Solid biomass

With a two-thirds share of biomass-based end energy in Germany, solid biomass plays a key role in the energy sector. The wood-powered heating sector alone accounts for half of all bioenergy. The relative importance of wood as a renewable energy source is even greater worldwide. The usage options and perspectives for solid biomass are very complex. In addition to direct use as a fuel for the heating and power supply, the concepts of the so-called “progressive” bioenergy sources primarily use solid biomass as a raw material. The issue of cascade use also plays an increasing role in this regard. ifeu deals with the issue of sustainability and the ecological advantages of solid biomass from many different angles. The key focus is on sustainable forest utilisation concepts and the efficient use of residual products, along with the various technical concepts for use and material flow management as a whole. Projects cover conventional life cycle assessments, including special analyses of carbon storage in cascade concepts, nature conservation in the case of the use of residual products from agriculture and forestry, and interfaces to the bioeconomy.

Contact

More information

For additional information on solid biomass, see the presentation by Horst Fehrenbach on occasion of the SB4E Conference in Güssing/Austria 2012.

Projects

Updating the input data for essential biogenic energy use paths (BioEm)

This project was commissioned by the Federal Environment Agency (FEA) to calculate emission factors for essential biomass usage pathways in Germany, whereby the GHG emission factors were supplemented…

Wissenschaftliche Studie

BIOCORE

The project focused on the production of a wide range of products from non-food biomass feedstocks using an innovative Organosolv technology.

SUPRABIO

The SUPRABIO project researched, developed and demonstrated a toolkit of novel generic processes that can be applied to a range of biorefinery concepts.

Global assessments and guidelines for sustainable liquid biofuel production in developing countries

This project investigated the sustainability of liquid bio-energy sources in developing countries. The aim was to enable the Global Environment Facility (GEF) to identify priorities for future work,…

BIOLYFE

The BIOLYFE project improved critical process steps and demonstrated the whole supply chain, from feedstock sourcing via fuel production to product utilisation.

Wood Cascades

The ifeu investigates the environmental impacts of wood use, and cascading wood material use in particular, with an LCA approachin reference to respective equivalent products made from other materials…

4F CROPS

The main objective of 4F CROPS was to collect and analyse all parameters that contribute to successful non-food farming systems in EU agriculture.

Wissenschaftliche Studie

Determination of the Environmental Implications of BtL Fuels Production and Biogas Production

ifeu used a screening life cycle assessment to evaluate the environmental impact of the production of biomass-to-liquid fuels and biogas in this project.

Wissenschaftliche Studie

Ecological Effects of using Palm Oil as a Source of Energy

In this project, ifeu analysed the ecological effects of the use of palm oil as a source of energy and identified optimization potenatial.

Wissenschaftliche Studie

Environmental and Socio-Economic Assessment of Stationary Energetic Use of Imported Biofuels: The Case of Palm Oil

The study analyses the characteristics of palm oil, possibilities of using it for energy as well as the environmental, economic and social consequences thereof.

Ecological assessment of novel logistics concepts for biofuels

Biogenic fuels are increasingly relevant in recent times. However, there are considerable potentials available for exploration in addition to the established biofuels derived from oil, sugar and…

LCA for Biomass-to-Liquid Fuels: An Environmental In-Depth Assessment

At present, BtL (Biomass-to-Liquid) fuels are the subject of various R&D projects on 2nd generation biofuels. However, the state of knowledge on the environmental impacts of BtL fuels is very limited.…

Bioenergy chains from perennial crops in South Europe

The project was a feasibility study to evaluate an entire Southern European bioenergy chain, i.e. from biomass production to thermochemical conversion, under consideration of technological, financial/…

Ecologically Optimized Extension of Renewable Energy Utilization in Germany

The objective of the research project is to develop a strategy for an ‘ecologically optimised’ expansion of renewable energies in Germany. Based on a detailed life cycle assessment, in a first step…

Bioenergy for Europe: Which ones fit best? A comparative analysis for the Community

The project's aim was to assess – by means of life cycle analyses – the environmental effects of various biofuels and to compare them against their fossil equivalents as well as against each other.

Wissenschaftliche Studie

Sustainable Biomass Potentials in the German State of Baden-Württemberg

While the energetic use of biomass is a positive development, the recent rapid increase of biomass production may also have negative impacts on soil, water and nature protection.

BioGrace

The BioGrace calculation tools were used to calculate GHG emissions from bio-energy sources, and are available to all market participants. The tools are harmonised within the framework of EU…