{"id":8892,"date":"2024-09-05T00:05:42","date_gmt":"2024-09-05T03:05:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/solvefortomorrowlatam.com\/pratica\/fogao-criado-por-estudantes-reduz-consumo-de-gas-de-cozinha\/"},"modified":"2024-11-12T23:12:53","modified_gmt":"2024-11-13T02:12:53","slug":"educational-innovation-hybrid-stove","status":"publish","type":"pratica","link":"https:\/\/solvefortomorrowlatam.com\/en\/case\/educational-innovation-hybrid-stove\/","title":{"rendered":"Stove created by students reduces cooking gas consumption"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The so-called \u201ccooking gas\u201d or LPG is very common for preparing food in Brazil. According to the National Union of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Distribution Companies (Sindig\u00e1s), 91% of households in the country rely on these cylinders. However, the average price of 13 kg cylinders has grown by 44% in the last five years, from R$69 in January 2019 to R$100 in the same month in 2024 [approximately going from 12 to18 US dollars]. Upon seeing news about this increase, a student had the idea of \u200b\u200bcreating a method to make the gas last longer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The innovation was called \u201cFog\u00e3o H\u00edbrido (FH01)\u201d (Hybrid Stove, in English) and was a finalist in Solve for Tomorrow Brazil, in 2022. The student joined two other classmates, all from the 2nd year of secondary school (penultimate year of compulsory schooling) at the Nossa Senhora de Nazar\u00e9 State School. The goal was to help families to save money without resorting to unsafe and polluting alternatives, such as burning alcohol and firewood. This is because the price of gas weighs on the budgets of low-income people, who sometimes rely on government social assistance programs. On average, this aid amounts to R$ 686.10 per month [equivalent to approximately US$ 123] for each family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Robotics education is a highly encouraged topic in the state and municipal education systems of the city of Manacapuru, in the state of Amazonas, northern Brazil. As such, students are already used to developing projects and submitting them to various competitions and programs. When the \u201cFog\u00e3o H\u00edbrido (FH01)\u201d team decided to sign up for Solve for Tomorrow, they sought out Galileu Pires, a Biology teacher who also has a degree in Mechanical Engineering and was the mediator<\/a> of the project, together with Chemistry teacher Alessandro Couto.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first step was to study fire using multidisciplinary approaches, which involved Physics, Chemistry, Engineering, Biology, and Social Sciences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\n Eureka Moment! <\/h5>\n

The team wondered: how to make gas more efficient and safer? How to increase the duration and intensity of the flames? How to make food cook faster? The answers came when they observed a blowtorch: a portable tool used to apply flame or heat in a controlled manner. \u201cThe blowtorch combines acetylene gas with oxygen under pressure so that the flame reaches a high temperature much faster,\u201d the teacher tells. So, they created a prototype that adds more oxygen directly to the stove flame, increasing the temperature, reducing cooking time, and saving LPG.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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More than just a prototype, the students managed to create something of socio-environmental and economic value. The project was born from scratch; it is unprecedented. And with this, they also learned to believe in themselves. Their ability to create is the same as from students in the capital and anywhere in the world, all they need is the will, says the educator.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Experiments proved the results<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The students combined a common stove with an oxygen cylinder reused from an air conditioner, valves for safety and control over the release of gasses, a pressure gauge, an oxygen supply, and hoses. In the first test, the equipment that the students assembled worked very well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the largest burner of a conventional stove, the water took 10 minutes to reach 100\u00b0C, while on the smallest burner, it took 5 minutes. Another test was with frying nuggets, which also reduced the preparation time by 50%, with the lowest gas setting. \u201cIt was hopeful for us to see the possibility of a family buying a gas cylinder and doubling the time it could be used at home. No one would have imagined that a problem shown on television, in the news, would turn into a truly functional project\u201d, recalls the teacher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To be commercialized one day, the prototype will need to be built in an industrial process, with its materials and an autonomous pump that constantly supplies oxygen. \u201cWe adapted an oxygen cylinder to our reality. So, whenever it ran out in the middle of the experiment, the students had to go to a gas station to refill it using tire inflating machines. This is an improvement that can be left for the industrial stage,\u201d says the mediator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To achieve better results, the team added a preheating system around the burner to the prototype. With it, an electrical resistance heats the air in the room before the gas flame starts to burn. This increases efficiency and contributes to saving LPG.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n