Donnelly's stove runs on garden waste and was inspired by his experience while travelling in South America, says a report in Kuow.org by Joshua McNichols. He explains that when a piece of wood is burnt, it actually burns twice. At the beginning the fire is bright, with lots of flames. Later, after all the resins and things have burned off, the flame dies down a bit and one is left with glowing embers,charcoal. This is when the wood releases most of its carbon to the atmosphere.
Donnelly says that his stove makes efficient use of the first stage when the fire is bright. The smoke is consumed in the flames and therefore there is almost no emission. He further says,"Because it is so efficient you don't need to go to the second stage of the fire. Instead, you remove the burning embers from the stove with a pair of tongs and drop them in a bucket full of water."
These stoves do not need to use wood for fuel. One can fuel these stoves with garden waste including corncobs and goat poop. And that is why Donnelly has taken his stoves down to Costa Rica. He has brought stoves to the same women and children he saw cooking at smoky fires years ago. Over the next cacao harvest season, Donnelly will carefully track what they put into their stoves — and what they take out.
According to SeaChar.org, it is working with partners around the globe to Reinvent Fire. "Our elegant and affordable Estufa Finca (Farm Stove) works by burning the smoke that would escape a traditional fire. Able to use a wide range of waste biomass as fuel, these stoves will save lives and trees. As an add benefit the stoves produce the soil building charcoal known as biochar, a form of fixed biocarbon which can store excess CO2 for thousands of years."
To read the full story: Clean-Burning Cookstoves
Also see SeaChar.org
