1.2.1 Introduction

Biomass is one of the most important renewable energy resources. The amount of agriculture waste is about 700 million tonnes per year in China. It was assumed that about 50% of the

agriculture waste can be used as energy, for power generation, heat supply and cooking. It is scheduled that biomass power generation capacity in China will reach 3000 MW in 2020.

Biomass thermal conversion technology is commonly classified as combustion (direct com­bustion, co-combustion), gasification, pyrolysis, carbonization, and so on. Biomass utilization is regarded as a CO2-neutral process. It is beneficial for continuous supply of energy and environmental protection.