Vegetable oil stove

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A vegetable oil stove is a food preparation stove that uses vegetable oil as fuel . So far, mobile vegetable oil stoves have been used primarily in developing countries, where they are supposed to replace cooking and cooking food on less energy-efficient stoves with fossil fuels , wood or charcoal .

functionality

The cooker consists of a fuel tank, an air pump and a burner that is built into the cooker frame. The tank and cooker frame are connected by a hose. The tank is filled with vegetable oil. The burner is preheated with a small amount of alcohol. The tank is brought to a pressure of around 2 to 3 bar with an air pump . The air pressure in the tank causes the oil to rise into the carburetor, which is located in the burner. When exposed to heat, the oil turns into a gaseous fuel that emerges from a nozzle, mixes with the surrounding air and burns with a blue, clean flame.

distribution

A cooker model called “Protos” was developed by BSH Bosch and Siemens Hausgeräte GmbH in collaboration with the University of Hohenheim and the Philippine Leyte State University. This development is primarily to be produced and marketed in regions of the world where vegetable oil can make an important contribution to the sustainable supply of fuel to the population as a substitute for conventional heating fuels (e.g. wood). A model project with coconut oil on the Philippine island of Leyte was successful; further pilot projects are taking place in India, Indonesia and West Africa. Models and processes optimized for various vegetable oils ( rapeseed oils , jatropha oil ) are being developed. In the meantime, BSH has withdrawn from the project due to "difficult and complex framework conditions in terms of technology and ease of use and the supply of sustainably grown vegetable oil".

advantages

Compared to the fuels and stoves or stoves that are otherwise widespread in the target regions, the use of modern vegetable oil stoves is an energy-saving and environmentally friendly alternative. The vegetable oil fuel can often be produced on site and sold at low cost. By using the renewable raw material vegetable oil, a balanced CO 2 balance can be achieved.

In developing countries in particular, replacing the renewable raw material wood (used directly or as charcoal ) makes sense. Due to the intensive and unsustainable management of the forests, the population destroys their own living space in the medium and long term. With the shrinking forest areas, biodiversity decreases and important biotopes are lost. In addition, the traditional use of wood with an open flame produces harmful smoke with significant consequences for the population such as B. Respiratory diseases and poisoning.

Alternatives

In addition to the vegetable oil cooker, there are other approaches to improve the use of energy in food preparation in developing countries. There are projects to distribute efficient charcoal stoves that can be built on site. Solar cookers and sun dryers use solar thermal energy as an energy source , while solar cooking boxes retain the heat of food once it has been heated. Spirit stoves rely on ethanol of biological or technical origin, while mobile gas stoves are usually operated with propane or butane , which are currently made from fossil raw materials.

Sources and evidence

  1. ↑ Protos User Manual (Engl.) ( Memento of the original on 15 October 2007 at the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link is automatically inserted and not yet tested. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , BOSCH AND SIEMENS Home Appliances Group, accessed September 4, 2008. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.bsh-group.com
  2. ^ Technical development and fuel optimization , University of Hohenheim, accessed on December 11, 2008.
  3. ↑ BSH terminates the vegetable oil stove project ( memento of the original from September 25, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. UmweltDialog.de, accessed on March 11, 2013. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.umweltdialog.de
  4. ↑ Frank Räther: Biomass on a small flame. In: Akzente - from the work of GTZ; No. 3/2006.

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