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Cookstove emissions and performance evaluation using a new ISO protocol and comparison of results with previous test protocols
Citation:
Champion, W., M. Hays, C. Williams, L. Virtaranta, M. Barnes, W. Preston, AND J. Jetter. Cookstove emissions and performance evaluation using a new ISO protocol and comparison of results with previous test protocols. JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY. American Chemical Society, Washington, DC, , 0, (2021).
Impact/Purpose:
Household air pollution from solid-fuel stoves is the most significant environmental problem that affects human health worldwide. The WHO (World Health Organization) estimates that 3-4 million premature deaths annually are caused by household air pollution, mainly from emissions from cookstoves in the developing world. Additionally, household solid fuel use contributes significantly to ambient black carbon, and transboundary transport of pollutants from millions of stoves in Asia affects ambient air quality in the western U.S. The EPA ORD (Office of Research and Development) is conducting research and activities to address the problem in coordination with a much larger international effort led by the Clean Cooking Alliance. This article provides a comparison of stove emissions and performance data between the recently published ISO (International Organization for Standardization) Standard 19867-1, the former Water Boiling Test, and the Firepower Sweep Test protocols.
Description:
In 2018, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 19867-1 “Harmonized laboratory test protocols” were released with the intent of establishing improved international comparability for data on cookstove air pollutant emissions, efficiency, safety, and durability. This study measures and compares emissions [carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide (CO), total hydrocarbons, methane, nitrogen oxides, fine particulate matter (PM2.5), organic carbon, elemental carbon, and ultrafine particles], and efficiency data between the ISO protocol and the formerly employed Water Boiling Test (WBT). The study examines six stove/fuel combinations [liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), pellet, wood fan, wood rocket, three stone fire (TSF), and charcoal] tested in the same US EPA laboratory. Additionally, emissions data including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are utilized to compare between the ISO and Firepower Sweep Test (FST) protocols for five of the six combinations. Our study uses the ISO 19867-3 “Voluntary Performance Target” tiers for CO and PM2.5 emissions (as defined by the protocol), and shows that stove types remain similarly ranked using the ISO and WBT protocols for improved stoves, but shift for traditional stove types (e.g., Tiers 0 and 1 for the TSF for CO using ISO and WBT, respectively; Tiers 3 and 1 for charcoal for PM2.5). Compared to the FST, the ISO protocol results in generally lower emissions metrics (and higher tiering). This evaluation of the ISO protocol shows improvements over previous test protocols and that results are relatively consistent with former WBT data in terms of tier ratings for emissions and efficiency.
