The wood-burning internal combustion engine is not a ghost from the distant past. Cars and power plants using wood as an energy source can still be found today. It is worth clarifying: the engine operates on gas obtained from wood by burning it in a certain way. Installations that produce such gas are called gas generators; they have been used in industrial enterprises for quite a long time. But is it possible to make a gas generator with your own hands and is it worth doing? These are the questions that our article aims to answer.

How does a gas generator work?

To understand what benefits a gas generator can have in a household, you need to understand its operating principle, and then its structure. Then it will be possible to estimate the costs of its production, and most importantly, what kind of result will be obtained.

So, a pyrolysis gas generator is a complex of components and assemblies designed to separate a mixture of combustible gases from solid fuel for the purpose of its use in internal combustion engines.

For reference. The designs of generators differ from each other depending on the type of solid fuel burned; we will consider the most relevant of them - wood-burning.

If wood is burned in a closed space, limiting the supply of oxygen, then the output can be a mixture of combustible gases. Here is their list:

• carbon monoxide (carbon monoxide CO);
• hydrogen (H2);
• methane (CH4);
• other unsaturated hydrocarbons (CnHm).

Note. The mixture also contains non-flammable ballast gases: carbon dioxide (carbon dioxide), oxygen, nitrogen and water vapor.

An effective wood gas generator must not only produce a combustible mixture, but also make it suitable for use. Therefore, the entire cycle of obtaining fuel for internal combustion engines can be safely called a technological process consisting of the following stages:

• gasification: wood does not even burn, but smolders when the amount of oxygen supplied is 33-35% of that required for complete combustion;
• primary rough cleaning: volatile particles of combustion products produced by wood gas generators after the first stage are separated using a dry vortex filter - a cyclone;
• secondary rough cleaning: carried out in a scrubber - purifier, where a flow of fuel is passed through water;
• cooling: combustion products with temperatures up to 700 ºС pass through it in an air or water heat exchanger;
• fine cleaning;
• sending to the consumer: this can be pumping fuel by a compressor into the distribution tank or supplying it to the mixer, and then directly to the internal combustion engine.

You can consider the design and operating principle of an industrial gas generator in the technological diagram presented below:

The full gas production cycle is quite complex, since it includes several different installations. The most basic one is a gas generator, which is a metal column of cylindrical or rectangular shape, narrowing downward. The column has pipes for air and gas outlet, as well as an access hatch to the ash pit. The unit is equipped with a lid on top for loading fuel; the chimney is not connected to the body; it is simply missing. The combustion and pyrolysis process taking place inside the column is well reflected by the gas generator diagram:

Without going into the intricacies of the chemical reactions taking place inside the column, we note that the mixture of gases described above is obtained at the exit from it. Only it is contaminated with particles and combustion byproducts and has a high temperature. Having studied the drawings of gas generators of any design, you will notice that all other equipment is designed to bring gas back to normal. Air is forced into the combustion zone by a traction or blowing machine (in simple words - a fan).

It must be said that a homemade wood-burning gas generator is made by home craftsmen with a less complex design and the technology for releasing gas in it is somewhat simplified, which will be discussed below.

How to make a gas generator with your own hands

Before assembling the gas generator and transforming this device into a heating boiler, we need to prepare the components and parts from which this unit will be assembled.
Moreover, the classic design of a wood-burning gas generator involves the use of the following components during the assembly process:

Gas generator device

• Firstly, the housing is the basis of the future unit; all the components of the boiler will be installed in the internal part of this unit. The body is assembled from angles and sheet steel, previously cut and cut according to templates and drawings.
• Secondly, bunkers are containers for storing fuel (firewood, charcoal, pallets, and so on). The bunker is assembled from rolled sheets and mounted in the housing. Moreover, a part of the internal space of the case can be allocated for this unit, delimiting it with the help of metal plates made of low-carbon steel.
• Thirdly, the combustion chamber - it is placed at the bottom of the bunker. After all, the main task of this unit is to generate high temperature, so the chamber is made of heat-resistant steel. And the bunker lid is sealed, preventing unauthorized saturation of the combustion chamber with oxygen.
• Fourthly, the neck of the combustion chamber is a special area where the cracking of resins is carried out. This part of the camera is separated from the body using asbestos gaskets.
• Fifthly, the air distributor box is a special unit located outside the housing. Moreover, the insertion of the air distributor fitting into the housing is carried out using a check valve. This unit ensures the flow of oxygen into the olefin combustion chamber, preventing flammable gases from escaping from the combustion chamber.
• Sixthly, a set of filters and a pipe connecting the neck of the firewood combustion chamber to the olefin combustion chamber.

