Updated on December 27, 2023

·

Created on October 5, 2018

Turbococina

The Turbococina is a biomass-burning steel cookstove that integrates an electric fan to regulate air and fuel gas flow.

Tested By
  • University of California, Berkeley (Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health)
Content Partners
Unknown

Author

Product Description

The Turbococina is a forced-draft wood-burning cookstove and it is the first practical application of the “Pressurized Combustion and Heat Transfer Process and Apparatus” designed and patented by Salvadoran inventor René Núñez Suárez. The license holder for the technology is the Swiss-based company Soter AG.

Target SDGs

SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy

SDG 3: Good Health and Well-Being

Market Suggested Retail Price

$140.00

Target Users (Target Impact Group)

Household, Community

Distributors / Implementing Organizations

Tecnologías Ecologicas Centroamericanas (TECSA) is the entity responsible for the stove's final assembly and distribution. However, the Salvadoran Ministry of Education, the Fondo de Inversión Social para el Desarrollo Local (FISDL), the Fundación Salvadoreña para el Desarrollo Económico y Social (FUSADES), the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) are implementing organizations of the Turbococina in El Salvador.

Competitive Landscape

Direct competitors include Estufa Palermo, Ecostufa, ONIL Stove, and Chispa Hogar.

Manufacturing/Building Method

Batch-manufactured

Intellectural Property Type

Patent

User Provision Model

Users can obtain the product directly from Tecnologías Ecológicas Centroamericanas (TECSA).

Distributions to Date Status

Exact number unknown. However, by 2013 approximately 1,200 stoves were donated to public schools as a joint initiative with the Ministry of Education in El Salvador. At the moment TECSA planned to scale up the dissemination of the Turbococina up to 3,500 schools and 120,000 households through its carbon financing project.

Fuel type

Biomass, wood

Chimney (yes/no)

No

Forced or passive

Forced

Pot type

Flat or round bottom

Pot capacity (L)

30 L

Thermal efficiency (%)

93%

PM emissions (g/MJ delivered to pot)

Unknown

CO emissions (g/MJ delivered to pot)

Unknown

Time to boil (min/L)

Unknown

Design Specifications

The Turbococina is completely made of stainless steel in the shape of a cylinder which contains an internal disk with ten air injectors and two 15 – Watt internal axial fans. The entry and exit of air are regulated with a steel plate. The stove is designed to obtain a heating power of 3.2 Kilowatts with a wood consumption at a nominal power of approximately 800 grams/hour. The stove is mounted on a carbon steel table covered with white paint. The pot capacity is 30 L.

Product Schematics

Technical Support

Provided by Tecnologías Ecológicas Centroamericanas S.A, de C.V.

Replacement Components

Provided by the manufacturer.

Lifecycle

40 years

Manufacturer Specified Performance Parameters

Manufacturers specify an average savings of wood between 90% and 95%, for which they state a reduction in both respiratory diseases caused by smoke and deforestation caused by the collection of firewood. At the same time, the use of the Turbococina reduces the time spent collecting wood and the reliance on imported fossil fuels for cooking.

Vetted Performance Status

The United Nations under its Clean Development Mechanism stated that the usage of the Turbococina had the following associated benefits:

  • Socio-economic benefits: less time needed to collect the wood, saving of money to buy wood, less time needed for cooking, no smoke and ash released into the air, the cooked food tastes better, the stove is easy to handle and needs less effort to keep it going, it is possible to cook inside the house, and more hygienic.
  • Health benefits: reduction of health problems such as respiratory diseases associated with common cooking practices.
  • Environmental benefits: fuelwood savings (around 90%), reduction of deforestation in the country, reduction of CO2 emissions, and elimination of NOx emissions.
The Household Energy, Health and Climate Change Research Group from the University of California at Berkeley conducted a field evaluation of the Turbococina in schools at San Lorenzo, Guatemala. The researches stated that the Turbococina shows a significant promise in reducing fuel requirements in schools, but that the evidence that the Turbococina will reduce the exposure of PM 2.5 and CO in the kitchen compared to the Plancha stove was inconsistent.

Safety

The safety concerns associated with the usage of wood-burning cookstoves are primarily related to carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and sulfur dioxide emissions. Another significant safety concern is domestic accidents such as accidental burning or spill-overs. Regarding the use of this product, the manufacturer recommends:

  • Leaving free space behind the Turbococina and placing it on a horizontal floor surface.
  • Before cooking, make sure that the Turbococina is off.
  • When cooking, do not touch the air jacket, do not fulfill the pot up to the edges because of overflowing risks when boiling.
  • Make sure of using dry wood to avoid smoke production.

Complementary Technical Systems

The stove requires an external power supply. A plancha can be placed on top of the stove to cook up to 12 tortillas simultaneously.

Academic Research and References

Hahm, M., & Pratson L., 2010, An Environmental and Financial Analysis of Improved Stove Projects in Guatemala (Unpublished master’s thesis). Nicholas School of Environment of Duke University.

Northcross, A.L., Smith K.R., & Hernandez, M.T., 2012, TURBOCOCINA Field Assessments in Schools: San Lorenzo. Household Energy, Health, and Climate Change Research Group. UC Berkeley School of Public Health.

Wang, X., Franco, J., Masera, O., Troncosco, K. & Rivera, M., 2013, What Have We Learned about Household Biomass Cooking in Central America?. Washington DC.

Soter AG & Tecnologias Ecologicas Centroamericanas SA de CV | the Partnership for Clean Indoor Air. n.d. pciaonline.org.

Suarez, René Maurico Nunez. n.d. Pressurized Combustion and Heat Transfer Process and Apparatus.

Suarez, René Núñez . 2010. Turbococina Manual de Uso. Edited by Marlon Iván Méndez , Ulises Emmanuel García, and Sol Cardenal. Proyectaryproducir.com.ar. San Salvador: Impresos Múltiples, S.A. de C.V.

CDM: ‘Turbococinas’, Rural Cooking Stove Substitution Program in El Salvador. n.d. cdm.unfccc.int.

AMS-II.G.: Energy Efficiency Measures in Thermal Applications of Non-Renewable Biomass — Version 9.0. n.d. cdm.unfccc.int. CDM.

CDM: Up Energy Improved Cookstove Programme, Uganda. 2011. cdm.unfccc.int. CDM.

Masera, Omar, Adrian Ghilardi, Rudi Drigo, and Miguel Angel Trossero. 2006. WISDOM: A GIS-Based Supply Demand Mapping Tool for Woodfuel Management. Biomass and Bioenergy 30 (7): 618–37.

Compliance with regulations

Complies with all relevant UNFCC requirements for the Clean Development Mechanism.

Evaluation methods

Baseline and monitoring methodology AMS-II.G “Energy efficiency measures in thermal editions of non-renewable biomass”, version 05. C-WISDOM: A GIS-based supply-demand mapping tool for woodfuel management.

Other Information

None

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