WO2020136446A1

WO2020136446A1 - Spill-tray and pan support for thermal efficiency enhancement of a domestic lpg stove

Info

Publication number: WO2020136446A1
Application number: PCT/IB2019/054014
Authority: WO
Inventors: Ashis Kumar BERA; Meenam VERMA; Mithun DAS; Amitava Datta; Ranjan Ganguly
Original assignee: Lpg Equipment Research Centre; Jadavpur University
Priority date: 2018-12-27
Filing date: 2019-05-15
Publication date: 2020-07-02

Abstract

The present disclosures relates to a cooking stove (100) including a stove body (102) operatively coupled to a cooking fuel supply; a plurality of burners (104) disposed on the stove body (102), the plurality of burners being in communication with the cooking fuel supply for receiving a cooking fuel; and a pan support assembly (106) being provided with the plurality of burners (104), the pan support assembly (106) includes a circular pan support (108) defining a hollow disc structure with an aperture (110); a spill tray (112) configured to be received in the aperture (110), the spill tray (112) defining a second aperture (114) for accommodating the burner (104); and a plurality of prongs (116) extending above and below from the circular pan support (108) for respectively supporting the pan support assembly (106) on the stove body, and a cookware placed on the pan support assembly (106).

Description

SPILL-TRAY AND PAN SUPPORT FOR THERMAL EFFICIENCY ENHANCEMENT OF A DOMESTIC LPG STOVE

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present invention relates to a domestic LPG Stove / cooking stove with a novel circular pan-support design and modified spill-tray design to close the gap around the burner head. The LPG Stove / cooking stove of the present invention achieve enhancement in thermal efficiency by up to 4 percentage points over the existing LPG Stove design.

BACKGROUND

[0002] Background description includes information that may be useful in understanding the present invention. It is not an admission that any of the information provided herein is prior art or relevant to the presently claimed invention, or that any publication specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.

[0003] Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is increasingly being used in India as the domestic fuel for cooking. In most of the urban households, LPG is being used nowadays as the fuel in the kitchen. It is greatly favoured as a clean fuel over the traditional biomass-based non-commercial fuels (e.g., wood stocks and animal-dung) and other cooking fuels (e.g., kerosene). Presently, Government of India has taken up a prestigious and challenging plan through the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana for extending LPG connections to every BPL household for upliftment of the society.

[0004] LPG is a petroleum-derived fuel, which is mainly obtained from the refineries after distillation of crude oil and subsequent processing. It is well known that the reserves of the petroleum-based fuels are limited and it is expected to get exhausted within this century. Therefore, efficient use of LPG is an important objective, which should be seriously looked into. Burning of fossil fuels adversely affect the environment due to the release of carbon dioxide and other polluting gases and particles. Moreover, due to the depletion in easily accessible fuel reserves, the cost of the fuel is increasing day by day. Efficient use of the fuel will enable a reduction in the fuel consumption and will burden the consumers to a less extent. This will also greatly ameliorate the National exchequer, since a significant part of LPG is imported and sold to the consumers at a subsidized rate. Development of efficient LPG stoves for domestic use has, therefore, great commercial, social and environmental benefits.

[0005] A domestic LPG burner works following a Bunsen burner principle, resulting in a premixed flame. Each burner has a mixing chamber, where the fuel mixes with the primary air entrained (from the ambient) into the burner due to hydrodynamic effect (FIG. 1). The fuel/primary air mixture comes to an annular manifold (the burner), and finally comes out through the small holes of the perforated burner top. The holes are arranged in the burner top with a particular orientation. As the gas mixture comes out through each hole, a rich premixed flame is established over each hole. The burning of the fuel in this flame remains incomplete due to richness of the mixture. The remaining fuel species in the products of the rich premixed flame completes burning with air from the surrounding in the form of non-premixed flames. The synergy between the premixed flames and the non-premixed flames is of utmost importance for the structure and stability of the overall flame structure and for the efficiency of the combustion process.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0006] The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the present disclosure, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the present disclosure.

[0007] In the figures, similar components and/or features may have the same reference label. Further, various components of the same type may be distinguished by following the reference label with a second label that distinguishes among the similar components. If only the first reference label is used in the specification, the description is applicable to any one of the similar components having the same first reference label irrespective of the second reference label.

