Development of an enhanced electrical injera baking pan (Ethiopian Traditional mitad) using steel powder additives and gypsum insulation

Electric Injera baking Pan are prevalent in Ethiopia but are highly inefficient, resulting in significant heat loss, high energy consumption, and increased energy bills. This research investigates improving these devices using steel powder as an additive and gypsum as an insulator. The study examines thermal conductivity, baking time, energy consumption, heat loss, and insulation effectiveness. The objectives of this research are to improve the thermal conductivity of the baking surface while ensuring even heat distribution, enhance the insulation properties of the pan to reduce heat loss, improve the safety of the user by reducing the risk of excessive heat exposure to the outer surfaces, and reduce the overall energy consumption of the Injera baking process. Temperatures were measured using an infrared thermometer, digital thermometer, and thermocouple. Four samples (A0, A1, A2, & A3) with different steel powder compositions (0 %, 15 %, 25 %, and 35 %) and a constant 75 % clay soil composition were tested. The analysis showed an average baking energy of 0.45 kWh per kg of injera (0.198 kWh per injera) and a thermal efficiency of 86.4 % when baking 4.395 kg of injera. The total heat energy loss was 1402.78 KJ (14.08 % of 10300 KJ input energy). The losses were distributed among the retained (92.17 %), the baking plate (3.95 %), the bottom enclosure (2.08 %), the side enclosure (1.04 %), and the cover lid (0.76 %).