Investigating the impact of improved cookstoves in Kenyan schools on PM10, CO,CO2,CH4 and N2O levels

Abstract

The thesis is a culmination of efforts to quantify the benefits accrued by institutions on switching from traditional cook stoves to improved institutional stoves in terms ofIndoor Air Pollution, Greenhouse gas emissions and fuelwood consumption, and also to develop a tool for rapid estimations of emission avoidance when a school switches from using traditional stoves to improved institutional stoves given the school enrollment at any time. These were achieved by way of a questionnaire survey, bibliographic studies, and 24 - hour continuous real-rime emission concentration (PM10and CO) monitoring in selected kitchens of both primary and secondary boarding schools in Kenya. A total of 22 schools were involved in the study. Fuelwood consumption rates in these institutions were determined, so was the moisture content of the fuelwood.