Still, growing energy crops on unused land will contribute to employment in the agricultural community. But this is not very efficient, and a better way is to turn the biomass into gas first, and then use it to drive a gas turbine generator. You have a continuous cycle and you just go on producing electricity. They are not suitable for small-scale generation schemes. The gasification process takes place at a higher temperature and longer residence times, and involves the partial combustion of the fuel to obtain a fuel-gas whose combustible compounds are carbon monoxide, hydrogen, and a small fraction of very light hydrocarbons.
Pyrolysis has the advantage over gasification that bio-fuel has a much higher energy density.
Moreover, it can be stored for long periods and easily pumped and transported. No other systems are widely available on the market yet. The objective of this project was to develop a commercial application for this process. They also investigated the use of this bio-fuel in Stirling engines. The prototype power plant consists of a pyrolyser coupled to a 100-150 kWe generator.