Quote:
Originally Posted by Raellus
I imagine that natural gas and/or propane would be pretty hard to come by after 1997 or so. Hence, a return to coal.
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Actually, there are a number of ways to generate gases that burn. In the thread "MANIFEST DESTINY RUMINATIONS" I discuss how to generate quantities of both hydrogen and oxygen for an airship. Both gases burn and could be used both in forging and for replacing gases in an Oxy-Acetalyne rig.
Wood Gasification is in fact a viable option IF you have enough wood to burn. The waste byproduct (charcoaled wood) is both a good fertilizer and a decent source of carbon (IF the wood was a hardwood) for making higher tensile steels.
The easiest method would be a Methane Gas Digestor. A digestor is simply a large airtight container (usually a plastic drum or tank of large size) that manure or feces is placed into and then soaked with water to form a slurry. A common microbe (the kind found in the product RID for septic tanks) is then added. The microbe will feed on the feces and generate METHANE Gas. This gas is trapped by the digestor and siphoned out of the top. In my area, many electric Co-ops use this gas (burned to power a generator) to create electricity, which then gets dumped into the grid. A bonus is that after the microbes have done their job, you can STILL use the manure to fertilize your fields. Landfills also generate huge quantities of Methane Gas and you will see power plants at such facilities burning the Methane not only to make electricity but also to reduce the explosion hazard of the landfill.
To concentrate such gas into propane bottles, all you need is a SCUBA tank compressor and you can pack a fair volume of gas into those bottles.
I actually use Digestors in my version of Krakow. The populace takes their urine and feces (in separate containers) to collection points in their neighborhoods. There they can trade 1Kg of waste for 2L of potable water. The urine is used in manufacturing (mostly to make explosives and gunpowder) and the feces goes to the digestors to make the industrial gases that Krakow needs. The city even offers this deal to the camps on the outskirts of the city because these are much-needed "resources." All human, chicken, and swine wastes are put into special digestors and once done producing Methane are BURNED in certain boilers in the power plant along with paper garbage and certain other refuse. The ash from THESE BOILERS is then combined with the manure slurry from horses, sheep, goats, and cows to fertilize the fields. The coal ash (which contains toxins) in the rest of the boilers is turned over to the Electric Furnace due to its high Carbon content. Thus enabling Krakow to make small multi-ton quantities of high-tensile steel from mild steel salvaged from vehicles and structures both inside and outside the city (salvage is key to my Krakow's survival).
In my world people don't waste resources willingly...