Comparative CFD and Sustainability Assessment of Traditional, Improved, and Advanced Multipurpose Biomass Cookstoves

The persistent reliance on traditional biomass cookstoves in rural and peri-urban households continues to present serious challenges related to energy efficiency, environmental degradation, and public health.Traditional chulhas exhibit poor combustion efficiency, high emissions of carbon monoxide (CO) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5), and limited functionality.While improved cookstoves (ICS) introduced in recent decades have shown significant progress in reducing fuel use and emissions, they often remain limited in scope, focusing primarily on single-pot cooking without integrating multifunctional features.This paper presents a comparative study of traditional cookstoves, ICS, and a newly designed advanced multipurpose biomass stove developed through Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations.The advanced design integrates cooking, baking, water heating, and thermoelectric power generation into a single compact system.Using CFD analysis validated against literature benchmarks, the study evaluates temperature distribution, flow dynamics, combustion behavior, and pollutant emissions.Comparative results reveal that the advanced stove demonstrates superior combustion efficiency, with peak chamber temperatures exceeding 1100 K, cooking surface temperatures between 850-1000 K, and significantly reduced pollutant formation.Technoenvironmental assessment suggests potential household fuelwood savings of up to 35%, annual CO2 emission reduction of 1.2-1.5 tons per household, and substantial improvements in indoor air quality.Beyond technical performance, the stove supports rural sustainability through integration of thermoelectric generation for offgrid power supply and alignment with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 3, 7, and 13.This study demonstrates the role of CFD-driven design optimization in advancing multifunctional clean cooking solutions while addressing pressing socio-economic and environmental needs.