Nicholas Pohlman, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Northern Illinois University, Thomas Canam, Department of Biological Sciences, Eastern Illinois University, Paul Wever, President, Chip Energy, Inc.
Shipping containers may be able to achieve the biomass density necessary to have alternative feedstocks serve as a viable energy commodity. Incorporating some pre-treatment materials while loading can simultaneously convert the transportation devices into solid state fermentation vessels (SSFV) that have a passive, environmental temperature conversion process. A progress report on the fabrication of ¼-scale containers with integrated loading hopper with white rot fungus permeation will be provided. Leveraging waste raw materials from rural Illinois, features of the 20 ft3 containers will be described including reinforcement structures, loading features, ports for sample collection and monitoring sensors, and mechanisms for easy handling. Preliminary tests using large particulate matter spray nozzles will show effectiveness of pre-treatment coverage with white rot fungus. Future plans for testing a variety of feedstocks including chopped miscanthus and switchgrass are provided along with planned measurements of input energy during loading to confirm positive energy-return-on-investment. Scale up to future commercialization will be evaluated as a function of the lab-scale experimental results.