Biomass Feedstock

Biomass feedstock uses all plant and plant-derived materials including starch, sugar, animal manure, and oil crops already used for food and energy. Biomass recently passed hydropower as the largest domestic source of renewable energy. It currently provides over three percent of the total energy consumption in the United States. Biomass is attractive because it's the only current renewable source of liquid transportation fuel. This makes it invaluable in reducing oil imports. 

Forests areas in the U.S. can bring in 368 million dry tons annually. Biomass feedstock conversion requires biomass processing systems for fuel treatment operations.

Agricultural areas in the U.S. can bring in nearly 1 billion dry tons of biomass annually and still meet all other demands. This projection includes 428 million dry tons of annual crop residues, 377 million dry tons of perennial crops, 87 million dry tons of grains used for biofuels, and 106 million dry tons of animal manures, process residues, and other feedstocks.

To have a sustainable, high-quality and working supply of biomass feedstock requires research and development on all parts of the biomass feedstock supply chain. It can range from genomics and plant breeding to harvesting techniques and crop production. The Biomass Program works with many partners. They include the Department of Energy's Office of Science in the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the national laboratories, and academic and industrial institutions to progress feedstock technologies from basic plant sciences to other areas such as harvesting.