With nearly double the efficiency of the commonly available stoves, the zero-emission LPG stove developed by a city-based income tax officer has received certification of high efficiency by a government-approved testing laboratory.
The stove, developed by Hari Rao, Joint Commissioner of Income Tax, has received certification from the LPG Equipment Research Centre, a joint test lab of all oil companies in India, as achieving a thermal efficiency of 68.95 per cent. In comparison, the standard industrial burner in use (category T-22) has a thermal efficiency of just 45 per cent.
“Even a 2 to 3 per cent increase in efficiency from the existing burners can save thousands of crores in LPG burners … this burner will consume one-third of the gas used by conventional ones … I believe this is the world’s most efficient industrial burner,” said Mr. Rao, whose patented technology is receiving interest from venture capitalists and angel investors.
Unlike the blue flame used by conventional LPG stoves for heat, the new device uses radiant heat to give a zero-carbon soot flame. “These burners are used in industries for boilers. Due to the build-up of carbon, these boilers have to be repaired at least thrice a year. Emission-free burners will immensely benefit the industries,” said Mr. Rao.
The stove will be one of the products showcased at the Global Science Summit scheduled to start in Delhi on April 9. The bureaucrat’s patent is now being applied, through a Bengaluru-based start-up, in small-scale in a few hotels, software parks and hospitals in the country.
