking the negative reinforcing feedback cycles, Energy for Sustainable Development, Volume 20, June 2014, Pages 77-85, ISSN 0973-0826, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.esd.2014.03.004
Due to scarcity of firewood, farmers in rural Ethiopia are forced to use cattle dung as a complementary energy source. By looking at patterns of firewood and cattle dung use for energy generation and their implications for food crop production, forest regeneration and community level emission reduction potentials, this study explores system interactions using a community living next to the Menagesha Suba state forest in Ethiopia as a case study. Mixed methods were used including household surveys, nutrient content analyses of firewood and cattle dung, and calculations of fuel and emission reductions for four cooking energy efficiency scenarios. It was found that the community and surrounding environment is stuck in a negative feedback cycle. Therefore shifts in current practices and systems are needed to break this cycle, for example by enhancing firewood supply, improving soil fertility, improving energy efficiency and enabling access to carbon financing for emissions reduced.
Pia Piroschka Otte, A (new) cultural turn toward solar cooking—Evidence from six case studies across India and Burkina Faso, Energy Research & Social Science, Volume 2, June 2014, Pages 49-58, ISSN 2214-6296, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2014.04.006.
Solar cooking can generally be described as a way to use the sun’s energy for cooking. Despite its multiple benefits as a clean, modular, simple source of energy, the implementation of solar cookers is not as widespread as one would hope. In the literature it is argued that solar cookers are not adopted because they are often considered to be culturally disruptive. This paper shines a new light on the cultural dynamics of cooking by showcasing the social acceptance of solar cookers. Six cases are presented from two different countries, Burkina Faso and India where a particular type of solar cooker (Scheffler reflectors) was installed among bakeries, shea nut butter producers, and steam kitchens. These cases demonstrate how cultural factors can be adoption-enhancing or limiting in different contexts. In essence, the paper finds that solar cookers are successfully implemented where they conform to underlying cultural factors. The study concludes that by implementing solar cookers as part of an existing socio-cultural framework, solar cookers move away from an image of a mere foreign technology to an integrated part of the target society.
Dale T. Manning, J. Edward Taylor, Migration and fuel use in rural Mexico, Ecological Economics, Volume 102, June 2014, Pages 126-136, ISSN 0921-8009, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2014.03.012
Many households in developing countries rely on renewable natural resources as their main source of energy. Collecting and burning firewood requires a considerable amount of time, has negative health consequences, and can cause deforestation and depletion of local resources if forests are not properly managed. A transition from traditional to modern fuels can benefit households by reducing these negative effects. Migration, a quintessential feature of development, may facilitate this transition, but its impacts on fuel choice are theoretically ambiguous. It can reduce the household labor available for firewood collection and provide cash to purchase substitutes; however, it has an income effect that changes the demand for home-cooked food and energy to cook it. Firewood or gas could be used to meet the increase in energy demand. To resolve this theoretical ambiguity, we use an instrumental-variables method with household panel data from rural Mexico and investigate the impact of Mexico-to-US migration and remittances on gas expenditures and household labor allocated to firewood collection. Sending a migrant to the United States causes a significant decrease in reliance on firewood collection and an increase in both stove and gas purchases. These findings have potentially far-reaching environmental implications as labor moves off the farm.
