Engineering Solution of Renewable Energy in Rural Areas (Cook Stoves)

Engineering Solution of Renewable Energy in Rural Areas (Cook Stoves)

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Engineering is all about coming up with solutions to meet the needs of the people. By designing solutions to help people, engineers can make initiatives in rural communities resulting in the use of less and cleaner energy for cooking and heating  (Glass 2018). In most rural areas, many families rely on solid fuels due to limited incomes. The solid fuel includes coal and biomass. Design solutions must be affordable, robust, sustainable, and culturally appropriate so they can make a real difference in the health of the families who use them, as well as the environment (Pemberton-Pigott 2018). This paper is going to discuss about cookstoves as an example of an affordable source of renewable source of energy.

With regard to the problem, engineers have recently developed a charcoal stove prototype using locally available materials, among them granite rock, glass wool, and stainless steel (Pemberton-Pigott 2018). The stove describes the design properties, thermophysical, and thermodynamic performance of the granite rock applicable in thermal-energy storage system fabrication. The thermophysical properties of granite rock, as utilized in the TES system, are required of high values of thermal conductivity, material density, fixed heat capacity, and low porosity (Watson 2016).

Construction Materials

Fiber Glass: This is a ball of glass wool lining the walls of the stove. It is a poor conductor of heat pending its low thermal conductivity hence prevents heat loss by conduction(Watson 2016)..

Stainless Steel: Steel undergoes allowable deformation. It is also resistant to corrosion when subjected to extreme temperatures. Steel lasts longer in service life than most metals. Based on the latter, steel’s design life costs are minimal (Watson 2016).

Granite Rocks: Act as a storage point for thermal-energy at high temperatures due to granite’s thermal-mechanical and physical properties. Granite is particularly suitable for its high density, excellent thermal properties, and it is readily available (Watson 2016).

Designing and Construction of the Stove

While developing the desired stove design as well as its desired performance, proper reflection into factors such as fuel type, airflow rate, calorific value, local resources, stove power output, safety consideration, insulation, cross-sectional reactor area, height, and diameter are of great importance (Watson 2016).

Summary

The cookstove is an improvised renewable source of energy that utilizes engineering techniques in the quest to solve energy problems among the rural area families. It makes use of locally available materials to achieve the set target. Besides, the construction process is easy for everyone to learn and act upon. As far as engineering and other technical properties are considered in constructing the stove, all the materials played a distinct role in achieving the performance of the stove. Thermal conditions and features of granite and the glasswork hand in hand to ensure that the goal of the stove is attained. The structure in which the stove is constructed also gives it some value in as far as saving energy is concerned (Salarian 2017).

Opinion

The idea of cookstove is well received and appreciated, particularly by the rural areas’ inhabitants. People who understand the cost of fuel also received well the invention of the stove, knowing very well that it will save them some fortune. In rural China, 90% of the inhabitants have embraced the invention and are currently using cookstoves for cooking and heating water. Most human health and environmental activist have also congratulated the invention, saying that it will promote the safety of the environment and human health. The cookstove is also applauded for the use of charcoal, which is a renewable source of energy. In general, the reception of the idea in the market was as high and particularly in most rural areas.

Reaction

The cookstove, despite the plausible attributes, it has some of the shortcomings, especially when it comes to regulation of heat. The amount of heat produced by the burning charcoal cannot be regulated but rather left to burn as long as it takes. The stoves also may not be of much use in the situation where massive cooking is done at ago. Also, on that note, the stove heavily relies on charcoal that then means that it has not given a solution to the issue of deforestation in society. Finally, the efficiency of the stove is not enough to be reliable during rush hours. It does not facilitate quick or fast cooking  (Glass, 2018).

Importance of the problem

The problem has enabled engineers to develop a more comprehensive view of the environment and noticed the aspects of it that offered a valuable opportunity. The issue also utilizes a significant part of the waste world of materials back into meaningful use. It helps engineers explore deeply into their surroundings and make cooking in rural areas more comfortable besides being affordable (Salarian 2017). The problem, nevertheless, has helped the society in the realization of the potential hiding behind the waste materials. Moreover, the whole case is a reflection of the potential lying in the field of engineering concerning other comprehensive energy-related inventions that are yet to come true.

Future of the Problem

Many families, especially those in the rural areas, have begun embracing the idea. Millions of Chinese living in rural China have registered vast numbers of cookstove users so far. The number of users is expected to rise, especially in rural areas where there is no satiable or reliable electricity supply. Also, the idea is going to become more comprehensive in the future where coal and dried cow dung will be used in the position of charcoal to ensure that the environment is not at any danger of afforestation.

Also, most families in rural areas of the African continent have recently engaged in the idea. So far, the coverage of the concept in the African continent is almost at a significant state, and a rise is evident as time goes by. That means that the cookstove concept is getting many users with time. Possibly, large cookstoves are going to be invented to suit large scale cooking. More so, regulatable cooking stoves are in the process being created to help in heat regulatory matters.

The future fr the cookstoves is so promising t a point where the stove is also going to be an alternative means for those using gas stoves. In that case, its usage will extend to urban areas due to little smoke emission.

Reference

Abdelnour, S., & Pemberton-Pigott, C. (2018). For cook and climate: Certify cookstoves in their contexts of use. Energy research & social science, 44, 196-198.

Gallagher, M., Beard, M., Clifford, M. J., & Watson, M. C. (2016). An evaluation of a biomass stove safety protocol used for testing household cookstoves in low and middle-income countries. Energy for Sustainable Development, 33, 14-25.

Rosenthal, J., Quinn, A., Grieshop, A. P., Pillarisetti, A., & Glass, R. I. (2018). Clean cooking and the SDGs: Integrated analytical approaches to guide energy interventions for health and environment goals. Energy for Sustainable Development, 42, 152-159.

Sedighi, M., & Salarian, H. (2017). A comprehensive review of technical aspects of biomass cookstoves. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 70, 656-665.