This two-volume book on biomass is a reflection of the increase in biomass related research and applications, driven by overall higher interest in sustainable energy and food sources, by increased awareness of potentials and pitfalls of using biomass for energy, by the concerns for food supply and by multitude of potential biomass uses as a source material in organic chemistry, bringing in the concept of bio-refinery. It reflects the trend in broadening of biomass related research and an increased focus on second-generation bio-fuels. Its total of 40 chapters spans over diverse areas of biomass research, grouped into 9 themes.

This two-volume book on biomass is a reflection of the increase in biomass related research and applications, driven by overall higher interest in sustainable energy and food sources, by increased awareness of potentials and pitfalls of using biomass for energy, by the concerns for food supply and by multitude of potential biomass uses as a source material in organic chemistry, bringing in the concept of bio-refinery. It reflects the trend in broadening of biomass related research and an increased focus on second-generation bio-fuels. Its total of 40 chapters spans over diverse areas of biomass research, grouped into 9 themes.

This book provides general information and data on one of the most promising renewable energy sources: biomass for its thermochemical conversion. During the last few years, there has been increasing focus on developing the processes and technologies for the conversion of biomass to liquid and gaseous fuels and chemicals, in particular to develop low-cost technologies. This book provides date-based scientific information on the most advanced and innovative processing of biomass as well as the process development elements on thermochemical processing of biomass for the production of biofuels and bio-products on (biomass-based biorefinery). The conversion of biomass to biofuels and other value-added products on the principle biorefinery offers potential from technological perspectives as alternate energy. The book covers intensive R&D and technological developments done during the last few years in the area of renewable energy utilizing biomass as feedstock and will be highly beneficial for the researchers, scientists and engineers working in the area of biomass-biofuels- biorefinery. Provides the most advanced and innovative thermochemical conversion technology for biomass Provides information on large scales such as thermochemical biorefinery Useful for researchers intending to study scale up Serves as both a textbook for graduate students and a reference book for researchers Provides information on integration of process and technology on thermochemical conversion of biomass

From time immemorial, firewood has been a very important source of energy for mankind. Later in history, wood for energy decreased its importance because of other more convenient and cheaper sources, mainly fossil fuels. Today, focus is again on use of forests as a producer of energy with main drivers being climate change, shortage and increasing prices of fossil fuel sources, and safety in energy supplies. However, intensive use of forest biomass is qu- tioned since fundamental ecological processes may be influenced negatively thus making up a trade-off with the benefits of using an otherwise sustainable source of energy. In this book, selected aspects of intensive use of forest b- mass for energy is treated with main focus on ecological aspects like maintenance of soil fertility, recycling of the combustion ash, inf- ence on biodiversity and pests, and economical aspects both at forest owners level and for society. Another focus point is the implemen- tion of this knowledge into decision support, recommendations and guidelines. The geographical scope is mainly the Nordic and Baltic region. The EU-financed project “Wood for Energy, - a contribution to the development of sustainable forest Management” (WOOD-EN- 1 MAN) , make up the frame for the book. Seven partners participated in the project: Forest & Landscape Denmark, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Finnish Forest Research Institute, Norwegian Forest and Landscape Institute, Lithuanian Forest Research Institute, Latvian State Forestry Research Institute, and Estonian University of Life Sciences with Forest & Landscape Denmark as coordinator.

Biotechnological Applications of Biomass provides a comprehensive overview of the current state of the art of biomass utilization in agriculture and pharmaceuticals. The information contained herein is useful to researchers and other readers interested in biomass utilization and production of bioproducts.