Biomass is converted to energy through various processes, including:

-Direct combustion (burning) to produce heat

-Thermochemical conversion to produce solid, gaseous, and liquid fuels

-Chemical conversion to produce liquid fuels

-Biological conversion to produce liquid and gaseous fuels

Direct combustion is the most common method for converting biomass to useful energy. All biomasses can be burned directly for heating buildings and water, for industrial process heat, and for generating electricity in steam turbines.

It can replace firwood, clean coal, gasoline and diesel, liquefied petroleum gas, etc. Besides, it is commonly used for heating, daily life stoves, gas boilers, industrial boilers, and biomass power plants, etc.

The residential and commercial sectors use firewood and wood pellets for heating. The commercial sector also consumes, and in some cases, sells renewable natural gas produced at municipal sewage treatment facilities and at waste landfills.

The electric power sector uses wood and biomass-derived wastes to generate electricity for sale to the other sectors.