Health Benefits of Pineapple Juice

Overview

Pineapple juice contains enzymes that can help digest proteins and offer anti-inflammatory benefits. Depending on whether you buy natural juice, or it has extra vitamin C added, just one serving of pineapple juice provides 30 to over 100 percent of your daily vitamin C. For the best health benefits, look for fresh or canned pineapple juice that does not have added sugar or preservatives.

Slices of pineapple next to a glass of pineapple juice. Photo Credit DENIO RIGACCI/iStock/Getty Images

Bromelain

Pineapple juice contains the enzyme bromelain, which is a natural anti-inflammatory agent and digestive enzyme. Bromelain helps reduce inflammation and pain following surgery and encourages the healing of bruises, according to New York University's Langone Medical Center. It may also help reduce inflammation caused by sinusitis. As an enzyme, bromelain promotes good digestion by helping the body break down proteins.

Vitamin C

A 1-cup serving of canned pineapple juice supplies almost 30 percent of your recommended daily allowance of vitamin C. If it has ascorbic acid added, you'll get more than 100 percent of your daily allowance. Vitamin C functions as a natural antioxidant and helps keep your immune system healthy. Your body body can't make collagen without vitamin C. Collagen is a protein used to build bones and to make connective tissues that strengthen and support your skin, blood vessels, tendons and ligaments. Vitamin C also helps the body metabolize fats and produce neurotransmitters, according to the Linus Pauling Institute.

B Vitamins

One cup of pineapple juice contains 11 percent of your recommended daily allowance of folate and 19 percent of vitamin B-6. Both of these vitamins help reduce levels of homocysteine in your blood. High levels of homocysteine increase your risk of developing cardiovascular disease. Folate is essential for the synthesis of protein, red blood cells and normal growth and development. You need vitamin B-6 to make neurotransmitters that help regulate mood and to metabolize proteins.

Potassium

Potassium is an electrolyte, which means that it carries an electrical charge. In this role, it stimulates nerve impulses and muscle contractions. It also helps regulate your heart beat. Another important job filled by potassium is its ability to lower blood pressure. Eating too much salt increases your blood pressure, but if you get enough potassium every day, it can help offset the damage from salt. Adults should consume 4,700 milligrams of potassium daily, but most Americans get barely half that amount, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. One cup of canned pineapple juice supplies 7 percent of your daily potassium.

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Can Being Gluten Intolerant Make You Gain Weight?

Gluten intolerance describes a condition that occurs when the body mistakenly attacks the cells lining the small intestine in response to gluten, the protein found in wheat, rye and barley. Doctors refer to gluten intolerance as celiac disease or celiac sprue. With no specific treatment or cure, a patient can only manage her symptoms by eliminating gluten from her diet. The symptoms of gluten intolerance vary from patient to patient. For example, some patients may experience weight gain as a consequence of bloating, while others experience weight loss due to a failure to absorb nutrients.

Close up of breads, bowls of grains and wheat on a wooden cutting board. Photo Credit ddsign_stock/iStock/Getty Images

Celiac Disease

To understand the symptoms of celiac disease and how one condition can cause one person to gain weight and another to lose it you must first understand what happens to the body as a result of gluten intolerance. In a person with celiac disease, ingesting a food containing gluten triggers the immune system to release antibodies that specifically attack the cells lining the small intestine. This lining contains tiny fingerlike projections, known as villi, that increase the surface area to allow for maximum nutrient absorption. The antibodies attack the villi and over time destroy them, reducing the ability of the small intestine to absorb nutrients.

Weight Gain

When the small intestine fails to absorb the majority of the nutrients from any food, the consumed matter continues to pass into the lower portion of the small intestine and the large intestine, or colon. The bacteria in these sections of the digestive tract attempt to digest the food particles further, which produces gas. Excess gas in the intestines causes bloating and weight gain. Along with the bloating many patients experience constipation, which also contributes to weight gain. Despite the damage to the lining of the small intestine, it does continue to absorb water from the food. Constipation occurs because the food passing into the large intestine increases but the water volume remains the same.

