First COSTECH scientific and technological conference: Science and technology for growth and poverty reduction in Tanzania

It is the fact that, most Tanzanians are using charcoal and firewood for their domestic cooking. This will continue to be so for many years to come. Therefore, it ; imperative that we design stoves that have minimal heat losses to reduce fuel consumption and hence, reduce deforestation and reduce domestic budget on charcoal and fuel wood. Biomass utilization has led to the disappearance of forests leading to severe soil erosion, drought, and destruction of water catchments as well s the ecosystem. This paper presents the biomass energy utilization trend in Tanzania and its consequences on the environment. The design of a biomass energy saving stove (KUUTE) which cuts down the charcoal consumption by 50% is also presented. The saving of fuel is due to controlled charging volume (no overfilling) and by minimizing the heat losses by radiation, convection and conduction. According to the laboratory tests carried out on three household stoves, namely, KUUTE, improved and all metal to compare fuel savings and rate of heat transfer, the KUUTE stove showed the best performance in terms of fuel savings as compared to the other two designs. Under the energy crisis, KUUTE stove will be part of the solution to conserve the forests and environment. So far over 4000 KUUTE stoves have been disseminated and over 100 artisans have been trained. (author)