Biomass Feedstock Production and Provision: Overview, Current Status, and Challenges

Abstract

Biomass-based renewable energy will play a critical role in meeting the future global energy demands. Lignocellulosic biomass, such as agricultural residue, perennial grasses, and woody biomass, will constitute a major portion of the feedstock for these biomass-based energy systems. However, successful transition to this second-generation bioenergy system will require cost-efficient, reliable, and sustainable biomass feedstock production and provision (BFPP). The BFPP system includes the operations of agronomic production of energy crops and physical processing and handling/delivery of biomass, as well as other enabling logistics. On the technical side, biological, physical, and chemical sciences need to be integrated with engineering and technology to ensure effective and efficient production of biomass feedstock. However, low energy and bulk densities, seasonal availability, and distributed supply create unique challenges for BFPP. Lack of experience and established standards provide additional challenges for large-scale production and provision of energy crops. The aim of this book is to summarize the current state of knowledge, identify research gaps, and provide future research directions on the topic of BFPP. Towards that end, the goal of this chapter is to set the foundation for the subsequent chapters that focus on specific components within this system. This BFPP system and its components are briefly described, current status and challenges are identified, and the research needs are highlighted. A typical production system based on current understanding and technological availability is also described. The chapter, therefore, provides an introduction to the advanced chapters that appear subsequently in the book.