Component Identification of Solid Biomass Fuels Using Reflected Light Microscopy: Interlaboratory Study 2

30 Pages Posted: 12 Apr 2025

See all articles by Agnieszka Drobniak

Agnieszka Drobniak

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Maria Mastalerz

Indiana University Bloomington

Zbigniew Jelonek

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Iwona Jelonek

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Menandro Acda

University of the Philippines, Los Baños

Tushar Adsul

Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines) Dhanbad, India

Neža Malenšek Andolšek

Geological Survey of Slovenia

Lorenzo Animali

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Omid Ardakani

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Telma Ataide

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Batbold Demberelsuren

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Mohd Younus Bhat

Pondicherry University

Tara Congo

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Bryon Donohoe

National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Olugbenga A. Ehinola

University of Ibadan

Deolinda Flores

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Carolina Fonseca

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Santanu Ghosh

Mizoram University

Paula Alexandra Goncalves

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Paul Hackley

Government of the United States of America - US Geological Survey

James Hower

University of Kentucky

Jargal Luvsanchultem

Mongolian National University

Michelle Johnston

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Stavros Kalaitzidis

Department of Geology University of Patras

Sławomir Kędzior

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Wayne Knowles

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Susheel Kumar

Jawaharlal Nehru University

Jolanta Kus

Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources

Grzegorz Lis

University of Wrocław

Kacper Lis

University of Wrocław

Bei Liu

Indiana University Bloomington

Bangjun Liu

Hebei University of Engineering

Qingyong Luo

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Du Meili

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Alessio Mencarelli

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Divya Mishra

Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences

Magdalena Misz-Kennan

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Nicola Mitillo

Università degli Studi Roma Tre

Roksana Muzyka

Silesian University of Technology

Jennifer L. Nedzweckas

Government of the United States of America - US Geological Survey

Jennifer M.K. O'Keefe

Morehead State University

Silvia Omodeo-Salé

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Luvsannyam Oyunjargal

National University of Mongolia

Jackie Park

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Aulia Agus Patria

Akita University

Richard Pearson

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Henrik I. Petersen

Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland

Georgeta Predeanu

Polytechnic University of Bucharest

Ranjin Ganzorig

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Julito Reyes

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Joana Ribeiro

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Genaro de la Rosa-Rodriguez

Universidad Autónoma de Coahuila

A Rudra

Aarhus University

Marcin Sajdak

Silesian University of Technology

Margaret Sanders

Government of the United States of America - US Geological Survey

George Siavalas

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Piotr Sosnowski

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Atul Kumar Varma

Indian Institute of Technology

Małgorzata Wojtaszek-Kalaitzidi

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Mateusz Wolszczak

Charles University

Zhanjie Xu

Tianjin University

Alexander Zdravkov

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Lei Zhao

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Magdalena Zielińska

Medical University of Silesia

Konrad Ziemianin

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Abstract

As nations transition toward sustainable energy systems, biomass has become a vital component of global energy portfolios. Derived from organic materials such as wood, agricultural residues, forestry byproducts, and organic waste, biomass is a renewable energy source with significant environmental and economic benefits. Responsible biomass energy production can improve waste management, reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, and mitigate environmental pollution. However, as the diversity of biomass-derived fuels increases, robust quality assessment methods are essential to ensure their efficiency, safety, and minimal environmental impact.Reflected light microscopy (RLM) is one such technique with the potential to complement conventional physico-chemical analyses by enabling a rapid identification of material constituents and impurities. To refine this methodology and evaluate the reproducibility of solid biomass component identification using RLM, an interlaboratory study (ILS) was conducted. The study involved the recognition of 58 components across 45 photomicrographs, with the participation of 65 scientists and students from 25 countries.The participants faced high difficulty identifying some of the marked components, and as a result, the percentage of correct answers ranged from 19.0% to 98.3%, with an average correct identification rate of 62.7%. The most challenging aspects of the identification process included distinguishing between woody and non-woody (agro) biomass, accurately identifying petroleum-derived materials, and differentiating agro biomass from inorganic matter.The results suggest that while RLM is an important tool for characterizing solid biomass, further development and training are necessary to enhance its effectiveness. Future research should prioritize preparing detailed, image-rich, microscopic morphological descriptions of biomass fuel components, which could improve the accuracy and reliability of using RLM in biomass fuel characterization.