In addition, we will need a grate - it is needed to separate the coals in the combustion chamber, beams and doors - they provide access to the cavity of the housing, including the bunker or combustion chamber.

Having prepared all the specified elements, we can begin assembling the gas generator, carried out according to the following plan:

• First, the body is assembled.
• Then a bunker with a combustion chamber is installed in the housing, complementing the design with grates and a supply channel (blower).
• The neck of the wood combustion chamber is connected by a pipe to the olefin combustion chamber. Moreover, the pipe can lead to a gas cooling system mounted outside the housing.
• An air distributor box is assembled in the upper part of the housing, having previously prepared the entry of olefins into the combustion chamber using a check valve.
• Next, the door to the bunker and hatches to the combustion chambers (both firewood and olefins) are mounted on the hinges.

The boiler assembled in this way is equipped with air compressors (air distributor and supply duct into the firewood combustion chamber) and an exhaust pipe (chimney). Well, at the very end, a water jacket with inlet and outlet fittings is installed on the boiler body, preferably in the area of ​​the secondary combustion chamber, in which the coolant will circulate. Moreover, the jacket can be placed in the double walls of the housing or olefin combustion chamber.

Myths about gas generators

On the Internet there are often many unsubstantiated claims about the operation of such units and conflicting information is given about the use of gas generators. Let's try to dispel all these myths.

The first myth sounds like this: the efficiency of a gas generator unit reaches 95%, which is disproportionately greater than that of solid fuel boilers with an efficiency of 60-70%. Therefore, heating a house with its help is much more profitable. The information is incorrect from the outset; you cannot compare a household gas generator for a home and a solid fuel boiler; these units perform different functions. The task of the first is to produce flammable gas, the second is to heat water.

When talking about generating equipment, its efficiency is the ratio of the amount of product obtained to the volume of gas, which can theoretically be isolated from wood, multiplied by 100%. Boiler efficiency is the ratio of the generated thermal energy of wood to the theoretical calorific value, also multiplied by 100%. In addition, not every biogas plant, let alone a gas generator, can extract 95% of combustible fuel from organic matter.

Conclusion. The essence of the myth is that they are trying to compare mass or volume with units of energy through efficiency, and this is unacceptable.

It is easier and more efficient to heat a house with a conventional pyrolysis boiler, which in the same way releases flammable gases from wood and immediately burns them using the supply of secondary air to an additional combustion chamber.

The second myth is that you can put fuel of any moisture content into the bunker. You can load it, but only the amount of gas released drops by 10-25%, or even more. In this regard, the ideal option is a gas generator that runs on charcoal, which contains almost no moisture. And so the thermal energy of pyrolysis is spent on the evaporation of water, the temperature in the furnace drops, and the process slows down.

Myth three – the cost of heating a building is reduced. This is not difficult to check; just compare the cost of a wood-burning gas generator and a conventional solid fuel boiler, also made by yourself. Plus you need a water heating device that burns wood gases, for example, a convector. Finally, operating this entire system will take a lot of time and effort.

Conclusion. A homemade wood-burning gas generator, made with your own hands, is best used in conjunction with an internal combustion engine. That is why home craftsmen adapt it to generate electricity at home, or even install it on a car.

Automotive gas generator

You need to understand that a gas generator for a car must be quite compact, not too heavy and at the same time efficient. Foreign colleagues, whose incomes are much higher than ours, make the generator housing, cyclone and cooling filter from stainless steel. This allows you to take half the thickness of the metal, which means the unit will come out much lighter. In our realities, pipes, old propane cylinders, fire extinguishers and other available materials are used to assemble a gas generator.

Below is a drawing of a gas generator installed on old UralZIS-352 trucks, and you should use it to guide you when assembling the unit:

Our craftsmen most often make the outer tank from liquefied propane cylinders; the inner tank can be made from the receiver of a ZIL or KamAZ truck. The grate is made of thick metal, the pipes are made of the corresponding pipe diameter. The lid with clamps can be made from the cut off top of the cylinder or from sheet steel. The lid seal is made of asbestos cord with graphite impregnation.