Weight Loss

Although being gluten-intolerant can make you gain weight, many patients with celiac disease experience weight loss. The damage to the small intestine inhibits the absorption of nutrients, including carbohydrates, protein and fat. Since these three macronutrients serve as the source of calories and energy for the body, failure to absorb them means that although you consume calories you continue to lose weight. The malabsorption of food can cause chronic diarrhea, which also promotes weight loss. The chronic diarrhea and other accompanying symptoms create a loss of appetite that contributes to the weight loss.

Other Symptoms

Along with weight loss or weight gain, constipation or diarrhea, a patient suffering from celiac disease experiences many other symptoms. The inability to absorb nutrients means his body fails to get energy from food, resulting in fatigue. His body also fails to absorb vitamins and minerals, leading to deficiencies that can cause a variety of symptoms like tingling in the hands or feet, anemia, depression, anxiety, seizures, fertility problems and skin rashes.

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How to Deep Fry Bananas to Make Chips

Deep-fried banana chips put a sweet yet savory twist on a familiar snack. As a deep-fried food rich in fat, banana chips aren't healthy in large doses. But banana chips contain fiber, as well as nutrients such as potassium and vitamin A. Use green, unripe bananas or the large cooking bananas known as plantains. These generally make better chips than soft, ripe bananas. The yellow kind are often too mushy when fried and lack a crispy quality.

Green bananas make better chips. Photo Credit 5second/iStock/Getty Images

Step 1

Peel five green bananas or two large plantains. Cut each banana into slices about 1/4 inch thick.

Step 2

Pour 6 cups of vegetable oil into a solid, deep-sided cooking pan. Heat on the stove until the oil reaches 350 degrees Fahrenheit, or hot enough to sizzle a bread crumb when you drop it in the pan.

Step 3

Use a slotted metal spoon to lower the banana chips three or four at a time into the hot oil. Don't overfill the pan or the bananas won't cook properly. Fry them in small batches no more than one layer deep in the pan.

Step 4

Cook the banana slices for about three minutes, or until the chips become crispy and slightly browned.

Step 5

Remove the banana chips and place them on a plate with a layer of paper towel to soak up the surface oil. Allow to cool.

Step 6

Season with salt. Use spices such as turmeric and chilli flakes for extra taste and heat.

Things You'll Need

• 5 green bananas
• Large pan
• 6 cups vegetable oil
• Metal slotted spoon
• Plate
• Paper towel
• Seasoning

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SOFTWOOD

Softwood is wood from gymnosperm trees such as conifers. Softwood is the source of about 80% of the world's production of timber, with traditional centres of production being the Baltic region (including Scandinavia and Russia), North America and China. The term is opposed to hardwood, which is the wood from angiosperm trees. Softwoods are not necessarily softer than hardwoods. In both groups there is an enormous variation in actual wood hardness, with the range in density in hardwoods completely including that of softwoods; some hardwoods (e.g. balsa) are softer than most softwoods, while the hardest hardwoods are much harder than any softwood. The woods of longleaf pine,  Douglas fir  and yew are much harder in the mechanical sense than several hardwoods. 

Scots Pine, a typical and well-known softwood

- Wikipedia 

HARDWOOD

Characteristics

Hardwoods are produced by angiosperm trees that reproduce by flowers, and have broad leaves. Many species are deciduous. Those of temperate regions lose their leaves every autumn as temperatures fall and are dormant in the winter, but those of tropical regions may shed their leaves in response to seasonal or sporadic periods of drought. Hardwood from deciduous species, such as oak, normally shows annual growth ring, but these may be absent in some tropical hardwoods.

Beech is a popular temperate zone hardwood

Hardwoods have a more complex structure than softwoods and are often much slower growing as a result. The dominant feature separating "hardwoods" from softwoods is the presence of pores, or vessels. The vessels may show considerable variation in size, shape of perforation plates (simple, scalariform, reticulate, foraminate), and structure of cell wall, such as spiral thickenings

As the name suggests, the wood from these trees is generally harder than that of softwoods, but there are significant exceptions. In both groups there is an enormous variation in actual wood hardness, with the range in density in hardwoods completely including that of softwoods; some hardwoods (e.g., balsa) are softer than most softwoods, while yew is an example of a "hard" softwood.

