Posted on 04/17/2009 11:03:00 AM PDT by fella
Gasification
Gasification is the use of heat to tranform solid biomass, or other carbonaceous solids, into a synthetic "natural gas like" flammable fuel. There are a wide variety of processes which fall under this general term- but all share the characteristic of transforming solid hydrocarbon material into simple hydrocarbon gases. The resulting gaseous fuel is usually called: "syngas", "woodgas", "producer gas", "generator gas" or "suction gas".
Through gasification, we can convert nearly any solid waste biomass into a clean burning, carbon neutral, gaseous fuel. Whether starting with wood chips or coffee grounds, municipal trash or agricultrual waste, the end product is a flexible gaseous fuel you can burn in your internal combustion engine, cooking stove, heating furnace and/or flamethrower. Upmigration to liquid fuels is also possible with some additional effort and common catalysts.
Sound impossible?
Well, over one million vehicles in Europe ran onboard gasifiers during WWII to make fuel from wood and charcoal, as gasoline and diesel were rationed and/or unavailable. Long before there was biodiesel and ethanol, we actually succeeded in a large-scale, alternative fuels redeployment-- and one which curiously used only cellulosic biomass, not the oil and sugar based biofuel sources which famously compete with food.
(Excerpt) Read more at allpowerlabs.org ...
We learned all this in High School, starting with CH4 = methane the first of the many hydrocarbons (900 btus/cu.ft.).
They continuously behave as if the well known facts of simple chemistry (amoung other studies)don't exist.
We give them way too much credit (pun intended in these financially tramatic years).
About the extent of most Americans knowledge is “as seen on TV”. That’s about it these days.
The Bum Rap on Biofuels
American Thinker | 5-13-08 | Herbert Meyer
Posted on 05/14/2008 3:59:06 AM PDT by Renfield
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2015711/posts
Campaign to vilify ethanol revealed
ethanol producer Magazine | May 16, 2008 | By Kris Bevill
Posted on 05/17/2008 9:22:13 AM PDT by Kevin J waldroup
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2017389/posts
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