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| Producing biomass fuels from agricultural residues
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 Many agricultural crops and processes produce a residue that can potentially be suitable for energy use. Many of these currently have uses, usually for spreading on the land to return nutrient and organic matter to the soil, or for animal food or bedding.
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| Using dry residues
Where appropriate, many dry residues can be burned as fuel, in particular straw, which can be burned loose, as bales in dedicated bale burners, or converted to straw pellets.
Poultry litter is used as a biomass fuel for a number of power stations for electricity production and it can also be used on a smaller scale for heat or combined heat and power (CHP).
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| Using wet residues
Many agricultural residues have a high water content. Although these can be dried out and used as a combustion fuel, in general the energy and cost required is not justified.
For many of these materials anaerobic digestion (AD) at, or close to the point of production (to minimize transport) is a much more suitable technology. AD produces biogas, a mixture of gases, principally methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2), and the methane can be burned as a fuel for heat or, if on a sufficient scale, for electricity production.
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| Further information
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| Agricultural residues
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| Combustion
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| Anaerobic digestion
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|  More information about producing biomass fuels
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