[0008] FIG. 1 illustrates a commercial domestic cook stove as known to a person skilled in the art. [0009] FIG. 2 illustrates different views a cooking stove (100) in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0010] FIG. 3 illustrates graphical representation of velocity distribution associated with the cooking stove (100).

[0011] FIG. 4 illustrates graphical representation of temperature distribution associated with the cooking stove (100).

[0012] FIG. 5 shows the heat transfer rate through different wall surfaces of a vessel placed on the cooking stove (100).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0013] The following is a detailed description of embodiments of the disclosure depicted in the accompanying drawings. The embodiments are in such detail as to clearly communicate the disclosure. However, the amount of detail offered is not intended to limit the anticipated variations of embodiments; on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims.

[0014] In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the present invention. It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that embodiments of the present invention may be practiced without some of these specific details.

[0015] If the specification states a component or feature“may”,“can”,“could”, or“might” be included or have a characteristic, that particular component or feature is not required to be included or have the characteristic.

[0016] All publications herein are incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each individual publication or patent application were specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference. Where a definition or use of a term in an incorporated reference is inconsistent or contrary to the definition of that term provided herein, the definition of that term provided herein applies and the definition of that term in the reference does not apply.

[0017] In some embodiments, the numerical parameters set forth in the written description and attached claims are approximations that can vary depending upon the desired properties sought to be obtained by a particular embodiment. In some embodiments, the numerical parameters should be construed in light of the number of reported significant digits and by applying ordinary rounding techniques. Notwithstanding that the numerical ranges and parameters setting forth the broad scope of some embodiments of the invention are approximations, the numerical values set forth in the specific examples are reported as precisely as practicable. The numerical values presented in some embodiments of the invention may contain certain errors necessarily resulting from the standard deviation found in their respective testing measurements.

[0018] As used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, the meaning of“a,”“an,” and“the” includes plural reference unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Also, as used in the description herein, the meaning of“in” includes “in” and“on” unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

[0019] Groupings of alternative elements or embodiments of the invention disclosed herein are not to be construed as limitations. Each group member can be referred to and claimed individually or in any combination with other members of the group or other elements found herein. One or more members of a group can be included in, or deleted from, a group for reasons of convenience and/or patentability. When any such inclusion or deletion occurs, the specification is herein deemed to contain the group as modified thus fulfilling the written.

[0020] The present disclosures relates to a cooking stove (100) including a stove body (102) operatively coupled to a cooking fuel supply; a plurality of burners (104) disposed on the stove body (102), the plurality of burners being in communication with the cooking fuel supply for receiving a cooking fuel; and a pan support assembly (106) being provided with the plurality of burners (104), the pan support assembly (106) includes a circular pan support (108) defining a hollow disc structure with an aperture (110); a spill tray (112) configured to be received in the aperture (110), the spill tray (112) defining a second aperture (114) for accommodating the burner (104); and a plurality of prongs (116) extending above and below from the circular pan support (108) for respectively supporting the pan support assembly (106) on the stove body, and a cookware placed on the pan support assembly (106). [0021] The primary objective of the present invention is to control the flow pattern of the secondary air and the burned gas mixture in such a manner that the combustion efficiency is maximized and heat loss to the surrounding is minimized at the same time. This is done by enhancing the direct heat transfer rate to the vessel (load) placed above the burner. The present invention deploys two implements to achieve this task: (1) modified pan-support of circular design for guiding the air and gas flows and for serving as a radiation shield (2) a novel design of spill-tray to reduce heat loss. Both the implements lead to enhancement in thermal efficiency and reduction in cooking time.

[0022] The first implement provides a circular pan- support of the stove to achieve fuel economy in relation to higher thermal efficiency and lower fuel consumption for beneficial use by domestic users. The second implement uses a novel spill-tray design around the burner to minimize heat loss, improve the thermal efficiency and minimize fuel consumption. The above objectives are met through detailed numerical simulation using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tools and design optimization for achieving enhanced performance. The claims of the numerical simulation are validated through experimental data. Experiments were performed following IS4246: 2002 (Re-Affirmed 2013) to evaluate the thermal efficiency.

