Catalytic Combustion

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I wrote a post on methane gas not long ago. Suggesting to trap methane and use as fuel in vehicles or even hot water heaters.

Canisters of natural gas are in use now. If the government would get out of the way, we'd have a much cleaner fuel to burn in our cars.

Human inventiveness is endless, especially when the going gets tough.

Inventors have tackled unburned smoke in wood stoves by recirculating the smoke. We have one of these stoves. It is amazing how the unburned smoke ignites the second time around. Sometimes the extra combustion raises the lid on the stove.

This theory was discovered long ago and put to use in the early 1940s when fuel for motor vehicles was nonexistent. How does one run a truck or bus then?

You build a vehicle that has a wood stove on board.

I've seen cars modified with their trunk lid removed and a stove place in the trunk.

As kid in the mid 40s, I had an opportunity to see a traveling colony of Lilliputians coming through our nearest train station, about 5 miles away. All us kids got a ride. I remember the man firing up a truck using the smoke from a pot bellied stove in the back. He stoked the fire, ran to the front of the truck and cranked the handle. Over and over he stoked and cranked. Finally the truck coughed and started to idle. We were on our way. See this story and many more in my book. 


What I didn't know until recently, is that Germany actually built buses with wood stoves built in. Check out the picture and the caption below.

Try the caption below.

Here is my translation:

Vornag-Generator-Omnibus
A motor craft vehicle during the times when motor fuel, (diesel and gasoline) was not available. -- Generated wood gas was used as combustable fuel during the war and early years following. -- Stove to generate wood gas on board. -- Vehicle built in 1941.

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