The study authored by UI professor of mechanical and industrial engineering H.S. Udaykumar was published in the November issue of Solutions.
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When using firewood to cook on the poorly ventilated and inefficient chulhas, which do not have chimneys, smoke and soot settles inside the home.
But more important than finding a way to decrease wood consumption, he says, is decreasing the black carbon emissions, which are known to cause respiratory disease.
"Also, black carbon goes into the atmosphere and some people think it is the No. 2 reason for global warming," he says. "All that soot goes up in the air and settles on ice and darkens the ice, which causes it to absorb more solar radiation and subsequently warms the earth."
After failed attempts at getting women in the village to use high-efficiency cookstoves made of metal -- partly because of their $30 cost -- researchers came up with the idea of a metal grate insert for the three-stone hearths the women refused to abandon.
The insert, called Mewar Angithi, is made from a steel plate with air holes punched in it. The device costs about $1.
"It's a glorified grate, really. And so it's simple to make," Udaykumar said.
The insert separates the ash from the wood and allows air flow from under the burning wood, which increases its efficiency.
Researchers found that using the metal insert decreased wood consumption by about 60 percent and anecdotally observed a significant reduction of smoke, although no formal emissions measurements were taken in the homes. Further testing on soot emissions was later conducted in a national lab in India, and Udaykumar and his team found that the metal insert actually decreased emissions by 90 percent.
Read more at Inexpensive Device for Cookstoves Shows Promise for Decreasing Global Warming, Saving Lives
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