Early production methods for generating fuels from biomass created a “food vs. fuel” dilemma. Such fuel production is also expensive. Later developed production methods adresses these issues by focusing on feedstocks that are cheap, plentiful and that do not compete with food.


Biomass Content
The main components that make up plants are:

- Lignin (the woody material) 10-20%

- Cellulose 40-50%

- Hemi-cellulose10-20%

- Rest-organic material 10-20%

Some plants used for food contain significant portions of sugar and starch (for instance sugar cane and corn)

Cellulostic Fuel Production Process

Cellulose and hemi-cellulose can be transformed into sugars that can be fermented into different kind s of fuel. This is a Cellulostic Fuel Production Process.


Lignin
The lignin is separated out in the ENEnergy Cellulostic Fuel Production Process
Lignin contains a very concentrated form of energy, similar to coal. Lignin can be burnt in a coal-fired power station to generate power, and it can be used as a feedstock in for example chemical manufacturing.  


Volumes
By developing methods for Cellulostic Fuel Production, we can build a production supplying the huge volumes needed.

To achieve this, ENEnergy has chosen to work with specially selected, high-density biomass crops that will grow on marginal land, such as saline or damaged soils.