Anyone here interested in wood gasification.... can't find anything?

[jimboz]

Wood gasification is the process of converting solid wood into a gaseous fuel. Surely the brainiacs on this site would find it interesting.

 

[fresh_42]

It has been done during WWII and is now too expensive.

 

[anorlunda]

Here's a picture of a wood fueled car. It gassifies the wood, then burns the gas.

 

[Baluncore]

Wood gasification is the process of converting solid wood into a gaseous fuel. Surely the brainiacs on this site would find it interesting.

Gasification is an inefficient investment compared to solar PV panels.

Unfortunately the amateur built vehicle based systems are not certified by the vehicle manufacturer, so are not approved for use on the road. They fail the exhaust emission controls required of vehicles. Gas generators are also deemed dangerous when used on the road shared with gasoline based fuel. The last experimenter to try gas generation in this state got his picture in the newspaper, followed by the attention of the state government. I guess they would miss the fuel tax if the idea caught on.

Where the gas is produced more efficiently, from landfill or in a wet digester tank, it is burned in an internal combustion engine and used to generate electrical energy to the grid.

Gas generators for vehicles were investigated by the New Zealand government during one of the oil shocks, but the price of fuel fell and the generators were ignored again.

 

[Rive]

Quite a common DIY and 'miracle' topic: as usual, with the inherent dangers and costs often completely overlooked.

It's not a dead thing. It's just an obsolete thing which is too lazy to disappear.

 

[Baluncore]

In 1989 the US Federal Emergency Management Agency approved this publication. Title: Construction of a Simplified Wood Gas Generator for Fueling Internal Combustion Engines in a Petroleum Emergency.
https://www.driveonwood.com/static/media/uploads/pdf/fema_plans.pdf

 

[hmmm27]

Nifty. I'm all for keeping 'out of the box" technology extant.

For stationary use, they're apparently more efficient than a wood-burning fireplace... which doesn't take much, I imagine ; so, if that's the only alternative...

But,

Specific to the kind of gasifier design that,
a) directly uses a forest for fuel, and
b) intentionally produces CO (ie: using external air), which later is burned into CO2, or relatedly
c) uses a side-process, which also produces CO2 directly (eg: Fischer-Tropsch),

hard no for widespread use.

(Fair warning : I'm not a scientist - this opinion is what seems to be common sense, based on common knowledge)

 

[jimboz]

I've got fuel, tools, and mediocre skills and I'm planning on building a stationary unit. I was hoping someone here with actual experience might join the discussion.

 

[jrmichler]

Search wood gasification mother Earth news for a number of good articles. One article discusses a pickup truck running on a wood gasifier. They claim 80 to 110 miles at 55 MPH on 110 lbs of wood. A quick calculation that 110 lbs of gasoline would be 18.3 gallons, so the equivalent gas mileage would be 4.4 to 6 miles per gallon.

I've got fuel, tools, and mediocre skills

Then Mother Earth News is your best source.

 

[jimboz]

Search wood gasification mother Earth news for a number of good articles. One article discusses a pickup truck running on a wood gasifier. They claim 80 to 110 miles at 55 MPH on 110 lbs of wood. A quick calculation that 110 lbs of gasoline would be 18.3 gallons, so the equivalent gas mileage would be 4.4 to 6 miles per gallon. Then Mother Earth News is your best source.

Yes, I'm familiar with them. Also, if you're interested, there's tons of good youtube videos.