ABSTRACT

For an ethanol-from-biomass conversion facility to be successful, attention to the location of a high-quality, reliable, low-cost feedstock is of utmost importance. Biomass markets can comprise a single type of biomass or a group of biomass products from separate resources that have common characteristics. For example, the feedstock market for wood-fired power plants is wood waste, but this waste can come from many sources: forest and mill residues, manufacturing and urban wastes, and the fruit and nut industry. The most important characteristic of wood markets is the location of the future demand for capacity. Biomass is a heterogeneous material. This is obvious with Municipal Solid Waste (MSW), but is also true for other feedstocks. The bulk of the biomass stream in the MSW is forest products such as paper, cardboard, and wood. Most papers and cardboards are chemically processed to remove lignin from mixtures of hardwoods and softwoods.