University of Nottingham Uses Biomass Fueled Stove to Create Electricity

Researchers at The University of Nottingham are currently testing a linear alternator capable of turning sound waves into electricity. Engineers at The University of Nottingham are currently spear heading the project which is being tested in the UK and Nepal.

The alternator is the first steps in a project which aims to provide a cooking stove with the ability to convert biomass heat into electricity via sound energy.

The project, aptly named SCORE (Stove for Cooking, Refrigeration and Electricity), is a £2 million endeavor aimed at providing better alternatives to rural communities with limited access to electricity.

The stove, once completed, would cost roughly £20 per household, and would be fueled by any available biomass, including dung and wood.

The stoves would greatly cut back the pollutants released by burning biomass fuels over an open indoor fire, which the World Health Organization reports as cause of death for over 1.6 million people, including 800,000 children under the age of five.

The engineers at University of Nottingham have already constructed test models of the biomass fueled alternator which will use specially designed magnets to turn sound waves into electrical energy.

Researchers are hoping to increase the number of locations for onsite testing of SCORE in 2010, and aim to be at full production of the biomass stoves by 2012.