I mentioned this to Chris in a PM and she suggested that I post the question.
There is a technology known as (among other things) Gen Gas power. It allows a modified gasoline engine to run on wood. A small amount of wood is burned in a chamber. The heat from this combustion heats the rest of the wood that then gives off combustible gases. The gases are then used to run the engine.
The thing is that the system can be designed to produce charcoal as a by product. The argument is that charcoal production is culturally and economically ingrained in many developing countries. With the charcoal pits, the gases go to waist. By capturing this gas with a well designed reactor, an engine could for example produce electric power. This argument means that the environment is better off because the gas is produced anyhow during the normal production of charcoal. We are just tapping this source.
I wanted some opinions on this. I am concerned that the added value of charcoal production could make production more attractive and increase deforestation.
Thanks,
Bruce
There is a technology known as (among other things) Gen Gas power. It allows a modified gasoline engine to run on wood. A small amount of wood is burned in a chamber. The heat from this combustion heats the rest of the wood that then gives off combustible gases. The gases are then used to run the engine.
The thing is that the system can be designed to produce charcoal as a by product. The argument is that charcoal production is culturally and economically ingrained in many developing countries. With the charcoal pits, the gases go to waist. By capturing this gas with a well designed reactor, an engine could for example produce electric power. This argument means that the environment is better off because the gas is produced anyhow during the normal production of charcoal. We are just tapping this source.
I wanted some opinions on this. I am concerned that the added value of charcoal production could make production more attractive and increase deforestation.
Thanks,
Bruce