A comprehensive review on biomass cookstoves and a systematic approach for modern cookstove design

Improved biomass cookstoves has been a topic of research for more than 40 years, but still 2.6 billion people cook over an open biomass fire. A large volume of information on the biomass cookstoves though widely scattered, is available in the literature. This paper gives a comprehensive review of the available literature on biomass cookstoves. The review covers a detailed discussion on various aspects of biomass cookstoves: historic overview, performance characteristics, cooking accessories, testing protocols, barriers to dissemination and adoption, and future pathways. In addition, comparison of energy and emissions performance for different biomass cookstoves is given. Data is obtained from reliable sources, arranged logically, plotted carefully, and analyzed to draw some interesting conclusions. Learning from the review and comparison made, is used to propose a novel Systematic Approach for Modern Cookstove Design. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd.