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Biomass Power
The Biomass "Wood Gas" Truck
The current prototype (our fifth version) is made of junk yard parts and mounted on a 1989 Ford F-150 pickup truck with an unmodified 6-cylinder gasoline engine. While this hybrid vehicle has a 5 gallon gasoline backup on board, it is capable of running entirely on biomass – wood, wood chips, pellets, brush, used construction debris, clean demolition wood, leaves, grass clippings, hay, weeds, cardboard, paper, cotton-based clothing, shoes, old pallets, food – and we are testing more materials.
When running on gasoline, the truck gets 12 miles per gallon (a gallon weighs about 6 lbs), with a top speed of about 90 mph. Running on biomass, the truck can go an average of two miles on a single pound of wood, with a maximum speed of 75-85 mph. It responds beautifully on the road with very few stumbles in performance. We look forward to creating an even better (and prettier) version once funding in obtained.
How it Works
The system converts carbon-based solid materials into fuel in much the same was as you do. When you eat food, your body breaks the substances you consume into chemical components that fuel your cells as they generate the energy to keep you running. The unit on the truck does the same thing. It takes solid organic fuel in (as you see in the picture) and the processor then converts that matter into a gaseous fuel that the engine can use to keep the truck running. The output from your process and the truck's is the same: carbon dioxide and water.
This is not a glorified woodstove on wheels. The processor is actually converting the wood into simple hydrocarbons and then capturing the clean gaseous fuel so the engine can use it directly. This fuel burns so efficiently that it leaves no harmful emissions.
Watch this video to see Dave explaining the system and why it is so important.
MNN reporter Shea Gunther shot this off-the-cuff video at a sustainable energy fair in early June 2009. It was the public debut of the truck that runs on wood ... and cheeseburgers.