A coarse filter - a cyclone for cars - is made from an old fire extinguisher or a simple piece of pipe. At the bottom of the pipe there is a conical nozzle with a fitting for unloading ash, and at the top the end is closed with a tightly welded lid. The outlet pipe for purified gases is cut into it, and on the side there is a second fitting where combustion products will be supplied. The functional cross-sectional diagram of the cyclone is shown in the figure:

How to make a wood-burning car with your own hands

If you want to try converting your car to wood burning, there are many obstacles that will stand in your way. When designing a gas generator installation, you will need to make it small, fairly light, and at the same time highly efficient. If finances allow, the best solution would be to follow the path of craftsmen from abroad and use stainless steel for the body of the gas generator itself, the filter and the cooler.

This will give you a noticeable gain in the mass of the entire structure, without losing strength. However, stainless steel will cost you a pretty penny, and therefore domestic craftsmen often replace it with ordinary steel.

The image below shows a diagram of the most advanced automotive gas generator unit, which was equipped with production cars (we are talking about the UralZIS-352 truck, produced in the 1950s). It is its design that is best to focus on when assembling your gas generator:

First, you will need to make an outer container - a strong iron barrel or a rolled and welded sheet of metal with a thickness of at least 1 mm is perfect for this purpose; for the inner container, a gas cylinder (for propane) or a receiver from a truck (KAMAZ, for example) will do. Be sure to cut a door into the housing to access the ash pan, otherwise you will not be able to clean it. A neck should be located at the bottom of the combustion chamber - resins will be deposited there. The grate can be easily made from durable fittings, and for the nozzles you will have to find pipes of a suitable size and diameter. A sheet of metal 5 mm thick makes an excellent lid and bottom. Use asbestos cord as a seal (don't forget to impregnate it in the form of graphite grease).

You can use a used fire extinguisher on the coarse filter. In the lower part it is equipped with a cone-shaped nozzle with a fitting, and a pipe is welded on top through which the purified gas will exit. On the side, another fitting is cut into the body to supply combustion products. The general diagram of the cyclone is shown below:

Since the gas mixture has too high a temperature, it cannot be used in an internal combustion engine. Therefore, the gases need to be cooled. As a cooler, you can use either an ordinary “accordion”, used in heating systems, or a more advanced bimetallic radiator, placing it so that it is well blown by the incoming air flow.

After the cooler, the gases must be cleaned again using a fine filter. The housing from an old fire extinguisher will also work here, but choose the filter element at your discretion. Units and assemblies should be combined according to this diagram:

In addition, you will need 2 more parts. The first of them is a mixer with which you will regulate the fuel-air mixture for the internal combustion engine. The second is a fan with a relay, which is necessary to pump gas during ignition (after starting the engine, a vacuum appears in the system, and the fan must be turned off at this stage). By the way, the fan is installed in an air distribution box equipped with a check valve. The box is not part of the gas generator, but is installed separately.

Conclusions and recommendations

Although the idea of ​​​​converting a car from gasoline to wood seems very attractive, an equivalent replacement will not work. Despite all the advantages of a gas generator, an engine running on a mixture of flammable gases is simply unable to develop power comparable to a liquid fuel engine. As a result, the dynamics leave much to be desired (even 70-80 km/h is a practically unattainable speed). It’s another matter if a gas generator installation is created for the purpose of heating housing in non-gas-free settlements. In this case, this is a very good option, which is definitely worth paying attention to.

Wood-burning car? And is it possible to make such a car with your own hands?

Looking at gas station signs with gasoline prices, every now and then a desire arises to switch the car to a cheaper type of fuel.

One of the popular options is converting a car to gas. But not everything is smooth here either. Against the backdrop of events in the gas and oil sector, gas prices may rise, which will make work pointless.

Problems with energy resources are obvious and no one yet knows how this will end for the end consumer.

If you decide to redo it, then you should choose independent and truly effective methods. And here gas-generating cars or, in simple terms, “wood-burning cars” come first in terms of savings.

Wood-burning car

Alexey Batyr

The idea of ​​a gas-generating car, the engine of which runs on gas obtained from solid fuel, is not new; it arose at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries. The first experiments on wood gasification were carried out back in the 1870s, when the resulting gas was used for street lighting and cooking. The first classic gas-generating car, powered by wood and charcoal, was designed in 1900 in France. Soon a patent for such a car was registered in Russia.

The principle is simple

Gasification of wood and other materials is a process in which raw materials are converted into flammable gases after heating. A special boiler-gas generator, which looks like a water heater, is installed in the vehicle. It is filled almost to the top with wood, which is burned with limited air access.