[0023] FIG. 1 illustrates a commercial domestic cook stove as known to a person skilled in the art. The working of the cook stove is explained in the background section above. As shown in FIG.l, the conventional pan support provided with the burners include substantial gap. Due to this gap thermal losses occur, and accordingly necessary amount of heat from the burner is not transferred to a pan. This leads to inefficiency.

[0024] FIG. 2 illustrates different views a cooking stove (100) in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. In an embodiment, the cooking stove (100) includes a stove body (102) operatively coupled to a cooking fuel supply. The cooking fuel supply may be an LPG cylinder, PNG connection, or any other domestic or industrial cooking fuel supply. Further, the cooking stove (100) includes a plurality of burners (104) disposed on the stove body (102), the plurality of burners being in communication with the cooking fuel supply for receiving a cooking fuel. [0025] In an embodiment, the cooking stove (100) further includes a pan support assembly (106) being provided with the plurality of burners (104). The pan support assembly (106) includes a circular pan support (108) defining a hollow disc structure with an aperture (110). Further, the pan support assembly (106) includes a spill tray (112) configured to be received in the aperture (110), the spill tray (112) defining a second aperture (114) for accommodating the burner (104). In an example, the second aperture (114) of the spill tray (112) covers the burner (104). Further, the pan support assembly (106) includes a plurality of prongs (116) extending above and below from the circular pan support (108) for respectively supporting the pan support assembly (106) on the stove body, and a cookware placed on the pan support assembly (106).

[0026] In an embodiment, the prongs (116) extending above the from the circular pan support (108) define a gap (G) with the spill tray (112). Further, the gap (G) is configured for circulation of heated air between the spill tray (112) and the cookware.

[0027] The current invention discloses an improved, efficient design of cooking stove (100) with reduced heat loss and enhanced efficiency compared to existing / traditional stoves. In the present design of the cooking stove (100), the circular pan support (108) is provided, which serves the dual purpose of guiding the air and gas flows to improve combustion efficiency and minimize heat loss and also serving as a radiation shield to minimize radiative heat loss from the flame of the burner (104). Further, the spill-tray (112) design is implemented that minimizes the heat loss from the flame of the burner (104).

[0028] In a traditional domestic LPG stove (Refer FIG. 1), large amount of radiative and convective heat is lost from flame during cooking. Some parts of this waste energy can be recovered with a heat shield. Hence, the circular pan-support (108), of the present invention, attached near to the flame reduces heat loss (Refer FIG. 2). Further, the circular design of the pan support (108) guides the secondary air flow in a favorable manner to complete the combustion of fuel. The circular pan-support (108) design allows secondary air to enter in an uninhibited manner from its underside, while at the same time guiding the hot combustion products around the load (the cooking vessel) in a favorable manner to enhance the gas-to-load heat transfer coefficient. This is verified by detailed numerical simulation through CFD. The circular pan- support (108) also acts a radiation heat shield which reduces radiation heat loss and increases thermal efficiency. Numerical simulations also reveal that the circular pan-support (108) allows preheating of the secondary air as it enters the combustion region, before mixing with flame. This further enhances the efficiency through recovery of the waste heat from the circular pan-support (108), and the spill-tray (112).

[0029] Further, the spill-tray (112) design closes the gap around the burner (104) to minimize cold airflow from downside of the stove. This also helps to achieve higher heat transfer rate. Performance comparison through CFD, considering the air and gas domain above the burner (104), shows about 4 percentage point improvement in system thermal efficiency of stoves fitted with the implements of current innovation. The claims of the numerical simulation are also validated through experimental results following IS4246: 2002 code of evaluation of system thermal efficiency. The experimental results indicate a repeatable Thermal Efficiency of 73% and above.

[0030] The numerical modelling of the combustion and flow dynamics of LPG flame in the cooking stove (100) with novel design of the spill tray (112) and the pan support (108) has been performed using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). In an example, the computational domain for the CFD simulation included a 12° sector of the burner (104) head including the flat-bottomed vessel / cookware, which is positioned over the burner (104), considering periodic symmetry at the side faces. Mesh generation has been done with finer grids employed near the combustion zone and at the solid surfaces of the pan support (108), the spill tray (112) and oven vessel boundaries, where higher gradients of the variables are expected. Further in an example, more than 3xl0⁵ elements are considered in the computational domain.

