Structure of Residual Biomass Characterization

Abstract

Agro-industrial waste is essentially made up of oxygen-containing organic polymers. Unlike fossil fuels, organic waste biomass is highly oxygenated owing to the presence of carbohydrates. In decreasing order of predominance, carbon (C) is the main constituent (ranging from 30 to 60%) on a dry basis (db). Next is oxygen (O) (30–40%) by weight (db), hydrogen (H) (5–6%) (db) and finally nitrogen (N), sulfur (S) and chlorine (Cl) that are generally present in lower quantities (1%) (db). All these elements are organized in the form of sugars and other compounds (here I would like to add a few more) providing an attractive source for exploiting valuable resources in the energy and biorefinery sector.