A very high temperature is created in the boiler (up to 1400 °C), under the influence of which solid fuel decomposes with the release of gases - flammable (ethylene, methane, carbon monoxide, hydrogen) and non-flammable (nitrogen, carbon dioxide).

Thus, an automobile gas generator is essentially a simple unit, moreover, bulky and structurally complicated by additional systems.

1929 Ford Model A

In addition to the actual production of gas, a mobile gas generator unit cools it, purifies it and mixes it with air. Therefore, the classic scheme includes the gas generator itself, coarse and fine filters, coolers, an electric fan to speed up ignition and pipelines. The resulting mixture of gases is supplied to the internal combustion engine as fuel.

A gas generator vehicle (GCV) may not look as elegant as its gasoline and diesel counterparts, but it is more economically efficient and environmentally friendly. The GGA's mileage from one refueling is approximately the same as that of electric vehicles, but, unlike the latter, there are no problems with refilling, at least in most of Russia. After an increase in gasoline prices, interest in this almost forgotten technology is being revived: craftsmen are converting their cars to wood fuel.

A little history

In the 1920s, German engineer Georg Imbert developed a successful mass-produced gas generator. The gases obtained in it were cooled, purified and dried, after which they were fed into a slightly modified internal combustion engine of the vehicle. The Imbert generator has been in mass production since 1931. In the late 1930s, about 9 thousand GGAs were in operation, almost exclusively in Europe.

This technology became common in European countries and the Soviet Union during World War II, when consumption of petroleum products was rationed. In Germany alone, by the end of the war, almost half a million GGAs were in use. A network of approximately 3 thousand “refueling stations” was built where drivers could replenish their supply of firewood. Not only cars, but also trucks, buses, tractors, motorcycles, ships and railway locomotives were equipped with firewood gasifiers. Even tanks ran on wood gas.

GAZ-42

In 1942, when this technology had not yet reached the peak of popularity, there were about 73 thousand GGAs in Sweden, 65 thousand in France, 10 thousand in Denmark, 9 thousand in Austria and Norway, and almost 8 thousand . - in Switzerland. In Finland in 1944, 43 thousand “wood-burning vehicles” were in use, including 30 thousand buses and trucks, 7 thousand cars, 4 thousand tractors and 600 light boats. GGAs were used in the USA, Asia and Australia, where there were 72 thousand of them. In total, more than a million GGAs were used around the world during World War II.

In the USSR, from 1935 until the very beginning of the Great Patriotic War, at the enterprises of the Ministry of Forestry Industry and the Gulag, GAZ-AA one and a half trucks and ZIS-5 three-ton trucks, as well as buses based on them, were converted to run on wood. Also, gas generator versions of trucks were produced in separate batches by the car factories themselves. For example, Soviet auto historians cite the number 33840 - this is how many gas-generating “one and a half” GAZ-42 were produced. More than 16 thousand gas generator ZIS models ZIS-13 and ZIS-21 were produced in Moscow.

During the pre-war period, Soviet engineers created more than 300 different versions of gas generating units, of which 10 reached mass production. During the war, designers of serial factories prepared drawings of simplified installations that could be manufactured locally in auto repair shops without the use of complex equipment. According to the recollections of residents of the northern and northeastern regions of the USSR, wood-burning trucks could be found in the outback until the 1970s.

After the war, when restrictions on the supply of gasoline were lifted, gas-generating vehicles began to quickly disappear. In the early 1950s, only 20 thousand GGA remained in Germany. The only country today where wood-burning cars are widely used is North Korea. In conditions of isolation from the global economy, there is a shortage of liquid fuel there.

In 1957, the Swedish government initiated a research program to prepare for a rapid transition to HGA in the event of a sudden shortage of petroleum products. Sweden has no oil reserves, but many forests. The goal of the research is to develop an improved, standardized gas generator that could be installed on any type of vehicle.

This research, paid for by Volvo, provided a large amount of theoretical information and practical experience in operating various types of gas-generating cars and tractors, the total mileage of which exceeded 100 thousand km. The results were summarized in a paper dated 1986, which also discussed some experiments in other countries. Swedish and especially Finnish amateur engineers used this data to further develop the technology.

What to heat with?

Wood is mainly used in various forms (firewood, logging and furniture industry waste, pellets, etc.) or charcoal, but the list is not limited to this.

Plastic, rubber, polyethylene, rags, various garbage, bird droppings and many other types of waste can serve as fuel for a gas generator boiler (of course, fuel consumption and gas composition vary depending on the raw material).

