ABSTRACT
This chapter examines several existing modular processes for biomass and waste conversion industries. It describes several existing modular processes for these unit operations. The treatment of biomass and waste for fuels or power is well suited for distributed and modular operations. Three important unit operations for biomass or waste feed preparation are drying, grinding, and pelletizing. The integration of biomass gasification with solid oxide fuel cells offers the potential of highly efficient and renewable power generation, primarily in modular solutions. The modular units of the invention bring the conversion process to the biomass source, thereby minimizing feedstock transportation costs. The optimization routine can include at least one constraint related to transportation distances of carbon-containing feed material sources to possible sites for the modular units. A system of the invention can further comprise a server computer linking the plurality of modular units, wherein the server computer is capable of performing calculations and sending output data across a network.
