BeniFlow

The problem we are solving is to stop the inhalation of chemicals from incomplete combustion cooking. Despite there being solutions for this problem such as exhaust hoods, they are too costly and inconvenient to implement in less developed countries. In specific, places like Asia, Africa, and Latin America where open-fire cooking is common face this issue the most. With 2.3 billion people being exposed to this cooking pollution and 3.2 million people dying due to the health effects of inhaling certain carbon-based chemicals like carbon monoxide, this problem is on a global level.

BeniFlow is a product that redirects air. In simple terms, the device sucks in air and redirects it in a different direction. It uses a small fan and pushes the air out through a container like setting and pushes the air out. We aim for the device itself to be 5 in by 5 in by 10 in. The device itself just really redirects air through multiple directions, so cooking is safe for people.

Our solution serves people that are being affected from inhaling chemicals from incomplete combustion cooking. The majority of people who face this issue live in India, China, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Indonesia. They are currently living and facing this issue due to the fact that they do not have any exhaust fans in their houses as it is too costly for them. They do not know of the dangers of this issue and thus breathe in these chemicals without knowing what consequences that are being done to their bodies.

As a team, and as individuals we are deeply connected to these cases. Our team is primarily composed of people from these countries, like Ethiopia and India. For example, one of our members is from Ethiopia. On a recent visit to Ethiopia he noticed someone cooking with an open fire and the large quantity of smoke emitted.

So far, we have a base prototype of our CAD model. Although we haven’t done any testing, we are in the planning and improvising stage. We continue to do research on better components to better improve our product. We are also in the stage where we are trying to gain investors, as we pitch at multiple competitions. So far we have applied to multiple competitions such as Diamond Challenge. To add, we have not served any customers or beneficiaries.

We are applying to Solve for financial aid and research. We plan on using this money to test and produce a final product. Then we will reach out to big non profits or organizations which can mass produce our product. Then using their resources, they will send our product to people in these 3rd world countries so they can use them and not inhale these harmful pollutants while cooking.

BeniFlow offers affordability that no other solutions to cooking pollution offer. Furthermore, our solution is portable which means that it can be transported to wherever cooking is happening. We also use an alloy called Aluminum 5052 which is rust resistant and strong for most of the device which means it is also durable and will last a very long time.

We expect our solution to have an impact on our problem, indoor air pollution, because our product redirects the fumes and harmful gases coming from indoor cooking. This would protect the individuals who are cooking their food from inhaling these harmful chemicals and thus protecting their health. To make this happen we keep our product above where the person is cooking. Our product has a counter-clockwise fan which brings the air up filled with these fumes and the air would then go through the tubing in our product. Then it will be let out into the open because our product would be connected to the outside of their homes/building.

Based on the previous impact that we have given so far, we have a lot of progress and goals as well. One of the goals we have is to gain as much funding through business competitions as well as grants so that we can kickstart our organization with as much momentum as possible. Another goal we have is to develop and test a final product which is as cost effective as possible to produce without compromising quality and durability by sometime in 2025. Additionally, we are prospective partners with multiple manufacturing companies that we hope can help us in the production of our device. Furthermore, we are currently contacting humanitarian groups located in less developed countries about their help in funding and distributing our device in places of need. By working with nonprofits and humanitarian groups we can extend our reach which will allow us to improve the health of more people (A UN Sustainability Goal) and save more lives.

Our device’s main core technology is the counterclockwise fan with curved blades to maximize the intake of pollutants from the cooking pollution. We took inspiration from current day PC fans which similarly have curved blades which maximize intaking abilities. We plan on powering the fan by using batteries but are also currently looking into adding a solar powered aspect that would help power the device in a more cost effective way.

So far we have 5 people including our team lead. 

These people include:

Rohan Kunala (Team Lead)

Samuel Asefa

Pranav Yogeswaran

Nitish Pendyala

Anirudh Koduganti

As a team we have been working on this for a few months. We came up with the idea in January 2024 and then we started brainstorming our idea and how we could most effectively combat our problem. We used the ideas we got during this phase to properly make a solution that works and is cost-effective. In February 2024 we did Diamond Challenge Round 2 which gave us plenty of feedback and it helped us improve our design. And we submitted to many other challenges like paradigm and blue ocean, who gave good feedback on our solution. 

Our team is composed of people of diverse backgrounds including four people from various parts of India and one person from Ethiopia. We are all committed to having a diverse leadership team and eliminating any racial discrimination in our workplace as it is a problem we truly take to heart. Furthermore, as we operate BeniFlow, we plan on getting in contact with various parts of the world and making sure we don’t prioritize certain locations over others as that would entail potential biases that we are against.

First, we plan to get money through competitions like MIT Solve. We plan on using this money to make prototypes and to test our product. We will then start contacting non-profits, like Oxfam International to see if they are interested in helping us distribute our product. With the help of these nonprofits, we will ship individual parts of our product to third-world countries. The nonprofits will assemble the parts of our device and will give it to people who need it.

We plan to be financially sustainable through receiving grants from other nonprofits or organizations. This allows us to be financially independent as the team doesn’t have their own salary. To add, at this point we are on track to furtherly produce an official prototype by 2025 as we have done extensive research and prototype designing so far. Essentially all the money we get directly goes back into the business. As of now we don’t have evidence to prove the fact that we are financially stable since we are in the development stage. Regardless, we have a plan in place to help us for the better.