When calculating the cost of firewood and charcoal, we must not forget about the various free waste that can be used - seed husks, nut shells, corn cobs, waste coffee from coffee machines, hay, peat. Fans of GGA claim that their cars clear the roadside of debris.

Real savings

For a car that consumes 10 liters of gasoline per 100 km, the consumption of firewood after installing a modern gas generator is on average about 20 kg. At the same time, engine power is reduced by only 4%, the maximum and cruising speed indicators remain almost unchanged.

Thus, a kilogram of firewood replaces half a liter of gasoline. The cost of a kilogram of firewood is approximately three times less than the cost of a liter of gasoline, so the savings are obvious.

ZIS-13

One of the most serious disadvantages of the gas generator is the long time it takes for the gas generator to reach operating mode. When working on charcoal, the engine can be started within 10-30 seconds after igniting the boiler, on wood (and garbage) - after 5-15 minutes.

HISTORY OF CREATION AND DEVELOPMENT, EXAMPLES OF WOOD-POWERED VEHICLES

Despite the slow progress of the topic of gas-generating machines, the history of such developments is very rich. So, back in 1823, the Russian inventor Ovtsyn I.I. developed an apparatus for distilling wood. It is based on the most common “thermal lamp”.

The main feature of the installation was the use of the main pyrolysis products - illuminating gas, acetic acid and tar, as well as charcoal.

Almost forty years later (in 1860), Etienne Lenoir, a Belgian waiter with engineering “inclinations,” made his contribution to science. It was he who first acquired a patent for an internal combustion engine operating on lighting gas.

Two years later, the installation of the newly minted genius appeared on an 8-seater open omnibus.

But in 1878, when the more powerful 4-stroke gas engine of Nicholas Otto was presented to the public, Etienne Lenoir's development was quickly forgotten. At the same time, the new device had a higher efficiency: 16% for Otto versus 5% for Lenoir.

Another two decades later, in 1883 (from 1860), a new concept of combining a conventional internal combustion engine and a gas generator appeared.

The English scientist E. Dawson managed to combine two devices in one box.

The resulting device could be safely installed on any equipment and safely operated. Over time, E. Dawson’s development became known as “Dawson gas.”

In 1891, Evgeniy Yakovlev (lieutenant of the Russian Navy) distinguished himself. He managed to build an entire plant for the production of kerosene and gas engines. The place for construction was St. Petersburg.

Over time, the plant ceased to exist due to the inability to resist competition with gasoline and diesel engines.

The year 1900 can safely be called the year of production of the first gas-generating car using charcoal and wood as fuel.

The device was developed in France by Frederick Winslow Taylor, and a patent was obtained a little later (in 1901).

Subsequently, new and more interesting developments in this area appeared. So, in 1919, Georg Imbert (an engineer of French origin) developed a reverse-type gas generator.

Already in 1921, the first cars with engines operating on this principle appeared. It was then that speculation arose about the likely competition of a gas-generating car with diesel or gasoline engines.

Over time, Germany also distinguished itself, where during the war not only wood-burning gas generators became widespread, but also devices capable of operating on special briquettes consisting of lignite dust and crumbs.

The first trucks with gas generators were very slow - they could hardly reach a speed of 20 kilometers per hour.

Despite this, by 1938 the popularity of gas-generating cars was so great that the total number of such cars was about nine thousand.

Three years later (by 1941), their number increased fiftyfold. For example, in Germany, the number of “wood-burning” cars has grown to 300 thousand copies.

The Soviet Union also tried to keep up. Here, the first tests of gas generator cars took place in 1928. The car was powered by a Naumov engine and a Fiat-15 chassis.

Six years later, the first large run of cars with gas generator engines was organized from Moscow to Leningrad and back.

History [edit | edit code]

In 1799, the French engineer Philippe Le Bon discovered illuminating gas and received a patent for the use and method of producing illuminating gas by dry distillation of wood or coal. In 1801, Le Bon took out a patent for the design of a gas engine, but in 1804 he was killed before he could bring his invention to life.

In 1860, a Belgian waiter and part-time amateur engineer, Etienne Lenoir, created and patented an internal combustion engine powered by lamp gas.

In 1862-1863. gas generator power plant with power up to 4 hp. was installed on an eight-seater open omnibus. The efficiency of Lenoir's two-stroke engine reached only 5%. Having become rich, Lenoir stopped working on improving his machine, so when at the Paris World Exhibition of 1878 the four-stroke gas engine of the German engineer Nicholas Otto with an efficiency of 16% was demonstrated to the public, the glory of the pioneer of gas generator engine construction, unfortunately, quickly faded.

