Biomass

Basics

• Any source of material (usually in a fuel context) that is directly biologically sourced

Non-Processed Biomass Types

Cellulosic Biomass

• Can include wood, but typically reffers to grasses and other "loose" cellulose based organic matter

Wood

• Either hardwood, softwood, or bamboo
• Can be burned as is, used for structual work, be made into paper, or made into some of the products listed below

Misc. Organic Matter

• Such as leaves, agricultural waste (ie corn husks etc), etc
• Can be burned as is, composted, put into a biodigester, or made into some of the products listed below

Plant Oils

• Algae Oil, Canola Oil, Soybean Oil etc
• Can be burned as is, or converted to biodiesel

Waste Oil

• Oil from things such as deep fryers etc
• Can be of a lesser quality than direct feedstock oils (due to degredation/chemical conversion from heat etc.), but is still usable when cleaned/purified for biodiesel, or being burned as is

Partally Processed Biomass Types

Sawdust

• Wood either ground into sawdust as a byproduct of another process (such as using the Sawmill), or only for the purpose of making sawdust
• Can be used as is, or made into additional products listed below

Sawdust Pellets

• Is sawdust run through a pellet mill
• Is uniform in size, moisture content, and is very easy to store + measure

Sawdust Briquette

• Is sawdust pressed into a briquette
• Is similar to the Sawdust pellets, but larger, and thus they have a longer burn time

Sawdust Brick

• Is sawdust pressed into a brick
• May use a variation of the CEB Press
• Is similar to the Sawdust pellets, but larger, and thus they have a longer burn time (also may be interchangable / Cofire-able with Firewood )

Charcoal Dust

• Charcoal that has been powderized
• Either used for chemistry, or in a charcoal dust burner

Charcoal Pellets

• Either sawdust pellets that hae been made into charcoal, or dust compressed into pellets

Charcoal Briquettes

• Either sawdust briquettes that have been made into charcoal, or charcoal dust compressed into a briquette

Charcoal Bricks

• Either sawdust bricks that have been made into charcoal, or charcoal dust that has been compressed into bricks

Biomass to Fuel Products

Biogas

• A mixtue of methane, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and water vapor
• Obtained directly from biodigesters

Bio-Methane

• Pure (or near pure) Methane Gas
• Obtained by filtering and drying Biodigester Gas

Ethanol

• Obtained by fermenting either sugar, or carbohydrate heavy biomass (such as sugarcane and corn), or by using pure sugar

Methanol

• Obtained (although in smaller ammounts) by fermenting either sugar, or carbohydrate heavy biomass (such as sugarcane and corn), or by using pure sugar
• Can also be obtained by destructive distillation of biomass (this is how it earned it's name "wood alchohol"), or by reacting pure methane with
  • Methanol can be made from methane via the following process Listed Here

Butanol

• Made via Butanol Fermentation
• Similar to gasoline

Dimethyl Ether

• Dimethyl Ether can be made from Methanol This Details How

Bio-Gasoline

• Can be made by Catalytically Converting Dimethyl Ether to Hydrocarbons such as Gasoline This Details How

Bio-Diesel

• Is made from a reaction between sodium hydroxide (or potasium hydroxide) and oil (either feedstock oil, or cleaned/purifed waste oil)
• Can be used anywhere diesel is used

Cellulose to Sugar

• This is useful for ethanol fermentaion
• Cellulose to Sugar with low energy but expensive materials

Internal Links

• Open Source Fuels Construction Set

External Links

• The Wikipedia Page on Biomass