SEM images showing the presence of pores in hardwoods (oak, top) and absence in softwoods (pine, bottom)

Applications

Hardwoods are employed in a large range of applications, including fuel, tools, construction, boat building, furniture making, musical instruments, flooring, cooking, barrels, and manufacture of charcoal. Solid hardwood joinery tends to be expensive compared to softwood. In the past, tropical hardwoods were easily available, but the supply of some species, such as Burma teak and mahogany,  is now becoming scarce due to over-exploitation. Cheaper "hardwood" doors, for instance, now consist of a thin veneer bonded to a core of softwood, plywood or medium-density fiberboard (MDF). Hardwoods may be used in a variety of objects, but are most frequently seen in furniture or musical instruments because of their density which adds to durability, appearance, and performance. Different species of hardwood lend themselves to different end uses or construction processes. This is due to the variety of characteristics apparent in different timbers, including density, grain, pore size, growth and fibre pattern, flexibility and ability to be steam bent. For example, the interlocked grain of elm wood (Ulmus spp.) makes it suitable for the making of chair seats where the driving in of legs and other components can cause splitting in other woods.

Cooking

There is a correlation between density and calories/volume. This makes the denser hardwoods like oak, cherry, and apple more suited for camp fires, cooking fires, and smoking meat, as they tend to burn hotter and longer than softwoods like pine or cedar whose low-density construction and highly-flammable sap make them burn quickly and without producing quite as much heat.

References

 - CRC Handbook of Materials Science, Vol IV, pg 15

Further Reading

• Schweingruber, F.H. (1990) Anatomie europäischer Hölzer—Anatomy of European woods.Eidgenössische Forschungsanstalt für Wald, Schnee und Landscaft, Birmensdorf (Hrsg,). Haupt, Bern und Stuttgart.
• Timonen, Tuuli (2002). Introduction to Microscopic Wood Identification. Finnish Museum of Natural History, University of Helsinki.
• Wilson, K., and D.J.B. White (1986). The Anatomy of Wood: Its Diversity and variability.Stobart & Son Ltd, London.

- Wikipedia 

SAWDUST

Sawdust or wood dust is a by-product of cutting, grinding, drilling, sanding, or otherwise pulverizing wood or any other material with a saw or other tool; it is composed of fine particles of wood. It is also the byproduct of certain animals, birds and insects which live in wood, such as the woodpecker and carpenter ant. It can present a hazard in manufacturing industries, especially in terms of its flammability. Sawdust is the main component of particleboard.

Ogatan, Japanese charcoal briquettes made from sawdust

Uses

A major use of sawdust is for particleboard; coarse sawdust may be used for wood pulp. Sawdust has a variety of other practical uses, including serving as a mulch as an alternative to clay cat litter, or as a fuel. Until the advent of refrigeration, it was often used in icehouses to keep ice frozen during the summer. It has been used in artistic displays, and as scatter in miniature railroad and other models. It is also sometimes used to soak up liquid spills, allowing the spill to be easily collected or swept aside. As such, it was formerly common on barroom floors. It is used to make Cutler's resin. Mixed with water and frozen, it forms pykrete, a slow-melting, much stronger form of ice.

Sawdust made with hand saw

Sawdust is used in the manufacture of charcoal briquettes. The claim for invention of the first commercial charcoal briquettes goes to Henry Ford who created them from the wood scraps and sawdust produced by his automobile factory.

Use in Food

Cellulose, fibre starch that is indigestible to humans, and a filler in some low calorie foods, can be and is made from sawdust, as well as from other plant sources. While there is no documentation for the persistent rumor, based upon Upton Sinclair's novel The Jungle that sawdust was used as a filler in sausage, cellulose derived from sawdust was and is used for sausage casings. Sawdust-derived cellulose has also been used as a filler in bread.

Auschwitz concentration camp survivor, Dr. Miklós Nyiszli, reports in Auschwitz: A Doctor's Eyewitness Account that the subaltern medical staff, who served Dr. Josef Mengele, subsisted on "bread made from wild chestnuts sprinkled with sawdust."