In 1883, the English engineer E. Dawson first formulated the concept of combining a gas generator and an internal combustion engine in a single unit, which could be installed entirely on a transport or other vehicle. The significance of this work was so great that for some time the semi-water gasifier was commonly called “Dawson gas.” The first classic gas-generating car using wood lumps and charcoal as fuel was built by Taylor in 1900 in France (the patent in Russia was issued in 1901).

In 1891, a retired lieutenant of the Russian Navy, Yevgeny Yakovlev, built a gas and kerosene engine plant in St. Petersburg on Bolshaya Spasskaya Street, but his products could not withstand the competition with oil and gasoline engines.

In 1916, regular gas generator bus services began between Paris and Rouen (the length of the route, according to various sources, ranged from 125 to 140 km).

In 1919, the French engineer Georg Imbert created a direct-flow (reverse) type gas generator, in which the fuel and gasifying agent move in the same direction during gasification. In 1921, a car with a gas generator was created on this principle. In this case, the wood is not pyrolyzed in cylinders (like Ford, Krupp or Porsche), but in a boiler, where the wood was “burned” with a lack of oxygen (partial pyrolysis), which was a big step forward compared to semi-coking from Krupp. This made it possible to improve the quality of gas generators so much that gas generator engines again became real competitors to gasoline and diesel engines.

In Germany, during the war, they began to make gas generators not only wood-burning, but also using briquettes from brown coal chips and dust, since there was quite a lot of this fuel there. Trucks with gas generators did not drive fast - 20 km per hour - on low-calorie gas, which was converted into firewood in the gas generator. Some countries in the world still use such cars (in very small quantities); there are quite a lot of them in rural areas of North Korea [1].

In 1938, there were about 9 thousand cars in Europe that ran on gas generator fuel. By 1941, this number increased almost 50 times. Including in Germany, their number reached 300 thousand.

The first test in the USSR of a car on a FIAT-15 chassis with a gas generator unit by V. S. Naumov took place in 1928. In 1934, the first test run of gas-generating vehicles was carried out along the route Moscow - Leningrad - Moscow, in which GAZ-AA and ZIS-5 with installations designed at NATI participated [2].

In the USSR, in 1936, a resolution was adopted by the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR on the production of gas-generating cars and tractors. In 1936, the first batch of gas generator trucks ZIS-13 was produced, and then ZIS-21 and at the Gorky plant - GAZ-42. At the beginning of 1941, gas generator units for ZIS cars, ChTZ and KhTZ tractors, powered by wood chocks, were produced. They had significant drawbacks: low power, rapid metal wear, and manufacturing defects that led to long downtime. However, gas-generating cars and tractors became a big plus during the Great Patriotic War - they were actively used in the rear.

During the difficult years of the war, all Kolyma vehicles were converted to gas generator fuel, or, more simply, to an ordinary wooden block. There were special factories for the preparation and drying of “churochka” - as the drivers affectionately called it. When leaving on a trip, the driver took six to eight bags of lumps, which he filled into a special bunker as needed. The wood burned, the resulting gas “moved” the car.

It is clear that the “gasgen” did not appear from a good life - there was not enough gasoline. The first design of a gas generator device was unsuccessful... The innovators of the Atkinsk motor depot decided to make the “gasgen” work better. And they achieved their goal: they made the gasgen reliable on the highway, and its carrying capacity was increased to seven tons. And experienced drivers used such a car to take trailers up to eight tons. At VDNKh in 1945, Kolyma “gasgens” took first place.

In search of an alternative source of energy, it was realized that it is not necessary to extract gas in mines and then burn it in boilers and internal combustion engines; combustible gas can be extracted from industrial waste and wood. A gas generator, or as it is also called a gas generator, by burning local fuel - firewood, peat, charcoal, sawdust and other wood waste, as well as sometimes other organic residues - is capable of releasing/generating flammable gases such as CO, CH4, H2 and others. There are several options for using the resulting gas, but in any case, each device is based on the principle of a gas generator. We will tell you in this article how a gas generator works, what elements it consists of, and what processes take place inside it. We will also consider options for further use of the obtained gas and places where such units can be installed.

WOOD-FUELED GAS GENERATOR FOR A CAR – DEVICE AND PRINCIPLE OF OPERATION

The automotive gas generator installation includes the following elements:

• rough cleaners;
• the gas generator itself;
• fine cleaners;
• mixer and ignition fan.

