A Review of Cooking Technology Around the World and the Potential of Solar Cooking
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FACULTY OF ENGINEERING AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT Department of Building Engineering, Energy Systems and Sustainability Science A review of cooking technology around the world and the potential of solar cooking Martxel Lizaso 2020 Student thesis, Advanced level (Master degree, one year), 15 HE Energy Systems Master Programme in Energy Systems Supervisor: Björn Karlsson Examiner: Mattias Gustafsson Abstract This report studies the importance of solar cooking when moving towards a more sustainable and egalitarian future. The problems regarding its implementation, in fact, technological, social and economic problems, are presented. A historic overview is offered as well as the theory behind the technology. After studying the current situation concerning cooking, different devices have been analysed and considered, from small ones suitable for households to bigger ones for institutions. Furthermore, several backup systems are also proposed aiming to obtain an ideal Integrated Solar Cooker (ISC). Possible hybrid systems have also been evaluated during the work. Furthermore, state-of-the-art technology in Thermal Energy Storage (TES) is also commented and taken into account for the most efficient combination of technologies. Several photovoltaic kitchens are mentioned in this report as well. Two main conclusions have been drawn: trying to solely rely on the sun is a mistake and the ideal and universal ISC does not exist. Other factors besides the income are determinant when choosing an energy source, therefore, a thorough investigation in every particular case is completely necessary for a successful implementation of an ISC. However, the countless devices available make the adoption of solar technology possible in every situation, helping to achieve some of the Sustainable Development Goals. Keywords: solar cooking, thermal energy storage, Phase Change Materials, energy consumption cooking, institutional cooking, energy sources cooking. i Preface First of all, I would like to express gratitude to Stefan Karnebäck, from Engineers Without Borders Sweden, for introducing me to the amazing world of solar cooking and for providing me with valuable knowledge and help throughout the course of this work. He was the one who proposed the subject of the thesis, and even though in the beginning I was sceptical about solar cooking, after our first meeting I realised that it is a really powerful technology capable of changing millions of people’s lives. I also wish to thank Prof. Björn Karlsson, my supervisor from University of Gävle. I would like to express thanks to Tamera Peace Research and Education Center and to Sunseed Desert Technology for the online meetings in which they have kindly provided information about their systems as well as answered all of my questions. This work would not have been possible without the constant support and encouragement of my family and friends, who have always been an important pillar in my life. Finally, I could not miss the opportunity to express my most sincere gratitude to Helena Bergman, a really close friend of our family, who has always been ready to help since I told her I was coming to Sweden. She has solved all the inconveniences I have faced during my stay in this beautiful country. ii Nomenclature Abbreviation and Acronyms Letters Description ASABE American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers EU European Union INR Indian rupee IR Infra red ISC Integrated solar cooker/cooking ISSBH Improved small scale box hybrid LCC Life Cycle Cost LHTES Latent heat thermal energy storage LPG Liquefied petroleum gas MNRE Ministry of New and Renewable Energy PCM Phase change material PNG Pressurised natural gas PSC Parabolic solar cooker PV Photovoltaic SBC Solar box cooker SCI Solar Cookers International SDG Sustainable development goals SFSC Small family solar cooker SHTES Sensible heat thermal energy storage SSB Small scale box iii SSBH Small scale box hybrid TES Thermal energy storage UNHCR United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees USD United States Dollars UV Ultra violet VIS Visible WHO World Health Organisation Latin Symbol Description Unit A Area m2 c Specific heat capacity kJ kg-1 K-1 F1 First figure of merit K m2 W-1 F2 Second figure of merit - h Convection coefficient W m-2 K-1 I Solar irradiance W m-2 m Mass Kg P Power W r Reflectance - R Thermal resistance m2 K W-1 T Temperature ºC or K t Time S iv Greek Symbol Description Unit ɛ Emissivity - α Solar altitude / Absorbance º / - Δ Difference - θz Zenith angle º σ Stefan Boltzmann’s constant W m2 K4 휏 Transmittance - v Table of contents 1 Introduction ................................................................................................ 1 1.1 Background........................................................................................... 1 1.2 Aims and limitations ................................................................................ 3 2 Theory ...................................................................................................... 5 2.1 Solar radiation ....................................................................................... 5 2.2 Properties of materials.............................................................................. 8 2.3 Efficiency of solar cookers ........................................................................ 11 2.4 Thermal Energy Storage (TES) ................................................................... 13 3 Method .................................................................................................... 15 4 Results and discussion ................................................................................... 16 4.1 Current situation ................................................................................... 16 4.2 Household cooking ................................................................................. 20 4.2.1 Solar technology .............................................................................. 20 4.2.2 Backup system ................................................................................ 35 4.3 Institutional cooking ............................................................................... 37 4.3.1 Solar technology .............................................................................. 37 4.3.2 Backup system ................................................................................ 41 5 Conclusions ............................................................................................... 45 5.1 Study results ........................................................................................ 45 5.1.1 Households .................................................................................... 45 5.1.2 Institutions .................................................................................... 47 5.2 Outlook .............................................................................................. 49 5.3 Perspective .......................................................................................... 49 References ....................................................................................................... 51 vi Figures index Figure 1. Types of solar cookers: (a) panel cooker; (b) concentrating cooker; (c) box cooker. Source: ResearchGate............................................................................. 2 Figure 2. The world population in 2017. Billions of people on different income. .............. 4 Figure 3. Solar radiation per wavelength outside the atmosphere. ................................. 5 Figure 4. Schematic illustration of a pyranometer (a) and a pyrheliometer (b).................. 6 Figure 5. Solar altitude and zenith angle. Source: Itacanet.org. .................................... 7 Figure 6. Latitude angles. Source: Quora.com......................................................... 7 Figure 7. Global horizontal irradiation. Source: Global Solar Atlas. .............................. 8 Figure 8. Properties of a selective surface. Source: Energyprofessionalsymposium.com. .... 9 Figure 9. Schematic image of reflectance, transmittance and absorbance. Source: Biologywiki. ..................................................................................................10 Figure 10. Standardised cooking power against temperature difference (Funk, 2000). ......13 Figure 11. LCC per meal cooked in rural Kitui, Kenya. ............................................17 Figure 12. LCC per meal cooked in rural Moshi, Tanzania. .......................................18 Figure 13. Efficiencies of different energy sources for cooking (Ramanathan and Ganesh, 1994). ..........................................................................................................19 Figure 14. CooKit. Source: SCI. .........................................................................20 Figure 15. Standard cooking power of the CooKit with a Pyrex bowl as transparent cover. Source: SCI. ..................................................................................................20 Figure 16. Potential designs: (a) polyhedral, (b) semi-cylindrical, (c) bi-rectangular, (d) parabolic. ......................................................................................................21 Figure 17. Schematic diagram of the solar cooker proposed by El-Sebaii. ......................23 Figure 18. 3D sketch of the solar cooker proposed by Guidara et al.: (a) with outer reflectors, (b) without outer reflectors. ................................................................24