Utilization of bioresources as fuels and energy generation

Abstract

Energy crises and the continuously fluctuating cost of petroleum have moved researchers' attention toward new sustainable and renewable energy sources and materials. Biomass or bioresources is one of the most abundant and cheapest renewable energy sources and materials, and is environmentally friendly and available in certain countries in the world. It has been identified as one of the main sources of sustainable energy in the fifth fuel strategy in Malaysia. This chapter describes several possible routes to provide energy as well as potential value-added products from bioresources. The various pretreatments and characteristics of potential bioresources are presented. Besides direct combustion of biomass, the products from other thermochemical conversion processes could be converted to renewable biofuels, materials, and chemicals. The applications of these renewable sources to produce biofuels, materials, and chemicals have been used in some countries around the world. The implementation of biomass technology will be best utilized and feasible when the technology is developed indigenously, and fabricated and commissioned with the utilization of locally produced biomass. Thus, with the available research and development efforts developed locally, the ability to utilize local expertise will reduce the high cost of imported technology.