All-in-one Cooker, Generator and Refrigerator that’s Environmentally Friendly

[jpak]

http://www.webwire.com/ViewPressRel.asp?aId=36088

A biomass powered all-in-one cooker, electricity generator and refrigerator is being developed by an EPSRC funded consortium.

The SCORE project (Stove for COoking, Refrigeration and Electricity supply) brings together four major UK universities, a leading US research centre, a multi-national electrical goods manufacturer, an international charity and numerous universities in Asia and Africa.

The researchers are using thermoacoustic technology to convert biomass fuels, such as wood, into energy to power the appliance. Thermoacoustic principles involve the use of sound waves.

The wood is burned to produce heat. This then goes into a specially shaped pipe which produces areas of high and low gas pressure in such a way as to generate sound (in a similar way to a singing kettle). The sound energy is then converted into electricity by a linear alternator (a sort of giant microphone which absorbs the sound). The electricity is then used to power the device.

<more>

[Demeter]

1. Kinky

Seems like there would be lots of losses during all the conversions, though

[hankthecrank]

2. I like this K&R

another link deeper in press release link

http://www.score.uk.com/research/default.aspx

[hunter]

3. Does it charge a cell phone?

I'm not kidding. A cell phone charger would probably make this thing much more attractive than a cooler. If you want to keep the milk, that's why they invented cheese and yogurt.

But would you put this thing in your own kitchen? Why don't we ever think in those sorts of terms? Why do the poor always have to have something like this foisted upon them when they'd much rather be cooking with gas.

You can get to a place and take pictures of the poor cooking with dung, or dirty coal dust briquettes, or wood stripped out of long suffering forests, but you can't set up a weekly bottled gas delivery like every civilized or even semi-civilized place on earth has? That's the basic problem, and devices like this won't fix that.

[madokie]

4. I have read about the Thermoacoustic principles, probably in popular science mag

if only we had competent leaders we could/would be turning over every rock, so to speak, looking for the energy answers the world so badly needs.

[silverweb]

5. Should be able to burn methane, too.

Such as that from human/livestock waste digesters. Then it really would be efficient and mostly nonpolluting.

[skids]

6. Thermoacoustics are pretty neat.

They are redoing their webpages right now but these guys here made a concentrating solar dish that rivaled stirlings for thermoelectric conversion efficiency.

http://www.acs.psu.edu/thermoacoustics/