Biomass Use on a Global Scale

Excerpt

Biomass is an extremely diverse resource that can be converted to multiple energy end uses (heat, electricity, transport fuels) through a range of mature and prospective technologies. Understanding the various options available to use biomass for energy, and their relative technical, economic, and environmental merits is important in understanding how biomass can be most effectively used. This understanding needs to be complemented by an understanding of the drivers (e.g., competing technologies, economic value, relative environmental benefits) for using biomass in different applications, and how these may change in the future. This chapter describes the different ways in which biomass can be used to produce heat, electricity, and transport fuels, covering a range of feedstock, conversion technologies, and intermediate products, and discusses the current and prospective use of biomass in different applications. …