I have always been interested in wood gasifiers and after doing a little research this morning was amazed to see that a they are popping up all over the place. Biomass gasification is a process that converts biomass (wood, waste carbaceous organic material) into methane, CO, CO2 and other byproducts. This is also called wood gas. If you have a fireplace with a window, you can see the hot logs release wood gas during a fire. These units limit the flame so that you get heat and an incomplete combustion cycle, so you could harvest the unburned woodgas for other uses. Below is a compilation of wood gasifiers, both commercial and DIY. The best designs not only run generators, but also provide heat and power, also referred to as Combined Heat and Power (CHP). It is easy to get super charged about the idea of turning biomass into heat and power, but I feel the need to state that if you are going to burn it, you need to grow it. If we all switched over to wood fuel tomorrow, the planet would be denuded of trees within 5 years. My hope is that as we transition off of fossil fuel it will spur us to grow more coppiceable trees (trees that you can cut and they come again). Here is a great compilation of coppicing videos.

Check out the resources below and let me know what you think.

Here is a simple unit that is cost effective. It can be used to run a 7kW generator (not included) and if you selected a generator with a water jacket you could use it to heat a small building or domestic hot water unit.

Features

Size: 7kW

Type: Down Draft Gasifier

Uses: Battery charging, household uses, appliances

Fuel: wood blocks/chips

Cost: $4,500

I have had my eyes on these guys for a while. This is the complete plug and play unit. It comes with the gasifier, engine and generator. It does combined heat and power and it looks uber professional.

Features

Size: 5kW

Type: Down Draft Gasifier

Uses: Heat and power, can be used to charge batteries, run a house or shop and heat your spaces

Fuel: wood blocks/chips

Cost: $34,000

Here is a video of a 20kW unit made by Victory gas works.

First off I love the name of their company. These guys have a really informative site on wood gasification that I recommend checking out. They also offer complete power pallets, courses and DIY kits.

Features

Size: 20 kW

Type: Down Draft Gasifier

Uses: Heat and power, can be used to charge batteries, run a house or shop and heat your spaces

Fuel: wood blocks/chips

Cost: $19,000

Here is a video of a 20kW unit:

DIY Gasifier

This gasifier runs on wood pellets. This is a nice video as it explains how gasifiers work.

Here are the plans for this unit.

DIY Plans and Other Resources

Here is a great compilation of wood gasifiers and DIY plans. Build It Solar is a fantastic website

Here is another great site with a ton of resources.

Let me know what you think about gasifiers, if you have built your own and please share any additional resources below.

Thanks!