Health and Safety Hazards

Airborne sawdust and sawdust accumulations present a number of health and safety hazard. Wood dust becomes a potential health problem when, for example, the wood particles, from processes such as sanding, become airborne and are inhaled. Wood dust is a known human carcinogen. Certain woods and their dust contain toxins that can produce severe allergic reactions.

Water-borne bacteria digest organic material in leachate, but use up much of the available oxygen. This high "biological oxygen demand" can suffocate fish and other organisms. There is an equally detrimental effect on beneficial bacteria, so it is not at all advisable to use sawdust within home aquariums, as was once done by hobbyists seeking to save some expense on activated charcoal.

People can be exposed to wood dust in the workplace by breathing it in, skin contact, or eye contact. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has set the legal limit (permissible exposure limit) for wood dust exposure in the workplace as 15 mg/m³ total exposure and 5 mg/m³ respiratory exposure over an 8-hour workday. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has set a recommended exposure limit (REL) of 1 mg/m³ over an 8-hour workday

Explosions and Fire

Sawdust is flammable and accumulations provide a ready source of fuel. Airborne sawdust can be ignited by sparks or even heat accumulation and result in explosions.

Environmental Effects

At sawmills, unless reprocessed into particleboard, burned in a sawdust burner or used to make heat for other milling operations, sawdust may collect in piles and add harmful leacher into local water systems, creating an environmental hazard. This has placed small sawyers and environmental agencies in a deadlock.

Questions about the science behind the determination of sawdust being an environmental hazard remain for sawmill operators (though this is mainly with finer particles), who compare wood residuals to dead trees in a forest. Technical advisors have reviewed some of the environmental studies, but say most lack standardized methodology or evidence of a direct impact on wildlife. They don’t take into account large drainage areas, so the amount of material that is getting into the water from the site in relation to the total drainage area is minuscule.

Other scientists have a different view, saying the "dilution is the solution to pollution" argument is no longer accepted in environmental science. The decomposition of a tree in a forest is similar to the impact of sawdust, but the difference is of scale. Sawmills may be storing thousands of cubic metres of wood residues in one place, so the issue becomes one of concentration

But of larger concern are substances such as lignins and fatty acids that protect trees from predators while they are alive, but can leach into water and poison wildlife. Those types of things remain in the tree and, as the tree decays, they slowly are broken down. But when sawyers are processing a large volume of wood and large concentrations of these materials permeate into the runoff, the toxicity they cause is harmful to a broad range of organisms.

- Wikipedia 

I Am Losing Energy on a Gluten-Free Diet

A gluten-free diet eliminates all foods containing wheat, barley and rye. Gluten is a protein found in these foods that causes an autoimmune response in people with celiac disease. The only way to prevent celiac disease from causing symptoms such as digestive distress, skin rashes and weakness, or from developing into other autoimmune conditions, osteoporosis or cancer, is to follow a 100 percent gluten-free diet. If you are following a gluten-free diet, but experiencing lackluster energy and fatigue, consider the structure of your plan and ensure you are still getting proper nutrition.

Lack of energy may mean you have not removed all the gluten from your diet. Photo Credit Rick Gomez/Blend Images/Getty Images

Significance

A gluten-free diet excludes traditionally made breads, pasta, crackers, pizza and foods derived from wheat, such as soy sauce and beer. Many processed foods, including frozen dinners, condiments and sauces, canned soups, cereals and snack bars, also include wheat or barley derivatives. If these foods are staples of your diet, you may feel that a gluten-free plan leaves you limited options. A gluten-free diet is supposed to improve your health not leave you feeling lethargic and devoid of energy.

Low-Carb Pitfall

If you are new to a gluten-free plan, you may be confused as to what you can eat. As a result, you may be inadvertently limiting your intake of nutrients that provide your body with energy. Carbohydrates are the primary source of energy for the body. While wheat, barley and rye are sources of carbohydrates, they are not the only sources. If your gluten-free plan has become a low-carb plan because you are afraid all grains, cereals and breads are off-limits, you might experience energy loss.