[0031] Further in an example, the boundary conditions (BCs) i.e., Inlet BC is used for LPG-air mixture inlet, while the pressure outlet BC is used at the outlets. Cooking fuel / LPG is considered as a mixture of 40% propane and 60% butane. Boundary condition on the burner (104) walls is assumed as adiabatic wall; however, a constant temperature BC is set for both bottom and side walls of the vessel / cookware. The vessel wall temperature is assumed to be 403 K, which is 30 K higher than water boiling temperature to supply the excess heat during the nucleate boiling. The discrete ordinate radiation model has been used for radiation calculation in the computational domain. Gravitational force is considered in the vertically downward direction to simulate the effect of the buoyancy force around the vessel for the temperature gradients.

[0032] Velocity and temperature distributions associated with the cooking stove

(100) are shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 respectively. The LPG flow rate, load height (i.e. gap between the burner (104) top and vessel / cookware bottom), the pan support (108) height and equivalence ratio (ratio of stoichiometric air-fuel ratio to actual air-fuel ratio) are considered as 71 lph (litre per hour), 16 mm, 8 mm and 1.4, respectively, for the above results. The velocity distribution (FIG. 3) indicates that the premixed fuel-air mixture is admitted through the burner (104) ports at a high velocity to reach the flame. The maximum velocity (3.09 m/s) of the hot gases is observed at the flame close to the burner (104) port. Secondary air flows through the central hole of the burner (104) and also through the passage between the bottom of the pan support (108) and the stove body (102) to reach the flame and complete the combustion. The design of the spill-tray (112) closes the gap around the burner (104) and prevents the ingress of cold secondary air directly into the flame. The hot gas from the flame moves along the bottom of the vessel / cookware and then turns up along its side while exchanging heat with the vessel / cookware. The reduced passage area due to the pan support (108) increases the flow velocity of the gas.

[0033] The temperature distribution plot (FIG. 4) shows that the maximum temperature occurs at the flame above the burner (104). The flow distribution influences the heat release in the flame and the temperature distribution in the gas flowing under the vessel / cookware. The secondary air completes the burning of the fuel. While flowing through the bottom of the pan support (108), the secondary air picks up heat from the hot pan support (108), which helps to increase the temperature of the flame. In addition, the pan support (108) acts as a radiation heat shield to reduce the radiation heat loss from the flame region. The rate of heat transfer across the vessel wall is augmented due to the higher temperature of the gas and the higher heat transfer coefficient influenced by the flow profile of the gas.

[0034] In an example, flow rate of the LPG is taken as 71 lph and corresponding vessel external diameter and height are considered as 260 mm and 140 mm, respectively as prescribed in the Indian Standard (IS 4246:2002) method of thermal efficiency testing. According to the standard, thermal efficiency of a burner is defined as the percentage of the heat input of the fuel which is transferred to the water of the loading vessel. The water temperature remains nearly constant at water boiling test. Hence, the vessel wall temperature also would be constant but it will be slightly higher than water temperature. For simplicity, instead of water and vessel wall, the outer wall of the vessel is only considered as boundary and given a constant wall temperature (403 K) boundary condition has been applied in the computational domain. Thermal efficiency is here predicted from the percentage of total heat input rate which is transfer through the vessel wall.

[0035] FIG. 5 shows the heat transfer rate through different wall surfaces of the vessel. It is evident that nearly 90% of the heat transfer takes place through the bottom wall of the vessel. The total heat release rate from LPG and heat transfer rate through vessel wall, both for 12° sector, are 66.0 W and 48.3 W, respectively. Therefore, thermal efficiency will be 73.2% (= 48.3x100/66.0). This value of efficiency is substantially higher (by 4-5 percentage points) in comparison to the efficiency values of the common LPG stoves found in the market.

[0036] In another example, Thermal Efficiency test by weight method as per IS

4246:2002 associated with the cooking stove (100) was carried out. The flow rate of the burner (104) was measured as 77 lph. Corresponding to this flow rate suitable vessel with external diameter as 260 mm and height as 140 mm with a quantity of water of 6.1 kg was taken, as prescribed in the Indian Standard (IS 4246:2002) for thermal efficiency testing. The flow rate of another burner (104), smaller than the earlier burner, was measured as 58 lph. Corresponding to this flow rate suitable vessel with external diameter as 220 mm and height as 120 mm, with a quantity of water of 3.7 kg was taken, as prescribed in the Indian Standard (IS 4246:2002) for thermal efficiency testing.

