Libros UCLV { BETA }

fuel. The gasification of coal and biomass began in about 1800 and by about 1850 gas light for streets was commonplace. Before the construction of natural gas pipelines, there were many “gasworks” serving larger town and cities in Europe and the US. During the petroleum shortages of World War II, almost a million gasifiers were used to run cars, trucks, and buses using primarily wood as a fuel. These gasifiers were mothballed after the return to peace and the availability of inexpensive petroleum fuels. However, the oil crisis in the 1970’s and 1980’s has inspired continued research and development of coal gasifiers. Since the 1990’s, concerns about global warming shifted the focus to biomass as a gasifier fuel. Due to its higher efficiency, it is desirable that gasification becomes increasingly applied in future rather than direct combustion. Gaseous fuels can be easily distributed for domestic and industrial use, used in electricity producing devices such as engines, gas turbines and fuel cells, or for chemical synthesis of liquid fuels and chemicals.