Biomass includes any plant biomass containing cellulose or other complex carbohydrates that are not directly used as a human or animal food source, as well as carbohydrate food waste streams. Biomass can be converted to liquid fuels and chemicals using several different conversion pathways.
- These feedstocks include residual biomass, such as forestry and agricultural waste, and dedicated energy crops such as switchgrass, Miscanthus, or macroalgae.
- Complex carbohydrates are broken down into more accessible molecules and converted into fuels via thermochemical or biochemical conversion pathways.
- Multiple variations of thermochemical and biochemical conversion pathways are being tested at demonstration scale and are moving toward commercial production.
- Complex and inefficient biomass supply chains, requiring the aggregation of biomass from multiple sources prior to transport, have been cost-prohibitive to date.
- Many companies are exploring the use of dedicated energy crops to reduce aggregation and transport costs.