By Pratim Biswas
Cookstoves are a central part of millions of homes throughout Asia, including India. Communities in rural areas often use readily available and cheap biofuels — such as crop remnants or dung — to prepare the food they need to survive.
Environmental Impact of Cookstove Smoke
Previously, numerous research groups worldwide have shown that smoke emitted from cookstoves has a definite, detrimental environmental impact, particularly in India. The smoke clogs the air with particulates that, when inhaled, pose a significant threat to overall human health. Despite advances in technology, many people are reluctant or unable to adopt the newer, cleaner cookstoves.
Washington University’s Research on Cookstove Emissions
For several years, a collaborative team from Washington University in St. Louis has studied the issue and potential solutions. Now, new research from our university gives us a clearer picture of the problem’s true scope.
Field Studies Conducted in India
Our findings, recently published in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, were derived from actual field studies conducted in India by my colleagues at Washington University’s School of Engineering & Applied Science and those from the Brown School of Social Work.
Research Activities in Raipur
In December 2015, we spent 20 days running a series of tests in Raipur, a city in central India where more than three-quarters of families use traditional cookstoves to prepare their meals.
Collaboration with Multiple Institutions
We worked with scientists from Pandit Ravi Shankar Shukla University in Raipur and the Indian Institute of Tropical Metrology, as well as with collaborators from the Desert Research Institute in Reno, Nevada. We conducted real-life cookstove tests, burning a wide variety of biofuels and cooking different meals in varying ventilation situations. We then recorded the resulting emission levels using high-tech particle measurement devices.
Startling Research Results
Once the data was analyzed back in St. Louis, the results were startling. In some cases, more than twice the emission levels were detected compared to previous lab findings, revising what people thought they knew for decades about this pervasive and dangerous problem.
Importance of Field Research
While further investigation is needed to evaluate the exact effect of cookstove emissions on both climate and health, it is important to note that our new findings came only when we shifted the focus out of the lab and into the field.
Future Prospects
We hope that by continuing the scope and depth of our global scientific collaborations, boosted by our McDonnell International Scholars Academy partners and illustrated by Washington University’s recent Forum for India held in New Delhi on December 15, we can continue to make progress and work toward solutions for some of the world’s most vexing problems, including improving air quality and reducing particulate matter in our atmosphere so we can all breathe easier.
About the Author
Pratim Biswas is an assistant Vice Chancellor and Chair of the Energy, Environmental & Chemicam Engineering Department at Washington University’s School of Engineering & Applied Science. He is also the the Lucy & Stanley Lopata Professor.
