Alternative fuel for generators

[ADK1113 1]

has any one ever seen this company before?

http://stormsurvivalsystems.com/

 

i've been looking into gasification for a while after Super Storm Sandy.

I also saw a very crude representation on that reality TV show season 1 of "The Colony"

the Colonists of a post apocalyptic scenario, uses gasification to make a combustible gas from wood and other biomass to directly pump it into their Gas engine generator. I found this quite interesting, because the amount of waiting to try and get gasoline to run generators during Super Storm Sandy was ridiculous.

The process of producing energy using the gasification method has been in use for more than 180 years. During that time coal and peat were used to power these plants. Initially developed to produce town gas for lighting & cooking in 1800s, this was replaced by electricity and natural gas, it was also used in blast furnaces but the bigger role was played in the production of synthetic chemicals where it has been in use since the 1920s.

During both world wars especially the Second World War the need of gasification produced fuel reemerged due to the shortage of petroleum. Wood gas generators, called Gasogene or Gazogène, were used to power motor vehicles in Europe. By 1945 there were trucks, buses and agricultural machines that were powered by gasification. It is estimated that there were close to 9,000,000 vehicles running on producer gas all over the world.

Wiki link here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gasification

[raz-0 1,259]

We did this in science class in high school. It's not like it is catalytic, you have to put energy in. Any systems I have seen needs an energy source that could do the job as well as the output of this process. 

[Sota 1,191]

If I may...

rather than looking for non-common alternatives, perhaps you should just consider investing in some extra gas cans and keep them either full all the time (while rotating the fuel through them every couple months) or just make sure you fill them up before a storm hits. I did this for both Irene and Sandy, and it worked well for when Irene hit (Sandy did not result in us losing power for an extended period of time.) I also know how to safely disconnect the fuel line at the engine and manually activate the in tank pump, so I could use all my vehicles as "repositories" if needed.

[302w 83]

You could basically moonshine to make alcohol fuel for your generator. It isn't worth it.

 

The most plausible theory that I've seen is a diesel generator running off of used motor oil, trans fluid, veggie oil, etc.

[Sota 1,191]

mmm.... PTO off an older cummins that will run on damn near anything. Keep the truck in good enough repair and you could make it double duty as your zombie crusher when you have to go to the store for bread and milk.

 

 

just tried to have an interesting thought experiment with the wife (she's a chem eng) about waste oil, solidification and long term storage. she was not amused.

[302w 83]

ChemEs wouldn't be too interested in stuff like this probably..

 

I don't know how well this stuff stores, but I don't see how WMO would break down much over a shortish amount of time. If this is your daily driver stuff should rotate quick.

 

I really, really want an old surplus diesel generator but a pto Cummins would also work well. I don't know much about the engines as I steer clear of modern Mopars but I know they're fantastic for hillbillying