Ranking of eucalyptus fuels from improved technology cookstoves using ordinal methods from operations research: borda, copeland and condorcet

The search for sustainable energy solutions is essential for communities that still rely on wood-burning stoves, a common practice in many regions of Brazil. The efficient choice of stoves and fuels is challenging because of the environmental impact of wood consumption and associated emissions. Despite studies on the efficiency of wood-burning stoves, there is a gap in the robust and automated multi-criteria methodologies application to comprehensively compare the efficiency of cookstoves and fuels as well as wood consumption and heat output. This study carried out the ordering and ranking of nine eucalyptus fuels, based on criteria such as efficiency, calorific power, and wood consumption of the improved technology stove. The selected eucalyptus species were Eucalyptus saligna Sm., Corymbia citriodora (Hook.) K.D. Hill & L.A.S. Johnson, Eucalyptus urophylla S.T. Blake, Eucalyptus grandis W. Hill ex Maiden, Eucalyptus grandis W. Hill ex Maiden x Eucalyptus urophylla S.T. Blake, Eucalyptus propínqua H. Deane & Maiden, Eucalyptus pellita F. Muell., Eucalyptus camaldulensis Dehnh., and Eucalyptus tereticornis Sm. Three ordinal multi-criteria decision methods (Borda, Copeland, and Condorcet) were applied, with automated implementation via scripts in the R software, enabling graphical analysis and detailed comparisons. The results showed that Eucalyptus pellita firewood was the most efficient and sustainable option. Moreover, it was concluded that the proper selection of fuels can significantly reduce wood consumption, mitigate environmental impact, and offer more sustainable alternatives for cookstoves.