Laboratory based assessment of cookstove performance using energy and emission parameters for North Indian cooking cycle

The study was conducted to evaluate the performance of cookstoves using controlled cooking test (CCT) with cooking cycles of Northern India, i.e., Uttar Pradesh (UP) and Uttarakhand (UK). Cooking time, specific energy consumption (SEC), and emission factors (EFs) of carbon monoxide (CO) and particulate matter (PM) were monitored for three improved and one traditional cookstoves. Cooking was conducted by residents of the study area. The findings from the study showed that the difference in thickness of roti baked in UP and UK resulted in a significant change in emission and energy performance in all the four cookstoves. The low-power inputs required for baking thinner roti resulted in higher CO and PM emissions in case of CCT-UK. The results of CCT were also compared to Water Boiling Test (WBT) for all the four cookstoves. The percent reductions in terms of energy and emission parameters in the three improved cookstoves compared to traditional cookstove were found to differ in CCT and WBT. Large variations were also observed during the emission performance (40% decrease in CO EF) of the fan cookstove with change in fan speed, which was usually unreported in previous studies. Overall, results show significant influence of cooking cycles on cookstove performance, which was found to alter the cookstove rankings. Therefore, the study thrusts upon the inclusion of user centric cookstove testing protocols in order to identify actual benefits for targeted rural communities.