## 5 Discussion  
The main objectives of the characterization of the selected biomasses were the evaluation of their potential for replacing fossil fuels such as coal and possible logistical gains due a densification of these feedstocks, allowing for a financial feasibility of the transportation to more distant locations from the origin. Many studies are available on processes \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c} \hline \hline
**Materials** & **Test** & **EDR** & **MY (\%)** & **-** & **EY (\%)** \\ \hline \multirow{2}{*}{Sugarcane bagasse} & 300 \({}^{\circ}\)C & 1.08 & 26 & 28.5 \\  & 400 \({}^{\circ}\)C & 1.10 & 31 & 33.7 \\ \hline \multirow{2}{*}{Cashew nutshells} & 300 \({}^{\circ}\)C & 1.08 & 62 & 67.2 \\  & 400 \({}^{\circ}\)C & 1.05 & 23 & 24.5 \\ \hline \multirow{2}{*}{PKS} & 300 \({}^{\circ}\)C & 1.07 & 64 & 72.0 \\  & 400 \({}^{\circ}\)C & 1.07 & 25 & 26.4 \\ \hline \multirow{2}{*}{Coconut shells} & 300 \({}^{\circ}\)C & 1.06 & 41 & 42.9 \\  & 400 \({}^{\circ}\)C & 1.05 & 35 & 37.1 \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 6: Values calculated for EDR, MY, and EY. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c} \hline \hline
**Materials** & **Test** & **HGI** \\ \hline \multirow{2}{*}{Sugarcane bagasse} & 300 \({}^{\circ}\)C & 55 \\  & 400 \({}^{\circ}\)C & 56 \\ \hline \multirow{2}{*}{Cashew nutshells} & 300 \({}^{\circ}\)C & 18 \\  & 400 \({}^{\circ}\)C & 60 \\ \hline \multirow{2}{*}{PKS} & 300 \({}^{\circ}\)C & 47 \\  & 400 \({}^{\circ}\)C & 57 \\ \hline \multirow{2}{*}{Coconut shells} & 300 \({}^{\circ}\)C & 51 \\  & 400 \({}^{\circ}\)C & 60 \\ \hline \multirow{2}{*}{\(p\) value: feedstock \(p\) value: thermal treatment} & 0.3049 \\  & & \textless{}0.001 \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 5: Values calculated for the hard-grove grindability index (HGI). of physical densification of biomass, namely on the form of pellets and briquettes, such as the works of [PERSON] et al. (1989), wherein an analysis of the pioneering state-of-the-art is presented, of [PERSON] and [PERSON] (2000), which address the issue of high-pressure densification of wood residues, of [PERSON] et al. (2010), presenting a technical review on biomass processing, with emphasis on the optimization of the densification process, of [PERSON] et al. (2011), presenting a characterization of briquettes made from residual biomass, of [PERSON] (2014), addressing the pelletization of waste biomass, or the most recent works of [PERSON] et al. (2018), [PERSON] et al. (2020), or [PERSON] (2020), where priority is given to balancing between the technological properties of densified biomasses vs. their potential to replace coal in energy production [11; 137; 138; 139; 140; 141; 142]. It was concluded that physical densification alone was not capable of solving all logistical problems of biomass conversion, especially these related with properties such as density and heating value, which allow the materials to become transportable over long distances [143; 144; 145; 146; 147; 148]. Moreover, it was found that, with some residual biomasses, transport and use away from the origin would be possible only in addition to the physical densification, an energy densification through thermochemical conversion technologies such as torrefraction would be carried out (e.g., [PERSON] et al. (2008), [PERSON] et al. (2011), and [PERSON] et al. (2015) [19; 149; 150]. Thermochemical conversion technologies show interesting advantages from the point of view of improved logistical properties because they promote energy densification, as can be easily proven from the results obtained in this study. As can be seen in Figure 3, the thermo-chemical conversion processes of biomass promote energy densification, since their products show increases between 28% and 70% of the available energy per unit of mass. Figure 3: Mass and energy balance (EIC–Initial Energy Content, ML–Mass Loss, EIC–Final Energy Content, ED–Energy Densification).