[0037] The Thermal Efficiency is calculated by the following formula:

Where:

E = thermal efficiency of the burner in percent G = quantity of water in the vessel in kg

W = water equivalent of the vessel complete with stirrer and lid

12 = final temperature of water in °C

ti = initial temperature of water in °C

M = gas consumption in kg, and

K = calorific value of the gas in kcal/kg (taken as 10900 kcal/kg for calculation)

[0038] The thermal efficiency as measured for the bigger burner (104) was

73.02% and that for the smaller burner (104) was 73.1%, both of which are consistent with the results computed by the Computational Fluid Dynamics simulations.

[0039] The present invention provides:

- A mechanical implement that improves the system thermal efficiency of domestic LPG stove.

- The implement may be a new design circular pan support (108).

- The implement may be of internal diameter in the range of 60-300 mm and external diameter in the range of 80-500 mm with an inclination in the range of 0-40° to the horizontal.

- The implement may be placed at a vertical distance in the range of 5-15 mm from the stove top surface.

- The implement surface may be with different aerodynamic curvatures.

- The circular pan support (108) guides the secondary air flow in a favorable manner to complete the combustion of fuel.

- The circular pan support (108) allows secondary air to enter in an uninhibited manner from its underside, while at the same time guiding the hot combustion products around the load (the cooking vessel) in a favorable manner to enhance the gas-to-load heat transfer coefficient. - The circular pan support (108) also acts as a radiation heat shield which reduces radiation heat loss and increase thermal efficiency.

- The circular pan support (108) allows preheating of the secondary air as it enters the combustion region, before mixing with flame.

- The spill-tray (112) design around the burner to minimize heat loss, improve the thermal efficiency and minimize fuel consumption.

- The implement surface may be flat or with different aerodynamic curvatures.

- The gap between burner (104) and the spill-tray (112) may be in the range of 0-80 mm.

- The circular pan support (108) further enhances the efficiency through recovery of the waste heat from insert, spill-tray and oven wall.

- The circular pan support (108) may be of metal. The circular pan support (108) may also be of ceramic or equivalent material.

- The spill-tray (112) may be of metal. The spill-tray (112) may also be of ceramic or equivalent material.

- Performance of the cooking stove (100) is verified through computational fluid dynamics and thermal efficiency test following standard code

[0040] As used herein, and unless the context dictates otherwise, the term

“coupled to” is intended to include both direct coupling (in which two elements that are coupled to each other or in contact each other) and indirect coupling (in which at least one additional element is located between the two elements). Therefore, the terms “coupled to” and“coupled with” are used synonymously. Within the context of this document terms“coupled to” and“coupled with” are also used euphemistically to mean “communicatively coupled with” over a network, where two or more devices are able to exchange data with each other over the network, possibly via one or more intermediary device. [0041] Moreover, in interpreting both the specification and the claims, all terms should be interpreted in the broadest possible manner consistent with the context. In particular, the terms“comprises” and“comprising” should be interpreted as referring to elements, components, or steps in a non-exclusive manner, indicating that the referenced elements, components, or steps may be present, or utilized, or combined with other elements, components, or steps that are not expressly referenced. Where the specification claims refers to at least one of something selected from the group consisting of A, B, C ....and N, the text should be interpreted as requiring only one element from the group, not A plus N, or B plus N, etc.

[0042] While some embodiments of the present disclosure have been illustrated and described, those are completely exemplary in nature. The disclosure is not limited to the embodiments as elaborated herein only and it would be apparent to those skilled in the art that numerous modifications besides those already described are possible without departing from the inventive concepts herein. All such modifications, changes, variations, substitutions, and equivalents are completely within the scope of the present disclosure. The inventive subject matter, therefore, is not to be restricted except in the spirit of the appended claims.

