Grantee Research Project Results
Quantifying the Climate, Air Quality and Health Benefits of Improved Cookstoves: An Integrated Laboratory, Field and Modeling Study
EPA Grant Number: R835438Title: Quantifying the Climate, Air Quality and Health Benefits of Improved Cookstoves: An Integrated Laboratory, Field and Modeling Study
Investigators: Volckens, John , Robinson, Allen , Pierce, Jeffrey , Peel, Jennifer , DeFoort, Morgan
Current Investigators: Volckens, John , Robinson, Allen , Pierce, Jeffrey , Peel, Jennifer , Johnson, Michael
Institution: Colorado State University , Carnegie Mellon University
Current Institution: Colorado State University , Berkeley Air Monitoring Group , Carnegie Mellon University
EPA Project Officer: Keating, Terry
Project Period: September 1, 2013 through August 31, 2016 (Extended to August 31, 2017)
Project Amount: $1,520,000
RFA: Measurements and Modeling for Quantifying Air Quality and Climatic Impacts of Residential Biomass or Coal Combustion for Cooking, Heating, and Lighting (2012) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Air Quality and Air Toxics , Climate Change , Tribal Environmental Health Research , Air
Objective:
Emissions from open fires and rudimentary, traditional cookstoves have significant effects on climate, air quality and human health, but the design and implementation of cookstove interventions have been hampered by critical knowledge gaps. This project will develop and apply a framework to quantify climate, regional air quality, and indoor air quality benefits of cookstove interventions. Technical objectives include: measure in-use emissions from traditional and improved cookstoves at sites in China, India, Kenya, and Honduras selected to span a wide range of technology/fuel/cooking practices; quantify personal and indoor exposure to household cookstove emissions in China and India; collect in-use stove activity and drive cycle data; characterize a full suite of gas and particle emissions from cookstoves in the laboratory field using state-of-the-art instrumentation; develop a semi-empirical, drive-cycle based parameterization to link laboratory and field data; quantify and parameterize the atmospheric evolution of cookstove particle emissions from source to global model grid scale; develop and evaluate a set of feasible cookstove interventions and associated emission inventories based on ISO Tier categories; perform global and regional modeling to estimate climate (radiative-forcing estimates as well as temperature and precipitation changes) and air quality (PM, O3) impacts of different cookstove scenarios; model indoor air pollution, intake fractions, and personal exposures for cookstove interventions; perform preliminary health impacts assessment of proposed interventions; and compare cost-effectiveness of cookstove interventions to other strategies for climate, air quality, and/or health mitigation.
Approach:
The project features an integrated program of multi-level laboratory and field emissions testing and field exposure monitoring that feed into indoor exposure and global air quality and climate models. Field measurements will be conducted in China, India, Kenya, and Honduras with support of local partners. The comprehensive field-to-lab emissions-testing program is designed to develop and implement a ‘drive cycle’ approach to parameterize emissions as a function of stove operating conditions. These parameterizations will be used in conjunction with activity data to develop emissions inventories that account for regional differences in stove technology, fuel type, and cooking practices. Simulations using the Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) General Circulation Model (GCM) model E with full aerosol microphysics will be performed to quantify climate (forcings and associated temperature and precipitation changes) and air quality impacts of cookstove interventions. Simultaneous exposure and emissions measurements will be used to define intake fractions for traditional and improved cookstoves.
Expected Results:
Expected results and outputs include: extensive dataset of in-field and laboratory emissions data for traditional and improved cookstoves; parameterization to predict cookstove emissions from drive cycle data; indoor and personal exposure data for traditional and improved cookstoves; and model predictions of the climate, air quality, and health impacts for a range of feasible cookstove interventions. The research will provide policy relevant metrics to compare a range of feasible scenarios that will quantify the potential tradeoffs between climate, air quality and health benefits. Ultimately, it will provide new insight and tools to improve air quality management decisions and climate evaluations.
Publications and Presentations:
Publications have been submitted on this project: View all 39 publications for this projectJournal Articles:
Journal Articles have been submitted on this project: View all 13 journal articles for this projectSupplemental Keywords:
emissions, monitoring, air pollution, exposure, indoor airProgress and Final Reports:
The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.