ABSTRACT
Sources of biomass are agriculture (including vegetal and animal substances), forestry, fisheries and aquaculture, algae, and industrial and municipal waste.
Agricultural biomass feedstocks include those used for food and non-food applications and those only used for non-food applications. Those used for food and non-food applications include sugarcane, corn, sugar beets, cereals, canola, oil palm, jatropha, soybean, sorghum, and cassava. Those only used for non-food applications include dedicated energy crops, dedicated material and fiber crops, and agricultural crop residues.
Forest biomass feedstocks fall into one of two categories: forest residues left after logging timber or whole-tree biomass harvested explicitly for biomass.
Algae as biomass feedstocks refer to a diverse group of highly productive organisms, including microalgae, macroalgae (seaweed), and cyanobacteria.
The microbial biomass consists primarily of bacteria and fungi.
Biomass feedstocks also include municipal solid waste (MSW) and wet waste.
