Working Towards “Zero Green Premium” Stoves

ARC is working on three types of Zero Green Premium biomass heating stoves designed to protect health and climate. “Zero Green Premium” means that the new product costs the same as the dirty one it replaces. As a rough estimate, ARC uses 0.5 grams per hour of PM2.5 at <5% Black Carbon ratio to define the performance and emissions that protect urban health and climate. 

Sixty percent of electricity in the US is generated by burning natural gas (40%) and coal (20%). Utilities are wondering how to meet increasing demand while replacing fossil fuels. Help is very welcome!

When renewably harvested biomass is burned cleanly enough, could it join solar, wind, and hydro as another useful energy resource? Heating a home with wood is ~ 80% efficient. Making biomass into alcohol is ~ 1/5^th as efficient. (Energy Primer, 1976)

Is there enough biomass? In 2023, the DOE estimated that the US produces more than 1 billion tons of renewable biomass per year. Providing the needed ~3 tons of biomass per US home (currently heated by burning fossil fuels) requires 420 million tons, a drop in the bucket.

Six steps: Clean burning of biomass      

1. Optimize heat transfer efficiency 
2. Control the rate of reactions 
3. Achieve molecular mixing in the combustion zone 
4. Maintain temperatures above 850C 
5. For a minimum of 0.5 seconds 
6. In an air rich environment.