Keywords: biomass fuels, wood pellets, reflected light microscopy, quality assessment, biomass fuels contaminants, interlaboratory study

Suggested Citation

Drobniak, Agnieszka and Mastalerz, Maria and Jelonek, Zbigniew and Jelonek, Iwona and Acda, Menandro and Adsul, Tushar and Malenšek Andolšek, Neža and Animali, Lorenzo and Ardakani, Omid and Ataide, Telma and Demberelsuren, Batbold and Bhat, Mohd Younus and Congo, Tara and Donohoe, Bryon and Ehinola, Olugbenga A. and Flores, Deolinda and Fonseca, Carolina and Ghosh, Santanu and Goncalves, Paula Alexandra and Hackley, Paul and Hower, James and Luvsanchultem, Jargal and Johnston, Michelle and Kalaitzidis, Stavros and Kędzior, Sławomir and Knowles, Wayne and Kumar, Susheel and Kus, Jolanta and Lis, Grzegorz and Lis, Kacper and Liu, Bei and Liu, Bangjun and Luo, Qingyong and Meili, Du and Mencarelli, Alessio and Mishra, Divya and Misz-Kennan, Magdalena and Mitillo, Nicola and Muzyka, Roksana and Nedzweckas, Jennifer L. and O'Keefe, Jennifer M.K. and Omodeo-Salé, Silvia and Oyunjargal, Luvsannyam and Park, Jackie and Patria, Aulia Agus and Pearson, Richard and Petersen, Henrik I. and Predeanu, Georgeta and Ganzorig, Ranjin and Reyes, Julito and Ribeiro, Joana and de la Rosa-Rodriguez, Genaro and Rudra, A and Sajdak, Marcin and Sanders, Margaret and Siavalas, George and Sosnowski, Piotr and Varma, Atul Kumar and Wojtaszek-Kalaitzidi, Małgorzata and Wolszczak, Mateusz and Xu, Zhanjie and Zdravkov, Alexander and Zhao, Lei and Zielińska, Magdalena and Ziemianin, Konrad, Component Identification of Solid Biomass Fuels Using Reflected Light Microscopy: Interlaboratory Study 2. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=5215172 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.5215172

Agnieszka Drobniak (Contact Author)

affiliation not provided to SSRN ( email )

No Address Available

Maria Mastalerz

Indiana University Bloomington ( email )

Dept of Biology
100 South Indiana Ave.
Bloomington, IN 47405
United States

Zbigniew Jelonek

affiliation not provided to SSRN ( email )

No Address Available

Iwona Jelonek

affiliation not provided to SSRN ( email )

No Address Available

Menandro Acda

University of the Philippines, Los Baños ( email )

Pedro R. Sandoval Ave, Los Baños, Laguna
Los Baños, Laguna 4030
Philippines

Tushar Adsul

Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines) Dhanbad, India ( email )

826004
India

Neža Malenšek Andolšek

Geological Survey of Slovenia ( email )

Ljubljana
Slovenia

Lorenzo Animali

affiliation not provided to SSRN ( email )

No Address Available

Omid Ardakani

affiliation not provided to SSRN ( email )

No Address Available

Telma Ataide

affiliation not provided to SSRN ( email )

No Address Available

Batbold Demberelsuren

affiliation not provided to SSRN ( email )

No Address Available

Mohd Younus Bhat

Pondicherry University ( email )

Mahe Centre, Cemetery Road
Pondicherry
Pondicherry, PA 605 014
India

Tara Congo

affiliation not provided to SSRN ( email )

No Address Available

Bryon Donohoe

National Renewable Energy Laboratory ( email )

1617 Cole Blvd.
Golden, CO 80401-3393
United States

Olugbenga A. Ehinola

University of Ibadan ( email )

Department Of Mathematics, University Of Ibadan, I
Ibadan, Nigeria
Ibadan, LA 200005
Nigeria

Deolinda Flores

affiliation not provided to SSRN ( email )

No Address Available

Carolina Fonseca

affiliation not provided to SSRN ( email )

No Address Available

Santanu Ghosh

Mizoram University ( email )

Mizoram University
Tanhril
Aizawl, 796001
India

Paula Alexandra Goncalves

affiliation not provided to SSRN ( email )

No Address Available

Paul Hackley

Government of the United States of America - US Geological Survey ( email )

3215 Marine St
Boulder, CO 80303
United States

James Hower

University of Kentucky ( email )

