[Gasification] methanol production from wood gas?

[drew]

The quote below is from
http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel_library/woodgas.pdf#search=%22alternatives%20to%20fossil%20fuel%20generators%22

I wonder if anyone more qualified to comment on the chemistry involved 
here would do so?   This seems a little too easy, as is the rest of the 
document, inspirational, but the important details are the devil........

Clifford W. Mossberg 1991 writes in Home Power magazine issue 24  
feb/march 1991 page 59

"Catalyzing the methane and methyl gas can be accomplished
crudely but simply. The gas which comes out of the generator
canister is routed through a copper pipe with a copper "Chore Girl"
pot scrubber inserted in it. A one inch copper pipe about twenty
feet long attached directly to the generator outlet and having the
"Chore Girl" inserted into it loosely should do the job. The inlet of
the pipe should be above the outlet so that any methanol
condensing in the catalyzer can drain out. Insulating the catalyzer
to keep the temperature up will help greatly. Soft copper pipe
formed into a large coil makes a relatively compact catalyzer. The
outlet from the catalyzer is attached to the cooling (condenser)
stages.
I've suggested a copper catalyst (the Chore Girl) because of its
availability and cost but it is not the most efficient catalyst. It may
well be that a platinum catalyst would be much more efficient but a
custom built platinum catalyst would be very expensive. With the
common availability of platinum based automotive catalytic
converters, use of one of these converters may be a better
alternative than what I have described. I have no hands-on
knowledge of that though."

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