Chemicals from Biomass

Abstract

The use of biomass as a source of materials is different from the use of biomass as a source of fuels. First, the scale of production of chemicals is smaller than of fuels. Using the United States as an example, in 1980 total energy use was 79 EJ* (DOE 1982). Chemical feedstock use (which is included in the above) was 3.2 EJ, or 8.4 percent of the total (USITC 1980; C&EN 1981). (OECD data gives a lower number, 6.1 percent for the United States and 6.3 percent for the OECD countries as a whole (IEA).) Another way to compare the chemicals and fuels is to look at ethyl alcohol and gasoline. The United States in 1980 consumed 3.8 × 10¹¹ liters of gasoline, but synthetic ethanol production was only 6.6 × 10⁸ liters. (By way of comparison with biomass production, if all the maize production in the United States were converted to ethanol, it would amount to 8.4 × 10¹⁰ liters.)