
199© 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
4
Capturing Solar Energy through Biomass
Biorenewable resources, sometimes referred to as biomass, are organic materials of recent
biological origin [8]. This denition is deliberately broad with the intent of only excluding
fossil fuel resources from the wide variety of organic materials that arise from the biotic
environment.
We have the technology to convert biorenewable resources into a variety of gaseous
and liquid fuels using both thermal and biological processes. Which process and prod-
uct we choose depends upon the nature of available biomass feedstock and the target
market. Gaseous bioenergy products ...