[0043] It should be apparent to those skilled in the art that many more modifications besides those already described are possible without departing from the inventive concepts herein. The inventive subject matter, therefore, is not to be restricted except in the spirit of the appended claims. Moreover, in interpreting both the specification and the claims, all terms should be interpreted in the broadest possible manner consistent with the context. In particular, the terms “comprises” and “comprising” should be interpreted as referring to elements, components, or steps in a non-exclusive manner, indicating that the referenced elements, components, or steps may be present, or utilized, or combined with other elements, components, or steps that are not expressly referenced. Where the specification claims refers to at least one of something selected from the group consisting of A, B, C ....and N, the text should be interpreted as requiring only one element from the group, not A plus N, or B plus N, etc. The foregoing description of the specific embodiments will so fully reveal the general nature of the embodiments herein that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments without departing from the generic concept, and, therefore, such adaptations and modifications should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. Therefore, while the embodiments herein have been described in terms of preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments herein can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

[0044] While the foregoing describes various embodiments of the invention, other and further embodiments of the invention may be devised without departing from the basic scope thereof. The scope of the invention is determined by the claims that follow. The invention is not limited to the described embodiments, versions or examples, which are included to enable a person having ordinary skill in the art to make and use the invention when combined with information and knowledge available to the person having ordinary skill in the art.

[0045] In the description of the present specification, reference to the term "one embodiment," "an embodiments", "an example", "an instance", or "some examples" and the description is meant in connection with the embodiment or example described The particular feature, structure, material, or characteristic included in the present invention, at least one embodiment or example. In the present specification, the term of the above schematic representation is not necessarily for the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the particular features structures, materials, or characteristics described in any one or more embodiments or examples in proper manner. Moreover, those skilled in the art can be described in the specification of different embodiments or examples are joined and combinations thereof.

[0046] All of the features disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), and/or all of the steps of any method or process so disclosed, may be combined in any combination, except combinations where at least some of such features and/or steps are mutually exclusive.

[0047] Each feature disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings) may be replaced by alternative features serving the same, equivalent or similar purpose, unless expressly stated otherwise. Thus, unless expressly stated otherwise, each feature disclosed is one example only of a generic series of equivalent or similar features.

[0048] The invention is not restricted to the details of the foregoing embodiment(s). The invention extends to any novel one, or any novel combination, of the features disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), or to any novel one, or any novel combination, of the steps of any method or process so disclosed.

Claims

We Claim:

1. A cooking stove (100) comprising:

a stove body (102) operatively coupled to a cooking fuel supply;

a plurality of burners (104) disposed on the stove body (102), the plurality of burners being in communication with the cooking fuel supply for receiving a cooking fuel; and

a pan support assembly (106) being provided with the plurality of burners (104), the pan support assembly (106) including:

a circular pan support (108) defining a hollow disc structure with an aperture (110);

a spill tray (112) configured to be received in the aperture (110), the spill tray (112) defining a second aperture (114) for accommodating the burner (104); and a plurality of prongs (116) extending above and below from the circular pan support (108) for respectively supporting the pan support assembly (106) on the stove body, and a cookware placed on the pan support assembly (106).

2. The cooking stove (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the prongs (116) extending above the from the circular pan support (108) define a gap (G) with the spill tray (112).

3. The cooking stove (100) as claimed in claim 2, wherein the gap (G) is configured for circulation of heated air between the spill tray (112) and the cookware.

4. The cooking stove (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the second aperture (114) of the spill tray (112) covers the burner (104).

6. The cooking stove (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the circular pan support (108) allows secondary air to enter in an uninhibited manner from its underside, and guides the hot combustion products around the cookware to enhance the gas-to-load heat transfer coefficient.

7. The cooking stove (100) as claimed in claim 6, wherein the circular pan support (108) allows preheating of the secondary air as it enters the combustion region, before mixing with flame. 8. The cooking stove (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein gap between the burner (104) and the spill-tray (112) is in the range of 0-80 mm.

9. The cooking stove (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the circular pan support (108) and the spill-tray (112) are made of any or a combination of metal, ceramic, non-metal.

10. A pan support assembly (106) provided with a plurality of burners (104) of a cooking stove, the pan support assembly (106) comprising:

a circular pan support (108) defining a hollow disc structure with an aperture

(HO);

a spill tray (112) configured to be received in the aperture (110), the spill tray

(112) defining a second aperture (114) for accommodating the burner (104); and

a plurality of prongs (116) extending above and below from the circular pan support (108) for respectively supporting the pan support assembly (106) on a stove body (102), and a cookware placed on the pan support assembly (106).