Book Description

Environmental and energy dependency problems derived from high fossil fuels consumption have made necessary the development of new energy models to be renewable and sustainable, efficient, practical and economical, and cost effective, to meet the demand for a sustainable energy supply. Among renewable resources, biomass is destined to play an important role in these new energy models since agricultural and forestry residues are an energy resource which is produced in relatively large amounts throughout the world and regarded as a renewable and environmentally safe way of providing energy. Compiling information on the conversion of energy from biomass, the book focuses on the use of pellets as homogeneous solid biofuels. It describes all the changes that forestry and agricultural biomass undergo to be converted into thermal energy and analyses the inputs and outputs of the process. It has to be noted that the standards used as guidelines and references in all the chapters of the book are there in order to not to forget the thresholds and guidelines established and thus to ensure a proper use. This book guides the reader through the entire biomass-to-energy process, emphasising important aspects and how the quality of the biofuel can be identified. It acts as a starting point for professionals and researchers interested in working with biomass and a guide for those people interested in the implementation of the technologies described.