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These hybrid poplar wood chips, made from trees that regrow rapidly, may be used as a feedstock for biofuel production. Courtesy Department of Energy/National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).

Biomass is plant material—fast-growing trees and grasses, grains, corn, sugar cane, wood scrap, even woody leaves and stalks and garbage. It is a sun-dependent renewable feedstock that can be used to produce biofuel. This type of fuel can be converted into gaseous and liquid fuels for electric power generation and automobile propulsion.

Bushels into barrels

Chemical engineers have been instrumental in the development and commercialization of processes that allow bushels of biomass to be turned into barrels of fuel. They will continue to play an increasingly important role in the quest to achieve greater energy self-sufficiency with more environmentally friendly, renewable sources of fuel and electricity.

Ethanol

Made by fermenting biomass rich in carbohydrates (starches and sugars), ethanol is a gasoline-like alcohol. It is currently finding wide use in the production of a gasoline ethanol mixture, raising octane while reducing pollutants. With engine modifications it can be used as a direct gasoline substitute.

Biodiesel

Made from vegetable oils, animal fat, and even recycled cooking grease, biodiesel is a functional alternative to conventional diesel. Many diesel engines that can use this renewable fuel with no change in performance are already available. Biodiesel is also inherently cleaner than fossil-fuel diesel.

Electricity from biomass

Renewable feedstocks, such as forest and agriculture residues, landfill gases, and municipal wastes, can be used to generate electricity. Four basic methods are now being used:

• Direct firing, where biomass is burned directly;
• Co-firing, where biomass is mixed with fossil fuels;
• Biomass gasification that turns biomass into synthetic gas; and
• Anaerobic digestion that promotes biomass decay to produce methane, the principal component of the natural gas we burn today.