Wood fuel

Wood burning is the largest current use of biomass derived energy. Wood can be used as a solid fuel for cooking or heating, or occasionally for steam engines.

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The use of wood as a fuel source for home heat is as old as civilization itself. Historically, it was limited in use only by the distribution of technology required to make a spark. Wood heat is still common throughout much of the world, although it has been mainly replaced with coal, oil or natural gas heating.

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Early examples include the use of wood heat in tents. Fires were constructed on the ground, and a smoke hole in the top of the tent allowed the smoke to escape by convection.

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In permanent structures, hearths were constructed -- surfaces of stone or another noncombustible material upon which a fire could be built. Smoke escaped through a smoke hole in the roof.

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The development of the chimney and the fireplace allowed for more effective exhaustion of the smoke.

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The stove was a technological development concurrent with the industrial revolution. Stoves were manufactured or constructed pieces of equipment that contained the fire on all sides and provided a means for controlling the draft - the amount of air allowed to reach the fire. Stoves have been made of a variety of materials. Cast iron is among the more common. Soapstone (talc), tile, and steel have all been used. Metal stoves are often lined with refractory materials such as firebrick, since the hottest part of a woodburning fire will burn away steel over the course of several years' use.

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The Franklin stove was developed in the United States by Benjamin Franklin. More a manufactured fireplace than a stove, it had an open front and a heat exchanger in the back that was designed to draw air from the cellar and heat it before releasing it out the sides. The heat exchanger was never a popular feature and was omitted in later versions. So-called "Franklin" stoves today are made in a great variety of styles, though none resembles the original design.

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The airtight stove, originally made of steel, allowed greater control of combustion, being more tightly fitted than other stoves of the day. Airtight stoves became common in the 19th century.

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Biomass: Biomass is organic non-fossil material, collectively. In other words, biomass comprises the mass of all biological organisms, dead or alive, excluding biological mass that has been transformed by geological processes into substances such as coal or petroleum....

Solid fuel: Solid fuel is a term given to various types of solid material that provide energy. This energy is usually released by combustion (burning). Solid fuel can also refer to a type of rocket propellant (see solid rocket)....

Cooking: Cooking is the act of preparing food for consumption. It encompasses a vast range of methods, tools and combinations of ingredients to improve the flavour and/or digestibility of food. It generally requires the selection, measurement and combining of ingredients in an ordered procedure in an effort ...

Wood fuel related Images and Photos (experimental)

Wood Duck	Wood Ties	Wood Nymph	Wood Ducks
Wood Grain	Wood Grain	Wood Chessmen	Ed Wood
The Wood	Wood Study I	Wood Duck Decoy	Autumn Wood