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.
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
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