Sustainable rural micro-enterprises through co- and tri-generation:review of concepts

Biomass production, conversion and utilization can be done locally with value addition to small farmers. However, new technical inputs are needed for profitable exploitation of biomass within the constraints related to land, water and skill availability and to provide higher quality of energy needed for rural industries. Trigeneration, which is generating energy simultaneously in three forms (electric power, heat for processing and refrigeration), helps in fully utilizing the stored energy in biomass and would be most appropriate for micro enterprises. This paper presents concepts in terms of trigeneration systems feasible for rural areas.