Biomass
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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