A Tractor that Runs on...Anything?

We talk about all kinds of new fuels and how they will alleviate our dependence on oil. But why don't we just make an engine that can run on anything? Well, Russell Henning, a student at San Jose University did just that. The Grasshopper, shown here, is a walk behind tractor that has an engine that will run on anything. Slash from a field, hay, coconut shells, dried food waste, anything, as long as it's organic and dry, can but put into the Grasshopper and the thing will run.

This is the first run-on-anything engine I've ever seen. Not only does it find a use for all that trash, it's also a simple and inexpensive machine that can increase productivity of farmers across the world. This doesn't prevent CO2 emission, but it does lessen the amount of mining and drilling needed to run a tractor.

Via ID Online

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How does it work?
written by Rob, September 18, 2006

I'm quite intrigued by this, how does it work, does it burn the organic matter, like a steam engine?
I Googled to find some more information, but came up blank, anyone know of any further links.

Turn it into a generator
written by Dave, September 18, 2006

I'd be interested to see what kind of electrical power could be kicked out of this thing - using it like a generator... That would make more sense to me than a tractor - especially if you can have several 1000 of them on hand to take to disaster areas. (where you have lots of scrap material around, but no easy way to get fuel in.)