The best way to sum up the various uses of Biomass and the processes involved in its harnessing is to

sum up the products that can be created from the feedstock. So from all of the available biomass
feedstock that can be harnessed and through the various processes the products include:
· Heat (that can be used to heat water for use or central heating and to produce steam for use with
steam turbines)
· Gas (to be used to drive gas turbines)
· Char that can be burned to produce heat again
· Oil (for burning)
· Straw (again for burning)
· Ethanol (to be used as is or mixed with gasoline)
· Methane
· Methanol (to be used as fuel for especially converted engines)
THERMOCHEMICAL PROCESSING
•COMBUSTION
THERMOCHEMICAL PROCESSING
•PYROLYSIS
THERMOCHEMICAL PROCESSING
•GASIFICATION
BIOCHEMICAL PROCESSING
Anaerobic Digestion
Anaerobic digestion occurs in the absence of air, the decomposition in this case is caused not by
heat but by bacterial action. Any organic substance can become subject to anaerobic digestion
so long as there are warm, wet and airless conditions.

MANUFACTGURING PROCESS:

HYDROLYSIS ACIDOGENESIS ACETOGENESIS METHANOGENESIS

• Hydrolysis is theoretically the first step of AD, during which the complex
organic matter (polymers) is decomposed into smaller units (mono- and
oligomers).
• During acidogenesis, the products of hydrolysis are converted by acidogenic
(fermentative) bacteria into methanogenic substrates. Simple sugars, amino
acids and fatty acids are degraded into acetate, carbon dioxide and hydrogen
(70%) as well as into volatile fatty acids (VFA) and alcohols (30%).
• Products from acidogenesis, which cannot be directly converted to methane
by methanogenic bacteria, are converted into methanogenic substrates
during acetogenesis.
• The production of methane and carbon dioxide from intermediate products is carried out by
methanogenic bacteria. 70% of the formed methane originates from acetate, while the
remaining 30% is produced from conversion of hydrogen (H) and carbon dioxide (CO2),
according to the following equations:

Methanogenesis is a critical step in the entire anaerobic digestion process, as it is the slowest
biochemical reaction of the process and biogas production reaches its peak during this step.
BIOCHEMICAL PROCESSING
•BIOETHANOL
MECHANICAL PROCESSING
•BIODIESEL
• Biodiesel is produced from vegetable oils, yellow grease, used cooking oils, and animal fats.
The production process, called transesterification, converts oils and fats into chemicals called
long-chain mono alkyl esters, which is called biodiesel when used as a fuel. These chemicals
are also referred to as fatty acid methyl esters or sometimes FAME. Roughly speaking, 100
pounds of oil or fat are reacted with 10 pounds of a short-chain alcohol (usually methanol) in
the presence of a catalyst (usually sodium hydroxide [NaOH] or rarely, potassium hydroxide
[KOH]) to form 100 pounds of biodiesel and 10 pounds of glycerin (or glycerol). Glycerin, a
co-product, is a sugar commonly used in the manufacture of pharmaceuticals and cosmetics.