Kamil, Dino (PhD)Diriba, Bekele2020-11-302023-11-182020-11-302023-11-182019-02http://etd.aau.edu.et/handle/12345678/23736Areke is a traditional alcoholic beverage which is distilled from fermentation of cereals; malt (beqil), gesso which gives flavor to the Areke with addition of water. Traditional stoves are widely used across various regions of Ethiopia. Mostly, three stone biomass Areke stove is the dominant stove used for Areke distillation. But traditional and three-stone fires cause serious health issues and their high fuel consumption leads to deforestation problems. The aim of this study was to design and make experimental investigation of improved biomass Areke distillation stove to improve thermal efficiency of the stove and consequently reduce the wastage of heat energy during the distillation process. In order to quantify the amount of heat loss accounted in three stone and improved biomass Areke distillations stove intensive experimental investigation was made, and data obtained was analytically analyzed. In addition to that, Controlled Cooking was used to evaluate the performance of the Areke stoves. An experienced cook/brewer was hired to prepare and distill Areke using the two types of stoves three stone, and improved Areke stoves. The fuel used for all the tests has on average a size of 40mm x 40mm x 1000mm. The moisture content of the fuel wood used for the test was around 14%. The test room has a size of 2.5m x 3.5m x 2.5m. Considering the three stone Areke stove as a reference, the specific fuel consumption improvement or fuel use reduction of improved Areke stove is 45 %. Similarly, time to brew/cook reduction is 50% in using improved Areke stove. The heat loss accounted in the improved biomass Areke distillation stove was also quantified and the system encountered 505 W heat losses. The thermal efficiency of the improved biomass Areke distillation stove was 25% while that of the three-stone fire for Areke distillation was 11 %. This shows an increase of the efficiency by nearly 56 % compared to the three-stone fire. In replacing the existing three stone, the improved Areke stove will bring increase in thermal efficiency, reduction of fuel use and reduce total distillation time using biomass in addition to the indoor air pollution load for the women and child in households.en-USArekeDistillationHeat lossSpecific fuel consumptionThesis