Chapter 2: Properties of Fuels from Crops Check Access

The suitability of energy crops for either energy conversion into fuels or energy release through combustion can be measured by several indices that reflect energy content, density, and ease of recovery. These properties ultimately determine both the suitability and diversity of potential end use of feedstocks and their potential value as agroindustrial resources.

The chemical and physical properties of the dedicated energy crops that will ultimately supply a significant fraction of these feedstocks will be important to many of these processes. This is true not only from the perspective of chemical or energetic yield of the conversion process, but also from the standpoint of the economics of both agronomic and industrial sectors.

This chapter follows on from the previous chapter and presents an overview of the properties of fuels that are produced of fuels from crops in order for the reader to understand the chemical parameters that are involved in determining the use of such fuels.