03-16-2008, 03:48 PM
I was intrigued by this idea but not smart enough to evaluate the merit on my own so I sent the post to a chemist friend of mine and here is his response -- just FYI.
Lin, what this guy is doing is distilling bio mass [wood] into a mixture of gasses similar to propane. This would be practical if you were on a deserted island and needed to produce energy to fuel a gasoline generator to run a radio to summon help. As a long-term source of fuel, I would consider $5/gallon gasoline cheap compared to this method. The operation of this device would be similar to operating a steam engine as a fire is needed to cook the wood to produce a gas that would run an engine. You would need much more equipment to liquidity this stuff to get enough to run a vehicle any distance. As for the thought of making this apparatus mobile, I would think a simple steam engine would be much more practical.
b²
Blau gas (German: Blaugas) was an artificial illuminating gas similar to propane named after its inventor, Dr. Hermann Blau of Augsburg, Germany. It was manufactured by decomposing mineral oils in retorts by heat, and compressing the resulting naphtha until it liquefied. It was transported in this condition, and on releasing the pressure assumed again the gaseous state.
Blau gas was burned for lighting and heating; a less pure form known as Pintsch gas fueled railroad car lights and stoves in the late 19th and early 20th century. Blau gas was most famous, however, as the fuel for the LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin[1] It had several advantages over liquid fuels such as gasoline. It was non-explosive, and because it weighed approximately the same as air, burning it and replacing its volume with air did not lighten the airship—eliminating the need to adjust buoyancy or ballast in-flight.[2]
too soon old, too late smart
Lin, what this guy is doing is distilling bio mass [wood] into a mixture of gasses similar to propane. This would be practical if you were on a deserted island and needed to produce energy to fuel a gasoline generator to run a radio to summon help. As a long-term source of fuel, I would consider $5/gallon gasoline cheap compared to this method. The operation of this device would be similar to operating a steam engine as a fire is needed to cook the wood to produce a gas that would run an engine. You would need much more equipment to liquidity this stuff to get enough to run a vehicle any distance. As for the thought of making this apparatus mobile, I would think a simple steam engine would be much more practical.
b²
Blau gas (German: Blaugas) was an artificial illuminating gas similar to propane named after its inventor, Dr. Hermann Blau of Augsburg, Germany. It was manufactured by decomposing mineral oils in retorts by heat, and compressing the resulting naphtha until it liquefied. It was transported in this condition, and on releasing the pressure assumed again the gaseous state.
Blau gas was burned for lighting and heating; a less pure form known as Pintsch gas fueled railroad car lights and stoves in the late 19th and early 20th century. Blau gas was most famous, however, as the fuel for the LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin[1] It had several advantages over liquid fuels such as gasoline. It was non-explosive, and because it weighed approximately the same as air, burning it and replacing its volume with air did not lighten the airship—eliminating the need to adjust buoyancy or ballast in-flight.[2]
too soon old, too late smart
I don't know how I got over the hill without getting to the top.