I recently completed a project to develop an off-grid fuel production system that can be used in place of petroleum fuels to run small engines, such as a portable power generator. My reason for embarking on this project was to find a way of providing fuel for small engine powered equipment when petroleum fuels become too scarce and/or expensive to obtain. As the threats to our fuel supply and power grid continue to grow, I searched for a way to use resources that are abundant in the North Idaho region to become the fuel that could replace petroleum fuels for our small engines. The solution that I found was to create synthesis gas (syngas) from natural wood charcoal (also known as "wood gas"). Wood charcoal can be easily made from small woody materials, such as what would normally be burned in slash piles or turned into woodchips. The process of carbonizing the raw wood into natural lump charcoal burns off the majority of the tars and other contaminants that are not desirable in the syngas that will be made. The charcoal is then burned in a very controlled environment within a gasifier (such as the fuel production system I've developed) which converts the charcoal and moisture in the air into synthesis gas, which is then run through a simple filter and piped to an engine as the fuel.
You can learn more about how gasifiers work by visiting: http://www.driveonwood.com/library/faq/
Make charcoal using this simple steel barrel method: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNOiVCpRWXw
In short, since we have access to an abundant supply of wood in North Idaho, you can easily make homemade charcoal to run a gasifier, meaning you can run small engines without ever needing to buy gasoline. Even folks who are already off-grid typically have times when the solar or other power generation systems aren't enough and they need to run a generator from time-to-time, meaning they need to buy gasoline, propane, or diesel. Using a gasifier (and appropriate generator) means they won't need to rely on petroleum fuels to power their home. I truly believe this is one of the solutions to helping maintaining independence.
I encourage you to consider building or purchasing a gasifier as a means of enhancing your off-grid capability and overall energy independence. If you would like to consider purchasing the gasifier that I have developed (the Freedom Gasifier), you can learn more on our Gasifier page.
