Thermoacoustic Stove Cooks, Makes Ice and Electricity

Imagine a portable stove that not only cooks but makes ice and generates electricity as well. Would you want one? Well this kind of stove already exists and it is especially designed for use in developing countries like in Africa where there is a need for viable livelihood for the people. The stove, called SCORE for "Stove for Cooking, Refrigeration and Electricity," it is expected to improve the quality of life of millions of people who sustain themselves by cooking with wood.

The new stove works through thermoacoustic technology. It works by producing sound waves from heated, pressurized gas and then converts them to electricity which can be harnessed through a socket. The process makes the stove hum, but the sound inside the pipes is actually louder than a hundred jet planes taking off.

Professor Choudhury Mahmoud Hasan of the Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research in Dhaka says "In Bangladesh, people could use the electricity to power lights, radio or educational equipment, for example, computers."

To make ice, the air is sent through a different part of the stove, where the sound waves cause the air to expand and to cool enough to produce ice. It takes about two hours of stove use to give ice that will keep the container cold for 24 hours.

For details on how the stove works, click here.