Logistics of biomass feedstock: the key to biofuel production

摘要

Global climate change, energy security and rural development have stimulated the development of biomass for energy. As one of the most commonly used renewable sources of energy, biomass comes from various feedstocks including dedicated energy crops (e.g., switchgrass) and agricultural residues (e.g., corn stover and wheat straw), and has become an important alternative energy source to alleviate the reliance on oil, natural gas, coal and other fossil energy, as well as being regarded as one of the solutions to meet strategic goals- the EU's so called '20-20-20' target. Also, the USA has a mandate in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, which by the year 2022 requires that the USA should be using 36 billion gallons of renewable transportation fuel.