Alexis Belonio
Iolio City
Philippines
063-033-3291971 loc 1071
atbelonio@yahoo.com
The Belonio rice husk cooking stove emits a bluish flame and does not leave soot on the casserole. It can boil about 1.5 liters of water in less than eight minutes. It is like cooking on a stove powered by liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), except that the fuel comes free: It uses rice husks, a farm waste common in agricultural countries like the Philippines. Unlike earlier devices this stove converts the husks into gas to emit a cleaner flame which helps the environment. “It will help minimize the problem of rice husk disposal which contributes a lot to environmental pollution," says the inventor.
The stove has the following advantages as compared to other commercially available stoves:
It uses no cost rice husk fuel, which means cost savings to users
It is convenient to operate since the start-up of fuel can be done by using pieces of paper, and gas is ignited using a match stick
Almost no smoke can be observed during cooking. 4. It can cook rice and two viands per cooking, which is good enough for a family of 4 to 6 members
The degree of burning the fuel can be controlled using a rotary switch. Hence, the amount of flame on the burner can be regulated
Gasified rice husks can be converted into char which is a good material as soil conditioner due to its high water holding capacity, or ash, when the burning of char is prolonged inside the reactor, which is a good refractory material
It is also adoptable for battery, in case of brown out, by using an appropriate-sized inverter
It is safe to operate with no danger of explosion since the stove operates at a normal atmospheric pressure.
Some of the limitations of the stove are:
It is difficult to use in areas where rice husks are not available. It cannot be used for other biomass material since the design was made for rice husks.
It needs hauling of fuel when the source of rice husks is from a distance. In cities or urban areas, there is a need for a separate enterprise to ensure the supply of this fuel.
Loading of fuel and unloading of burned rice husks are quite inconvenient. This is most especially true to households that are used to operating LPG stoves.
It needs electricity to run the fan which limits its adoption in areas that are far from grid, except when a 12-volt battery and an appropriate inverter are available.
The stove, now in its third generation, comes in multiple sizes. Thousands of stoves are in use in, for example, the Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam. The small household unit can be manufactured locally. It is also available finished from multiple sources. Agricultural engineer Belonio won a Rolex Enterprise Award in 2008.
Publicly available: yes
Countries where available: Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, other
Price (USD): 20-30
Offered or can be licensed for local manufacture: Yes
Countries where spare parts can be purchased: in countries where available
Dimensions: cylinder and base: approx. .3m x 1m