Thanks for all y'all's help with the black powder rockets. I'm working on a low tech (TL 3-5) world with no access to fossil fuels -- think a world terraformed in the last few tens of thousands of years. I've been trying to work out the infrastructure for such a world, and power production is a biggie. Wind and water power are good for the cities, but portable power sources are a problem.
At first, I was stuck with two fuel sources from FF&S: alcohol and wood. I managed to work out the stats for "wood gas" when I stumbled across doing research on steel:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood_gas
Mass and price would be the same as for hydrocarbon distillates, but the power output would be divided by eight. Not a particularly attractive technology, and it doesn't solve the deforestation problem, which on our world was fixed by the increasing use of coal. Alcohol, of course, eats into the food supply so it's not going to be super popular, either, although it would be used to a greater or lesser extent.
Peat is available, but I cannot find stats on its energy density.
On the plus side, as near as I can tell, steel should be available as it has a low carbon content, and that could be supplied by charcoal.
If any of y'all have any ideas for fuels, limitations on technology because of the lack of fossil fuels, or clever workarounds for some of those limitations, I would appreciate hearing your ideas.
Gerry Harris
http://www.aethertraveller.com
"Cry 'Havoc,' and let slip the dogs of war"
— Antony, "Julius Caesar," Act 3, Scene 1