New Rochelle, NY, July 19, 2012—To enable greater reliance on renewable biomass resources for power generation, combination approaches such as co-firing of high percentages of biomass with coal offer unique advantages, but also significant challenges.

"Comprehensive and precise characterization of biomass feedstock is important for the development of biotechnology approaches to bioenergy and bioproducts development," says Larry Walker, PhD, Co-Editor-in-Chief and Professor, Biological & Environmental Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY.

Jaya ShankarTumuluru and colleagues, Idaho National Laboratory (Idaho Falls), describe and compare formulation, pretreatment, and densification options intended to overcome issues related to physical and chemical composition and storage of biomass and the logistics for successful co-firing of <40% mixtures with coal. The Review is entitled "Formulation, Pretreatment, and Densification Options to Improve Biomass Specifications for Co-Firing High Percentages with Coal."