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Biomass as Feedstock

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Handbook of Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation

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Abstract

The world has a wide variety of biofeedstocks. Biomass is a term used to describe any material of recent biological origin, including plant materials such as trees, grasses, agricultural crops, or animal manure. In this chapter, the formation of biomass by photosynthesis and the different mechanisms of photosynthesis giving rise to biomass classification are discussed. Then, these classifications and composition of biomass are explained. The various methods used to make biomass amenable for energy, fuel, and chemical production are discussed next. These methods include pretreatment of biomass, biochemical routes of conversion like fermentation, anaerobic digestion, transesterification, and thermochemical routes like gasification and pyrolysis. An overview of current and future biomass feedstock materials, for example, algae, perennial grass, and other forms of genetically modified plants, is described including the current feedstock availability in the United States.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA

    Debalina Sengupta

  2. Louisiana State University, 1139 Energy, Coast and Environment Building, 70803, Baton Rouge, LA, USA

    Debalina Sengupta

Authors
  1. Debalina Sengupta
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Correspondence to Debalina Sengupta .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Mississippi Dept. Chemical Engineering, University, Mississippi, USA

    Wei-Yin Chen

  2. Advanced Manufacturing Research Inst. Functional Assembly Technology Group, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science & Technology (AIST), Nagoya, Japan

    Toshio Suzuki

  3. und Technische Biowissenschaften, TU Wien Inst. Verfahrenstechnik, Umwelttechnik, Wien, Austria

    Maximilian Lackner

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Sengupta, D. (2015). Biomass as Feedstock. In: Chen, WY., Suzuki, T., Lackner, M. (eds) Handbook of Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6431-0_25-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6431-0_25-2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-6431-0

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Chemistry and Mat. ScienceReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Chemistry, Materials and Physics

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