Will Wood Fuel Ever Be Used Commercially To Power Autos?
Everybody across the globe knows that burning wood is a main source of energy
, especially when it comes to producing heat. However, they might be wondering why it is not used more for things such as automobiles and other types of transportation. But in fact, the first vehicle that was powered by wood gas was built in 1901.Wood gas, which is a syngas and also known as producer gas, can be made by thermal gasification of biomass or other carbon-containing materials. The process is quite complex and after all is said and done, wood gas is very flammable because it contains carbon monoxide, hydrogen, and methane.
A wood gasifier takes items such as sawdust, wood chips, rubber, and coal, and burns them in a fire box to form solid ashes and soot and wood gas. The gas may then be filtered, cooled and sent to an engine or fuel cell where it can produce electricity. However, the gas usually has to be cleaned to remove or convert various tars and particles. Using wood gas in an unmodified gas-burning internal combustion engine could result in a build-up of unburned compounds. The quality of the gas will also vary quite a bit from gasifier to gasifier.
Wood gasifiers can power spark ignition engines and diesel engines. However, with diesel engines, diesel fuel is still required to ignite the gas mixture. Wood fuel can be utilized to fuel automobiles that have ordinary internal combustion engines as long as there is a wood gasifier attached. In fact, back in World War II, quite a few European and Asian nations used wood gas to propel certain types of vehicles because it was hard to get their hands on oil.
Recently wood gas has mainly been used as a clean and efficient source of energy for cooking and heating in some developing countries. It is also used to create electricity if it is combined with an internal combustion engine. Modern gasifiers are easier to operate now because of the introduction of electronic control systems. But it is still hard to produce clean gas from them. The gasifier system is actually quite effective though, as it can converts almost 75 per cent of fuel energy content into a combustible gas. This can then be used to fuel internal combustion engines. Some people have experimented with wood-gas cars and the energy consumption has been 1.54 times more compared to same car when it is operated on gas.
The use of wood gas is considered to be quite efficient. The exhaust gas emission levels that are produced by internal combustion engines on wood is also significantly lower than on conventional gas. A regular catalytic converter is ideal with wood gas, but even without one, the emission levels are quite a bit lower than gas. The reason for this is because the combustion of wood gas does not generate any particulates and the gas produces little carbon amongst motor oil. Even though wood gas is clean and efficient, it will probably remain as a fuel for experimental reasons when it comes to cars.
by: Levi Quinn