Direct Combustion
One of the oldest ways of converting biomass into energy is through the use of heat as it was done by our ancestors from a long time. Burning food and wood in order to keep warm is one of the most common things in the world even in the previous ages. One of the most popular ways to convert biomass is to convert it to steam. Biomass is burned down in a heat boiler so that it will be able to produce steam. The steam will be steamed into a turbine that will be connected to a generator that will be able to produce electricity.
Pyrolysis
This is a process of thermochemical decomposition where the biomass is placed on a reactor that has no oxygen at exceeding temperatures. The products of this process are liquid, solid and gas. These by products are converted into electricity in many different ways. The liquid products of pyrolysis can be converted to electricity via the use of internal combustion. The solid products of pyrolysis can be converted into electricity via direct combustion. On the other hand the syn gas or synthetic gas is used to produce electricity via the use of a gas turbine.