Author(s)

Baiman Chen, Abdalla A. Yousif, Paul H. Riley, David B. Hann

Department of Mechanical, Materials and Manufacturing Engineering, The University of Nottingham in Malaysia,.
Department of Mechanical, Materials and Manufacturing Engineering, The University of Nottingham in Malaysia, Semenyih, Malaysia.
Faculty of Engineering, The University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK.

This paper presents the development and assessment of two low-cost, travelling wave, thermoacoustic generators operating by waste heat energy from cooking stove. One powered by waste heat from a propane-driven stove, the other powered by waste heat from a wood-burning stove. The propane-driven thermoacoustic generator was successfully demonstrated to produce approximately 15 watts of electricity using a commercial audio loudspeaker. The wood-burning thermoacoustic generator was successfully constructed and tested to generate a maximum of 22.7 watts of electricity under a pressurised condition. The latter has a high potential to be used by over 1.5 billion people in rural communities for applications such as LED lighting, charging mobile phones or charging a 12V battery. A comprehensive power assessment of the propane-driving generator as well as the development and performance assessment of the wood-burning generator are described throughout this article.

Cooking Stove; Electricity; Thermoacoustic Engine; Waste Heat

B. Chen, A. Yousif, P. Riley and D. Hann, "Development and Assessment of Thermoacoustic Generators Operating by Waste Heat from Cooking Stove," Engineering, Vol. 4 No. 12, 2012, pp. 894-902. doi: 10.4236/eng.2012.412113.