Editing Wood gas (section)

== History ==
[[File:Petrol Substitutes in USE For Public Transport in Leeds, England C 1943 D15675.jpg|thumb|right|A bus, powered by wood gas generated by a gasifier on a trailer, Leeds, England, {{circa|1943}}]] 
The first wood gasifier was apparently built by [[Gustav Bischof]] in 1839. The first vehicle powered by wood gas was built by [[Thomas Hugh Parker|T.H. Parker]] in 1901.<ref>
{{cite web
 | title = Thomas Hugh Parker
 | series = Genealogy
 | website = localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk
 | url = http://www.localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk/genealogy/Parker/ThomasHughParker.htm
 | url-status = dead | access-date = 2008-02-05
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130505163755/http://www.localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk/genealogy/Parker/ThomasHughParker.htm
 | archive-date = 2013-05-05
}}
</ref>
Around 1900, many cities delivered fuel gases (centrally produced, typically from [[coal]]) to residences. [[Natural gas]] came into use only in the 1930s.

Wood gas vehicles were used during [[World War II]] as a consequence of the rationing of fossil fuels. In Germany alone, around 500,000&nbsp;"[[producer gas]]" vehicles were in use at the end of the war. Trucks, buses, tractors, motorcycles, ships, and trains were equipped with a wood gasification unit. In 1942, when wood gas had not yet reached the height of its popularity, there were about 73,000&nbsp;wood gas vehicles in Sweden,<ref>
{{cite book
 |last=Ekerholm |first=Helena
 |year=2012
 |section=Cultural meanings of wood gas as automobile fuel in Sweden, 1930–1945
 |editor1=Möllers, Nina
 |editor2=Zachmann, Karin
 |title=Past and Present Energy Societies: How energy connects politics, technologies, and cultures
 |place=Bielefeld, DE
 |publisher=Transcript Verlag
}}
</ref>
65,000 in France, 10,000 in Denmark, and almost 8,000 in Switzerland. In 1944, Finland had 43,000&nbsp;"woodmobiles", of which 30,000 were buses and trucks, 7,000&nbsp;private vehicles, 4,000&nbsp;tractors and 600&nbsp;boats.<ref>
{{cite magazine
 |title=Wood gas vehicles: Firewood in the fuel tank
 |date=18 January 2010
 |magazine=Low-Tech Magazine
 |url=http://www.lowtechmagazine.com/2010/01/wood-gas-cars.html
 |access-date=October 8, 2023
}}
</ref>

Wood gasifiers are still manufactured in China and Russia for automobiles and as power generators for industrial applications. Trucks retrofitted with wood gasifiers are used in [[North Korea]]<ref>
{{cite web
 |first=David |last=Wogan
 |date=2 January 2013
 |title=How North Korea fuels its military trucks with trees
 |type=blog
 |website=Scientific American (scientificamerican.com)
 |url=http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/plugged-in/how-north-korea-fuels-its-military-trucks-with-trees/
 |access-date=June 22, 2016
}}
</ref>
in rural areas, particularly on the roads of the east coast.

[[Image:Wood gasifier on epa tractor.jpg|thumb|A [[wood gas generator]] fitted to a [[Ford Motor Company|Ford]] truck converted into a tractor, Per Larsson Tractor Museum, Sweden, 2003]]
[[File:Planet Mechanics wood gasifier.png|thumb|right|Wood gasifier system]]
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-V00670, Berlin, Pkw mit Holzgasantrieb.jpg|thumb|right|A wood-gas powered car, Berlin, 1946. Note the secondary radiator, required to cool the gas before it is introduced into the engine.]]