Food Options

A gluten-free diet can still include wide variety of energy-boosting foods. Along with plain meats, poultry, fish, dairy products, vegetables and fruits, you can enjoy carbohydrates such as sweet and white potatoes, brown rice, quinoa, millet, teff and amaranth. Also look for pasta made with quinoa or brown rice flour, breads made with buckwheat or millet and gluten-free bars and cereals.

Considerations

A side effect of celiac disease is iron-deficiency anemia, which is characterized by fatigue and energy loss. If you are new to a gluten-free diet, your intestines may not have healed enough to absorb iron and bring your stores up. Ask your doctor if you would benefit from an iron supplement. If you are following a gluten-free diet, and feel you are ingesting enough carbohydrates, your lack of energy might be because you have not truly removed all the gluten from your diet. Even the smallest trace of gluten can make your symptoms persist. Consider replacing all pots and pans in your kitchen to remove all traces of gluten, read food labels and look for products that may be cross contaminated with wheat or that contain hidden gluten ingredients such as barley malt syrup, malt vinegar, wheat starch or enzymes. One of the symptoms of celiac is fatigue; if you have not fully healed, you will continue to feel devoid of energy.

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Health Benefits of Green Bananas

Although the green banana is simply an unripened yellow banana, it has different uses. While you can eat the yellow banana immediately after peeling, the green banana is best eaten cooked, either boiled or fried. Nutritionally, the green banana is a good source of fiber, vitamins and minerals, and contains a starch that may help control blood sugar, manage weight and lower blood cholesterol levels.

Bunches of green bananas Photo Credit Baloncici/iStock/Getty Images

Good Source of Resistance Starch

Resistant starch is a type of starch that cannot be broken down by enzymes in your digestive system and, therefore, acts more like a fiber than a starch. Green bananas contain a high amount of resistant starch, according to a 2010 article published in "Pacific Health Dialog." Including foods high in resistant starch in your diet, like the green banana, may reduce your risk of diabetes by aiding in blood sugar control,and heart disease by helping to lower blood cholesterol levels.

Good Source of Fiber

In addition to the resistant starch, green bananas are also a good source of fiber. A 1-cup serving of boiled green bananas contains 3.6 grams of fiber, meeting 14 percent of your daily value. The percent daily value is based on a 2,000-calorie diet for a healthy adult. Fiber can also reduce risk of diabetes and heart disease. In addition, fiber in food slows digestion, helping you feel full longer, aiding in weight control.

High in Potassium

Like the ripened yellow banana, the green banana is high in potassium. A 1-cup serving of boiled green bananas contains 531 milligrams of potassium. Including more high-potassium foods in your diet may aid in blood pressure control. The American Heart Association recommends consuming 4,700 milligrams of potassium a day for heart health. However, high potassium foods are not safe for everyone. If you have high blood potassium levels or kidney disease, you should talk to your doctor to determine how foods like green bananas can fit into your diet plan.

High in Vitamin B-6

Green bananas are also high in vitamin B-6, with a 1-cup boiled serving containing 39 percent of your daily value. Vitamin B-6 plays an important role in more than 100 enzymatic reactions in your body. It is also necessary for the formation of hemoglobin, the protein that carries oxygen in your body. Additionally, vitamin B-6 aids in blood sugar control.

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Are Banana Peels Good for You?

Banana peels were once just food waste, but banana peels may be more useful than previously thought. Banana peels contain essential fatty acids, vitamins, minerals and other compounds that have a variety of benefits both when you eat the peels and when you apply them topically to your skin.

A half peeled banana. Photo Credit FotoCuisinette/iStock/Getty Images

Essential Fatty Acids

According to Louise Tenney's book "Today's Herbal Health: An Essential Reference Guide," banana peels contain essential fatty acids that benefit your skin and can be an effective treatment for skin abnormalities, such as eczema, psoriasis and warts. Banana skin pulp can help kill warts in one to 12 weeks when applied directly onto the surface of the wart, according to the National Skin Care Institute.

Vitamins

Banana peels contain high amounts of certain vitamins that are important to human health, including vitamins A and B-6. Vitamin A helps your body maintain skin, teeth, bone, muscle, mucous membranes and skin. Vitamin A can also support your eyesight, especially when you are in low light. Vitamin B-6, also called pyridoxine, helps your brain produce hormones that maintain your central nervous system.

