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Show COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING OPTIMIZING THE USE OF BIOFUELS IN COOK-STOVES FOR IMPROVED INDOOR AIR QUALITY AND FOREST SUSTAINABILITY IN RURAL NEPAL Jeff Huber (JoAnn Lighty) Department of Civil Engineering University of Utah An estimated 1.5 million w o m e n and children die annually from upper respiratory disease related to indoor cooking smoke, while millions more suffer respiratory illness. Rural communities in Nepal commonly use inefficient and unsafe open fires for cooking and heating. In addition to their contribution to poor indoor and outdoor air quality, these open fires contribute to deforestation and Nepal's forests are vanishing at a rate of 560 acres per day .This project addresses these challenges by optimizing cook-stove design and operating conditions for use in rural Nepal in order to minimize pollutant emissions, to maximize efficiency and to identify designs that can be fabricated locally. The project directly addresses people in the form of public health, reducing deforestation and the economic benefits associated with stove fabrication/repair and reduction in time spent gathering fuel. It focuses on improving the health and economy of one under-developed community, Kumari, Nepal, but its anticipated impacts are more widespread. The project began with discussions with community leaders and the characterization of the local fuel sources, burning practices, indoor air quality assessment and capacity for stove fabrication. An optimized stove design has been systematically evaluated and operation for use with local fuels. This stove has been tested during an assessment trip as well as in the laboratory. The evaluation includes heating efficiency, fuel consumption, and emissions of CO, C02, NOx, and PM2.5. The expected results of this project are to develop the capacity for cook-stove fabrication in a rural community and to transition the community from the use of open fires to efficient cook stoves. If successful, this project can be replicated throughout the country and potentially worldwide. 1 Fuel for Life: Household Energy and Health, World Health Organization, 2006, ISBN 9241563168 2Global Forest Resources Assessment 2005: Progress towards sustainable forest management, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2006, ISBN 9251054819 JoAnn Lighty |