Wood treatment method and apparatus employing enhanced wood-transporting cart drive system

A system for treating wood, said system comprising:

• a chemical modification reactor for receiving and chemically modifying at least one bundle of wood;
• a wood heater for receiving and heating said bundle of wood;
• and
• a bundle transport system for moving said bundle of wood into, out of, and between said chemical modification reactor and said wood heater,
• wherein said bundle transport system comprises a first cart for transporting said bundle of wood and a cart drive system for enabling the movement of said first cart,
• wherein said cart drive system comprises at least one active component for providing energy to move said cart and at least one passive component for receiving at least a portion of said energy provided by said active component for moving said cart,
• wherein said active component is physically separate from said cart and said passive component is coupled to and configured to move with said first cart.

A process for treating wood, said process comprising:

• (a) loading at least one bundle of wood onto a first cart;
• (b) moving said bundle of wood and said first cart into the interior of a chemical modification reactor;
• (c) removing said first cart from the interior of said chemical modification reactor, while leaving said bundle of wood in said chemical modification reactor;
• (d) chemically modifying said bundle of wood in said chemical modification reactor to thereby provide a treated bundle of wood;
• (e) moving said treated bundle of wood out of said chemical modification reactor and into the interior of a wood heater with a second cart;
• and
• (f) heating said treated bundle of wood in said wood heater to thereby provide a heated bundle of wood,
• wherein at least a portion of said moving of steps (b) and (e) are carried out using at least one active drive component physically separate from said first and said second carts.

A system for treating wood, said system comprising:

• a chemical modification reactor comprising a first reactor door;
• a wood heater comprising a first heater door;
• and
• a bundle transport system for transporting a bundle of wood into, out of, and between said chemical modification reactor and said wood heater, said bundle transport system comprising a first cart, a second cart, and a cart drive system,
• wherein said cart drive system comprises a first active component operable to move said first cart into and/or out of said chemical modification reactor and a second active component operable to move said second cart into and/or out of said wood heater, wherein said first and said second active components are permanently located outside the interiors of said chemical modification reactor and said wood heater,
• wherein said axes of elongation of said chemical modification reactor and said wood heater are substantially parallel to one another.