Minerals

The banana itself is best known for its abundance of potassium, but the banana peel also contains very high amounts of this essential mineral. The banana peel contains about 40 percent of the total potassium content found in the entire banana, meaning the peel has almost as much potassium as the banana itself, according to "Today's Herbal Health." Potassium is important for your heart, kidneys, muscles, nerves and digestive system to work properly. It is also important for the water balance in cells throughout your body.

Other Compounds

According to the book "Babushka's Beauty Secrets," written by esthetician Raisa Ruder, banana peels contain lutein. Lutein may be effective in the treatment of age-related eye disorders such as macular degeneration and may have cardiovascular benefits as well, although more research is necessary to confirm the effects of lutein on your heart.

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BIOMASS BRIQUETTES

Biomass briquettes are a biofuel substitute to coal and charcoal. Briquettes are mostly used in the developing world, where cooking fuels are not as easily available. There has been a move to the use of briquettes in the developed world, where they are used to heat industrial boiler in order to produce electricity from steam. The briquettes are cofired with coal in order to create the heat supplied to the boiler.

Briquette made by a Ruf briquetter out of hay

Composition and Production

Biomass briquettes, mostly made of green waste and other organic materials, are commonly used for electricity generation, heat, and cooking fuel. These compressed compounds contain various organic materials, including rice husk, bagasse ground nut shells, municipal solid waste, agricultural waste. The composition of the briquettes varies by area due to the availability of raw materials. The raw materials are gathered and compressed into briquette in order to burn longer and make transportation of the goods easier. These briquettes are very different from charcoal because they do not have large concentrations of carbonaceous substances and added materials. Compared to fossil fuels, the briquettes produce low net total greenhouse gas emissions because the materials used are already a part of the carbon cycle.

Straw or hay briquettes

Ogatan, Japanese charcoal briquettes made from sawdust briquettes (Ogalite).

One of the most common variables of the biomass briquette production process is the way the biomass is dried out. Manufacturers can use torrefaction, carbonization, or varying degrees of pyrolysis. Researchers concluded that torrefaction and carbonization are the most efficient forms of drying out biomass, but the use of the briquette determines which method should be used.

Quick Grill Briquette made from coconut shell

Compaction is another factor affecting production. Some materials burn more efficiently if compacted at low pressures, such as corn stover grind. Other materials such as wheat and barley-straw require high amounts of pressure to produce heat. There are also different press technologies that can be used. A piston press is used to create solid briquettes for a wide array of purposes. Screw extrusion is used to compact biomass into loose, homogeneous briquettes that are substituted for coal in cofiring. This technology creates a toroidal, or doughnut-like, briquette. The hole in the center of the briquette allows for a larger surface area, creating a higher combustion rate.

History
People have been using biomass briquettes in Nepal since before recorded history. Though inefficient, the burning of loose biomass created enough heat for cooking purposes and keeping warm. The first commercial production plant was created in 1982 and produced almost 900 metric tons of biomass. In 1984, factories were constructed that incorporated vast improvements on efficiency and the quality of briquettes. They used a combination of rice husks and molasses. The King Mahendra Trust for Nature Conservation (KMTNC) along with the Institute for Himalayan Conservation (IHC) created a mixture of coal and biomass in 2000 using a unique rolling machine.

Japanese Ogalite
In 1925, Japan independently started developing technology to harness the energy from sawdust briquettes, known as "Ogalite". Between 1964 and 1969, Japan increased production fourfold by incorporating screw press and piston press technology. The member enterprise of 830 or more existed in the 1960s. The new compaction techniques incorporated in these machines made briquettes of higher quality than those in Europe. As a result, European countries bought the licensing agreements and now manufacture Japanese designed machines.

