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Biomass cookstove emissions—a systematic review on aerosol and particle properties of relevance for health, climate, and the environment

García-López, Natxo ; Ingabire, Ange Sabine ; Bailis, Rob ; Eriksson, Axel C. LU orcid ; Isaxon, Christina LU and Boman, Christoffer (2025) In Environmental Research Letters 20(5).
Abstract

Around one-fourth of the global population lacks access to clean fuels and technologies for cooking, most of them living in low- and middle-income countries. Reliance on rudimentary and inefficient biomass cookstoves results in high pollutant concentrations that adversely affect the health of those exposed to indoor air pollution, the environment, and the climate. In this study, we systematically reviewed the literature on aerosol and particle properties from biomass cookstoves of relevance to health, climate and the environment. We identified 187 articles reporting aerosol characterization (i.e. particulate mass or number concentrations, or particle size distributions). Of these, 82 presented detailed particle characterization (e.g.... (More)

Around one-fourth of the global population lacks access to clean fuels and technologies for cooking, most of them living in low- and middle-income countries. Reliance on rudimentary and inefficient biomass cookstoves results in high pollutant concentrations that adversely affect the health of those exposed to indoor air pollution, the environment, and the climate. In this study, we systematically reviewed the literature on aerosol and particle properties from biomass cookstoves of relevance to health, climate and the environment. We identified 187 articles reporting aerosol characterization (i.e. particulate mass or number concentrations, or particle size distributions). Of these, 82 presented detailed particle characterization (e.g. chemical composition), thus selected for further analysis. Articles were classified based on the reported particle properties and the study type and location, which allowed mapping research efforts to date and identifying major knowledge gaps. Most reviewed studies (39 articles) on particle properties reported particulate organic and elemental carbon composition. Despite considerable variability, the EC/TC ratio generally varied in the range of 0.1-0.4 for all cookstove technologies, indicating that organic carbon is the dominating PM fraction in biomass cookstove emissions. Findings from this systematic review highlight the need for further studies on particle properties from biomass cookstoves that use a multidimensional approach simultaneously combining several properties and different cookstove-fuel combinations. We also assessed the policy landscape, including the three main global policies concerning biomass cookstove emissions, and evaluated whether those policies included the state of the knowledge on particle properties and their adverse effects on human health, climate, and the environment. We finally identify key aspects that future policies should integrate, and critical knowledge gaps that must be filled to advance the overall development of the field. Notable was that field studies consistently report particle emission factors (PM2.5) higher than the ones determined under laboratory conditions, for example, an average of 8.9 g/kgfuel (field) compared to 5.2 g/kgfuel (lab) for traditional cookstoves and 4.0 g/kgfuel (field) compared to 1.3 g/kgfuel (lab) for advanced cookstoves. Cookstove manufacturers, practitioners, policymakers, and society in general will benefit from a solid knowledge base regarding particle properties from biomass cookstoves and their related adverse effects on human health, climate, and the environment.

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; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
biomass cookstove PM properties, carbonaceous PM fractionation, cookstove emission policy, cookstove particle morphology, organic and inorganic particle speciation, PAHs and other PACs in cookstove PM, PM properties in SDGs, WHO and ISO standards
in
Environmental Research Letters
volume
20
issue
5
article number
053002
publisher
IOP Publishing
external identifiers
  • scopus:105002702829
ISSN
1748-9326
DOI
10.1088/1748-9326/adc615
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
0831f216-0637-4797-80a3-d412f33ac8fc
date added to LUP
2025-08-08 12:08:43
date last changed
2025-08-08 12:09:12
@article{0831f216-0637-4797-80a3-d412f33ac8fc,
  abstract     = {{<p>Around one-fourth of the global population lacks access to clean fuels and technologies for cooking, most of them living in low- and middle-income countries. Reliance on rudimentary and inefficient biomass cookstoves results in high pollutant concentrations that adversely affect the health of those exposed to indoor air pollution, the environment, and the climate. In this study, we systematically reviewed the literature on aerosol and particle properties from biomass cookstoves of relevance to health, climate and the environment. We identified 187 articles reporting aerosol characterization (i.e. particulate mass or number concentrations, or particle size distributions). Of these, 82 presented detailed particle characterization (e.g. chemical composition), thus selected for further analysis. Articles were classified based on the reported particle properties and the study type and location, which allowed mapping research efforts to date and identifying major knowledge gaps. Most reviewed studies (39 articles) on particle properties reported particulate organic and elemental carbon composition. Despite considerable variability, the EC/TC ratio generally varied in the range of 0.1-0.4 for all cookstove technologies, indicating that organic carbon is the dominating PM fraction in biomass cookstove emissions. Findings from this systematic review highlight the need for further studies on particle properties from biomass cookstoves that use a multidimensional approach simultaneously combining several properties and different cookstove-fuel combinations. We also assessed the policy landscape, including the three main global policies concerning biomass cookstove emissions, and evaluated whether those policies included the state of the knowledge on particle properties and their adverse effects on human health, climate, and the environment. We finally identify key aspects that future policies should integrate, and critical knowledge gaps that must be filled to advance the overall development of the field. Notable was that field studies consistently report particle emission factors (PM<sub>2.5</sub>) higher than the ones determined under laboratory conditions, for example, an average of 8.9 g/kg<sub>fuel</sub> (field) compared to 5.2 g/kg<sub>fuel</sub> (lab) for traditional cookstoves and 4.0 g/kg<sub>fuel</sub> (field) compared to 1.3 g/kg<sub>fuel</sub> (lab) for advanced cookstoves. Cookstove manufacturers, practitioners, policymakers, and society in general will benefit from a solid knowledge base regarding particle properties from biomass cookstoves and their related adverse effects on human health, climate, and the environment.</p>}},
  author       = {{García-López, Natxo and Ingabire, Ange Sabine and Bailis, Rob and Eriksson, Axel C. and Isaxon, Christina and Boman, Christoffer}},
  issn         = {{1748-9326}},
  keywords     = {{biomass cookstove PM properties; carbonaceous PM fractionation; cookstove emission policy; cookstove particle morphology; organic and inorganic particle speciation; PAHs and other PACs in cookstove PM; PM properties in SDGs, WHO and ISO standards}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{5}},
  publisher    = {{IOP Publishing}},
  series       = {{Environmental Research Letters}},
  title        = {{Biomass cookstove emissions—a systematic review on aerosol and particle properties of relevance for health, climate, and the environment}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/adc615}},
  doi          = {{10.1088/1748-9326/adc615}},
  volume       = {{20}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}