A simple diagram looks like this.

During movement, air is sucked into the gas generator using the thrust of a running motor.

The same thrust helps to “pump out” the flammable gas from the gas generator, as well as supply it to the coarse purifiers, and then to the fine filter.

After mixing with air in the mixer, the finished gas-air mixture is sucked into the engine cylinders.

After leaving the gas generator, the hot and contaminated gas requires additional processing (cooling and cleaning).

To do this, it is passed through a special pipeline that combines a gas generator with a fine filter.

In some designs, the gas passed through a special cooler mounted in front of the water radiator.

Most often, a combined system was used for cooling and cleaning.

Its principle of operation was to change the speed and direction of the gas flow. At the same time, the latter was cooled and cleaned.

The next stage is fine cleaning, for which special “ring” cleaners made in the shape of cylinders were used.

The operating principle of most fine filters was based on the water principle, when gas purification was carried out using water.

In the process of igniting the gas generator, a special centrifugal fan equipped with an electric drive was used.

Due to the fact that the fan needs to pump air through the entire purification system, the device was installed as close as possible to the mixer.

The formation of a combustible mixture is carried out in a car mixer.

The simplest type of device is a special tee in which air and gas flows intersect.

The volume of the mixture entering the engine is controlled using the throttle valve.

The quality of the gas-air mixture is regulated by an air damper.

The main fuel for a gas generating unit is coal briquettes, peat or firewood.

The operating principle of the system is based on partial combustion of carbon. The latter, during combustion, can connect one or a pair of oxygen atoms with the subsequent formation of two elements - carbon dioxide (dioxide) and carbon monoxide (monoxide).

If carbon does not burn completely, then almost 30% of the total energy can be obtained with complete combustion of the material.

As a consequence, the formed gas has a lower heat transfer than the original solid fuel.

It is worth noting that in a gas generator, during the conversion of wood or coal into gas, an exothermic reaction occurs between water and carbon monoxide.

Thanks to this reaction, the temperature of the resulting gas drops and the efficiency increases to 80 percent.

If the gas does not require cooling before use, the efficiency can reach 100%. As a result, 2-stage fuel combustion occurs.

The resulting gas has minimal calorie content due to its mixing with nitrogen.

Due to the fact that smaller volumes of air are needed to burn fuel, such a reduction in calorie content is insignificant.

As for the decrease in engine power when running on gas, the reason is a decrease in the charge of the fuel composition caused by the difficulty of cooling.

DO-It-Yourself WOOD-WOODED CAR

If you wish, you can make a wood-burning car with your own hands.

In a simplified version, the algorithm looks like this:

1. A loading hopper is equipped.

As a base, you can use a regular gas cylinder with a capacity of about 40-50 liters. Thanks to this capacity, large volumes of coal can be placed in the cylinder.

Other materials can also be used.

Make sure that the wall thickness is at least three millimeters.

Once a suitable cylinder has been selected, cut out the bottom and cut a neck for loading fuel. The hole for the lid should be wide to simplify the process of loading fuel.

2. A grate is made, which takes on the greatest load.

3. A special lid for the hopper is created.

Fuel (coal) will be loaded through it. If desired, the lid can be made of aluminum, but theoretically any other type of metal can be used.

During the installation process, pay attention to the choice of cord - it must be asbestos with mandatory impregnation with graphite.

This is necessary to protect the cord from burning and accidental damage in case of closing or opening.

You can get a high-quality cord at the market or in a boiler room. The optimal diameter of a suitable cord is 13 and 8 millimeters.

4. A tuyere is made.

The task of this device is to take on the main temperature load. During the installation process, everything is done in such a way as to make replacement easier.

5. A cyclone filter is manufactured.

The use of charcoal or brown coal, peat, straw or other substances for traveling by car has a characteristic feature - the presence of dust.

If you do not make a high-quality filter element, then dust can get into the carburetor, pistons, spark plugs and other components (including the interior).

You can find a ready-made solution right away.

6. Making a radiator (cooler).

Any material can be used here. As an option, it is possible to use a standard heating radiator made of aluminum.

You can construct a device from water pipes. Please note that the cross-section of the radiator, as a rule, is slightly larger than the cross-section of the pipes connected to it.

But still some take the simple route.

7. Manufacturing of a fine filter.

At the time of the first gas generators, fine filters were enormous in size and occupied a significant part of the car. However, the effectiveness was minimal.

Today we have modern materials at our disposal, thanks to which we can make a high-quality and compact filter at minimal cost.

