Wood gas vehicles: firewood in the fuel tank

Post by DrScump » Fri, Jan 12, 2018, 4:52 AM UTC

gozur88 wrote: post #4

clord wrote: post #2

Nice thing about wood power is that as long as you have a sustainable source of wood, you're 100% solar-powered and carbon neutral. That is to say, it's a source of energy that is (can be) non-fossil, nor derived from any fossil sources, and which recycles it's own CO2 emissions. There are very few other alternatives that can claim the same. Perhaps Hydro? Solar panels don't offset their construction CO2 costs, and i…

>Nice thing about wood power is that as long as you have a sustainable source of wood, you're 100% solar-powered and carbon neutral. That is to say, it's a source of energy that is (can be) non-fossil, nor derived from any fossil sources, and which recycles it's own CO2 emissions. As long as you're happy pouring carcinogens into the air, sure. Also, compared to oil or coal there's not much energy in wood, so it doesn…

Post by aidenn0 » Fri, Jan 12, 2018, 5:15 AM UTC

xyzzyz wrote: post #12

gozur88 wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Nice thing about wood power is that as long as you have a sustainable source of wood, you're 100% solar-powered and carbon neutral. That is to say, it's a source of energy that is (can be) non-fossil, nor derived from any fossil sources, and which recycles it's own CO2 emissions. As long as you're happy pouring carcinogens into the air, sure. Also, compared to oil or coal there's not much energy in wood, so it doesn…

There's a lot of energy in wood compared to coal. Wood has around 2/3 of the energy of coal by mass. What do you think coal is made from?

Post by sitharus » Fri, Jan 12, 2018, 5:27 AM UTC

aidenn0 wrote: post #13

xyzzyz wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's a lot of energy in wood compared to coal. Wood has around 2/3 of the energy of coal by mass. What do you think coal is made from?

Isn't most of the mass of wood water?

Post by jjoonathan » Fri, Jan 12, 2018, 6:06 AM UTC

sitharus wrote: post #15

aidenn0 wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn't most of the mass of wood water?

Dried wood suitable for burning is around 20% water at most, else it won't burn with much heat. It can go down to around 6% IIRC for kiln-dried wood suitable for construction.

Post by archgoon » Fri, Jan 12, 2018, 6:06 AM UTC

maxerickson wrote: post #10

comicjk wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In order to be efficient and powerful, a steam engine needs high-pressure steam, which can only be safely contained by thick, heavy boilers and pipes. This makes miniaturization of steam engines for cars difficult. Gasification of wood allows you to keep the benefits of the internal combustion engine.

I think the bigger issue is adapt vs rebuild. The Doble steam cars are at least on the cusp of practical. (they are very high maintenance compared to modern cars)