Experimental evaluation of a thermoelectric generator and heat storage-assisted biomass cookstove with automated airflow control: thermal and electrical performance analysis
Over two billion people worldwide continue to rely on traditional biomass cookstoves, contributing to nearly four million premature deaths annually due to indoor air pollution. Despite the availability of cleaner alternatives, the widespread dependence on solid fuels highlights the need for improved cookstove technologies. In this study, a dual-pot thermoelectric generator and heat storage-assisted biomass cookstove (DPTHABC) is developed and experimentally evaluated. The system incorporates a low-cost fuzzy logic-based airflow control mechanism using an ESP32 WROOM-32 module, enabling real-time regulation of combustion conditions based on temperature feedback. Performance evaluation was conducted using the modified water boiling test (mWBT) and BIS (2013) protocols under varying air mass flow rates. The developed system achieved Tier 3 thermal efficiency and Tier 4 emission standards for CO and PM2.5. Relative to conventional biomass cookstoves, the DPTHABC reduced PM2.5 and CO emissions by 75% and 63%, respectively, while improving thermal efficiency by 106%, reaching 42.23%. In addition, a maximum electrical power output of 27.819 W was obtained. The incorporation of sensible heat storage further enabled sustained power generation for up to 30–35 minutes after combustion ceased. These results demonstrate the potential of the proposed system as an integrated solution for clean cooking and decentralized energy generation in off-grid environments.