The overall purpose of this chapter is to summarize the fuel properties and current state of the art in developing environmentally benign thermal conversion or non-biological technologies (gasification, co-firing, and reburn, etc.) and they are presented in order to show how animal wastes can serve as a fossil fuel supplement, reduce GHG, dispose of the waste, and reduce NOX emissions to convert low-value inventories of animal wastes into renewable energy.

The emissions (NOX, SOX), flame temperatures, and thermal energy outputs from burning biomass are required to determine the effectiveness and profitability of biomass energy conversion systems. However, in order to estimate these outputs, fuel properties of both coal, a widely used fossil fuel, and biomass must be known.