In this case, the service life will be 10-20 thousand kilometers.

8. Fastening the gas generator in the trunk.

Here, as a rule, you will have to get rid of the luggage compartment lid to install a new device.

Some Kulibins hang the device behind the trunk. This is of course more practical, but it does not look very aesthetically pleasing.

9. Connecting the gas generator to the motor.

The switching tubes through which gas is supplied are supplied to the engine.

At the same time, the main structural elements must remain intact.

Next, a calorie regulation system is organized from the car control panel.

How does the power plant work?

Cars in which such a device is installed use gas produced by burning wood, coal or other components as a fuel mixture. The principle of operation of a gas generator for a car, made by yourself, is based on incomplete combustion of carbon. In this case, a third of the energy is released and, therefore, the resulting gas has a lower calorific value than the source material.

Let's watch a video about gas generators and how they work: [su_youtube url=»https://www.youtube.com/embed/dqlIqPcnndg?list=PLA1E8C311DEC09E1C»]

In the process of burning wood or coal with the addition of steam, an exothermic reaction occurs between the resulting composition and water, which in turn leads to the separation of the mixture into hydrogen and carbon dioxide. This leads to a decrease in the temperature of the produced substance and at the same time increases efficiency up to 80%.

It is possible to use gas without cooling, in case of complete combustion of solid fuel. In this case, the efficiency of gasification can reach 100%.

But since the gas is diluted with nitrogen during the purification process, its calorie content is low. But at the same time, less air is used for its combustion, therefore, it is not much inferior to traditional air-fuel mixtures.

Do-it-yourself gas unit for a car

One of the simplest units will be one assembled from an old gas cylinder. At the same time, all other components are also easy to find and inexpensive. So, let's start assembling a car gas generator with our own hands.

Simple and environmentally friendly

The cylinder performs the functions of a housing. Inside it is divided into two zones:

• Downloads;
• Burning.

And here is the core of the gas generator. It is possible to use a metal box welded from steel sheets as a body.

But still, the best option is a cylinder, since welding areas can become leaky over time, which will lead to an emergency. It is also important to take into account that if gas accumulates inside the generator, this can lead to an explosion, so it is better to assemble the structure in such a way that it immediately exits into the engine. You can find a diagram of a gas generator for a car on the Internet.

Watch the video, stages of work: [su_youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/Of8z2_rVGvg”]

But, having chosen a gas cylinder as a basis, it is necessary to take into account the fact that a mixture may remain in it and, when cutting, this can cause a small explosion. To avoid this, you need to either blow it with compressed air or cut it and fill it with water.

Next, the bottom is cut out and a neck is cut for loading fuel. The lid should be convenient for filling in wood waste. Then the grate is made. It must be taken into account that it will bear a thermal load.

The next step is preparing the lid for the hopper. It can be made of sheet metal, but must be insulated with asbestos cord. To prevent it from burning, you need to treat it with graphite lubricant. You can buy it at the hardware market.

Next, a tuyere is made, which will bear the main thermal load, as well as a filter. If you plan to use wood or coal as fuel, then this component is mandatory, as it will allow you to get rid of a large number of suspended dust particles contained in them. And in order to avoid them getting into the carburetor, a filter is used.

The next part is the radiator. It can be made of aluminum radiators or ordinary water pipes. It must be taken into account that the flow area of ​​the radiator must exceed the size of the pipes connected to it. This will help avoid resistance to the gas as it passes through it.

We continue to make the unit with our own hands video 2: [su_youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/ln35IU-coxw”]

The last part is the cleaning filter. It can be made from modern and inexpensive materials that are easy to clean and have a long service life. A drawing of a gas generator for a car is easy to find on the Internet.

Next, all that remains is to fix the gas generator in the trunk and connect it to the engine. To do this, a tube is installed through which wood gas will flow into the engine. Along with it, the main fuel remains - gasoline. And the last step is to adjust the calorie content of the consistency.

REGISTRATION WITH THE SAI

The most important thing is to register a car with a gas generator engine with the traffic police.

Here it is worth contacting the inspectorate in advance and clarifying the package of documents required for registration.

Unfortunately, in the CIS countries, legalizing cars converted for firewood is a very difficult task. The reason is the lack of GOST standards.

There are similar standards abroad, so the registration process takes a minimum of time.

Anyone who managed to register with the traffic police without problems, share your experience in the comments.

If someone has a motorcycle with a sidecar, then you can try to implement this option.

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