biomass fuels

biomass fuels are fuels derived either from organic matter or organic matter derivatives. It's a 'broad church' of technologies with many interesting avenues of research and development. The most commonly encountered biomass fuels at the time of writing are:

Biodiesel
Diesel-fuel produced from processing bio-based raw ingredients. Yellow Grease and vegetable oils are the most common of those. This is a booming area, not least due to punative fuel duties which many argue are more for fiscal gain than envronmental protection! Biodiesel can be made at home or on an industrial scale and the methods of doing so reflect this wide spectrum.

BioEthanol
In a similar vein to Biodiesel, only this fuel is added to conventional, fossil-based petrol in varying degrees. Usually, up to 5% but it can comprise 85% - 90% of the petrol mix if target engines are suitably modified.

Biomass Plasma
This is really an industrial-scale-only application at the moment. It refers to the area of biomass plasma gasification and pyrolysis to create synthetic gases (syngas) which can then be used to generate energy through a variety of means.

This biomass fuels section of the site is designed to provide a varied and interesting resource which will allow you to read up on the theory of it all, research how to go about using biofuels and even make a start into building your own equipment or finding a biofuel supplier. Additionally, you'll find all the latest news and developments in all the different areas of this green renewable throughout the pages.

We've also researched good, relavant further reading which can be found to the right hand side of each page. These links take you through to Amazon where you can take a closer look and make a purchase if you're so inclined.

biomass fuels articles

biomass fuels in the news

Converting biomass to jet fuel - tce today
26 Feb 2010 at 5:08pm
Chemistry WorldConverting biomass to jet fueltce todayCHEMICAL engineers have developed a two-step process that converts biomass into jet fuels without using precious metal catalysts. ...A new entry in the biomass-to-fuel raceNature.com (subscription) (blog)New efficient, environmentally friendly process turns biomass into jet fuelEnergy Efficiency NewsBreakthrough on converting biofuel </Finan...

Tackling timber - agreement reached - Manx Radio
9 Mar 2010 at 7:23am
Manx RadioTackling timber - agreement reachedManx RadioBut Mr Gawne says an agreement has now been reached where DAFF will supply Manx timber to the biomass company. He says the forestry division has had ...and more »

BA yet to gain official approval for biojet fuel from food scraps - The Guardian
15 Feb 2010 at 8:08pm
The GuardianBA yet to gain official approval for biojet fuel from food scrapsThe GuardianIn the US, there is only one plant producing jet fuel from biomass similar to the one planned by BA. Safety authorities there allow planes to run on a ...BA agrees deal to produce biomass jet fuelTheGreenCarWebsite.co.uk (blog)BA to use biofuel from planned new conversion plantFlightglobalBA in major eco-fu...

Denbighshire launch for Ł7.8m wood fuel grant - BBC News
25 Feb 2010 at 1:08pm
Denbighshire launch for Ł7.8m wood fuel grantBBC NewsShe visited a processing plant which creates biomass fuel from sustainable forests. It was funded by the first phase of WEBS, which supported projects ...Wood from Wales to power 10000 homesNews Walesall 4 news articles »

Poor could pay the price of EU biofuel quotas - The Engineer
8 Mar 2010 at 9:26am
The EngineerPoor could pay the price of EU biofuel quotasThe EngineerAn EU-funded project aimed at designing 'sustainable' biomass processing is underway despite claims from environmental groups and charities that increased ...

Drax power plant suspends plan to replace coal with greener fuel - Times Online
18 Feb 2010 at 9:56pm
Times OnlineDrax power plant suspends plan to replace coal with greener fuelTimes OnlineShe said that it was cheaper for Drax to pay for emissions permits to burn coal, the most polluting fossil fuel, than to switch to biomass. ...Drax shelves its green fuel ideaThe Press, YorkDrax chief says carbon prices too lowFinancial TimesDrax shelves plans to run plant on biomassBetter Generation (blog)D...