Lexington, KY 40506
United States

Jargal Luvsanchultem

Mongolian National University ( email )

Mongolia

Michelle Johnston

affiliation not provided to SSRN ( email )

No Address Available

Stavros Kalaitzidis

Department of Geology University of Patras ( email )

Patras
Greece

Sławomir Kędzior

affiliation not provided to SSRN ( email )

No Address Available

Wayne Knowles

affiliation not provided to SSRN ( email )

No Address Available

Susheel Kumar

Jawaharlal Nehru University ( email )

Vasant Vihar
Jawaharlal Nehru University
New Delhi, DE 110067
India

Jolanta Kus

Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources ( email )

Stilleweg 2
Hannover, 30655
Germany

Grzegorz Lis

University of Wrocław ( email )

PA
Poland

Kacper Lis

University of Wrocław ( email )

PA
Poland

Bei Liu

Indiana University Bloomington ( email )

Dept of Biology
100 South Indiana Ave.
Bloomington, IN 47405
United States

Bangjun Liu

Hebei University of Engineering ( email )

Hebei
China

Qingyong Luo

affiliation not provided to SSRN ( email )

No Address Available

Du Meili

affiliation not provided to SSRN ( email )

No Address Available

Alessio Mencarelli

affiliation not provided to SSRN ( email )

No Address Available

Divya Mishra

Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences ( email )

Magdalena Misz-Kennan

affiliation not provided to SSRN ( email )

No Address Available

Nicola Mitillo

Università degli Studi Roma Tre ( email )

Via Silvio D’Amico 77
Rome, 00145
Italy

Roksana Muzyka

Silesian University of Technology ( email )

Roosevelta str. 26
Zabrze, 41-800
Poland

Jennifer L. Nedzweckas

Government of the United States of America - US Geological Survey ( email )

3215 Marine St
Boulder, CO 80303
United States

Jennifer M.K. O'Keefe

Morehead State University ( email )

Morehead, KY 40351
United States

Silvia Omodeo-Salé

affiliation not provided to SSRN ( email )

No Address Available

Luvsannyam Oyunjargal

National University of Mongolia ( email )

IKH SURGUULIIN GUDAMJ-1 P.O.BOX -46A/523
Ulaanbaatar, 14201
Mongolia

Jackie Park

affiliation not provided to SSRN ( email )

No Address Available

Aulia Agus Patria

Akita University ( email )

Hondo 1-1-1
Akita, 10-0825
Japan

Richard Pearson

affiliation not provided to SSRN ( email )

No Address Available

Henrik I. Petersen

Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland ( email )

Aarhus
Denmark

Georgeta Predeanu

Polytechnic University of Bucharest ( email )

Splaiul Independentei nr. 313
Sector 6
Bucharest, 060042
Romania

Ranjin Ganzorig

affiliation not provided to SSRN ( email )

No Address Available

Julito Reyes

affiliation not provided to SSRN ( email )

No Address Available

Joana Ribeiro

affiliation not provided to SSRN ( email )

No Address Available

Genaro De la Rosa-Rodriguez

Universidad Autónoma de Coahuila ( email )

A Rudra

Aarhus University ( email )

Marcin Sajdak

Silesian University of Technology ( email )

Gliwice
Poland

Margaret Sanders

Government of the United States of America - US Geological Survey ( email )

3215 Marine St
Boulder, CO 80303
United States

George Siavalas

affiliation not provided to SSRN ( email )

No Address Available

Piotr Sosnowski

affiliation not provided to SSRN ( email )

No Address Available

Atul Kumar Varma

Indian Institute of Technology ( email )

Małgorzata Wojtaszek-Kalaitzidi

affiliation not provided to SSRN ( email )

No Address Available

Mateusz Wolszczak

Charles University ( email )

U Knize 8
Prague, 15800
Czech Republic

Zhanjie Xu

Tianjin University ( email )

92, Weijin Road
Nankai District
Tianjin, 300072
China

Alexander Zdravkov

affiliation not provided to SSRN ( email )

No Address Available

Lei Zhao

affiliation not provided to SSRN ( email )

No Address Available

Magdalena Zielińska

Medical University of Silesia ( email )

ul. Piekaska 19
Bytom, 41-902
Poland

Konrad Ziemianin

affiliation not provided to SSRN ( email )

No Address Available

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