Cofiring

Cofiring relates to the combustion of two different types of materials. The process is primarily used to decrease CO₂ emissions despite the resulting lower energy efficiency and higher variable cost. The combination of materials usually contains a high carbon emitting substance such as coal and a lesser CO₂ emitting material such as biomass. Even though CO₂ will still be emitted through the combustion of biomass, the net carbon emitted is nearly negligible. This is due to the fact that the material gathered for the composition of the briquettes are still contained in the carbon cycle whereas fossil fuel combustion releases CO₂ that has been sequestered for millennia. Boilers in power plants are traditionally heated by the combustion of coal, but if cofiring were to be implemented, then the CO₂ emissions would decrease while still maintaining the heat inputted to the boiler. Implementing cofiring would require few modifications to the current characteristics to power plants, as only the fuel for the boiler would be altered. A moderate investment would be required for implementing biomass briquettes into the combustion process.

Cofiring is considered the most cost-efficient means of biomass. A higher combustion rate will occur when cofiring is implemented in a boiler when compared to burning only biomass. The compressed biomass is also much easier to transport since it is more dense, therefore allowing more biomass to be transported per shipment when compared to loose biomass. Some sources agree that a near-term solution for the greenhouse gas emission problem may lie in cofiring.

Compared to Coal

The use of biomass briquettes has been steadily increasing as industries realize the benefits of decreasing pollution through the use of biomass briquettes. Briquettes provide higher calorific value per dollar than coal when used for firing industrial boilers. Along with higher calorific value, biomass briquettes on average saved 30–40% of boiler fuel cost. But other sources suggest that cofiring is more expensive due to the widespread availability of coal and its low cost. However, in the long run, briquettes can only limit the use of coal to a small extent, but it is increasingly being pursued by industries and factories all over the world. Both raw materials can be produced or mined domestically in the United States, creating a fuel source that is free from foreign dependence and less polluting than raw fossil fuel incineration .

Environmentally, the use of biomass briquettes produces much fewer greenhouse gases, specifically, 13.8% to 41.7% CO₂ and NO_X. There was also a reduction from 11.1% to 38.5% in SO
2 emissions when compared to coal from three different leading producers, EKCC Coal, Decanter Coal, and Alden Coal. Biomass briquettes are also fairly resistant to water degradation, an improvement over the difficulties encountered with the burning of wet coal. However, the briquettes are best used only as a supplement to coal. The use of cofiring creates an energy that is not as high as pure coal, but emits fewer pollutants and cuts down on the release of previously sequestered carbon. The continuous release of carbon and other greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere leads to an increase in global temperatures. The use of cofiring does not stop this process but decreases the relative emissions of coal power plants.

Use in Developing World

The Legacy Foundation has developed a set of techniques to produce biomass briquettes through artisanal production in rural villages that can be used for heating and cooking. These techniques were recently pioneered by Virunga National Park in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, following the massive destruction of the Mountain Gorilla habitat for charcoal.

Pangani, Tanzania, is an area covered in coconut groves. After harvesting the meat of the coconut, the indigenous people would litter the ground with the husks, believing them to be useless. The husks later became a profit center after it was discovered that coconut husks are well suited to be the main ingredient in bio briquettes. This alternative fuel mixture burns incredibly efficiently and leaves little residue, making it a reliable source for cooking in the undeveloped country. The developing world has always relied on the burning biomass due it its low cost and availability anywhere there is organic material. The briquette production only improves upon the ancient practice by increasing the efficiency of pyrolysis.

Two major components of the developing world are China and India. The economies are rapidly increasing due to cheap ways of harnessing electricity and emitting large amounts of carbon dioxide. The Kyoto Protocol attempted to regulate the emissions of the three different worlds, but there were disagreements as to which country should be penalized for emissions based on its previous and future emissions. The United States has been the largest emitter but China has recently become the largest per capita. The United States had emitted a rigorous amount of carbon dioxide during its development and the developing nations argue that they should not be forced to meet the requirements. At the lower end, the undeveloped nations believe that they have little responsibility for what has been done to the carbon dioxide levels. The major use of biomass briquettes in India, is in industrial applications usually to produce steam. A lot of conversions of boilers from FO to biomass briquettes have happened over the past decade. A vast majority of those projects are registered under CDM (Kyoto Protocol), which allows for users to get carbon credits.

The use of biomass briquettes is strongly encouraged by issuing carbon credits. One carbon credit is equal to one free ton of carbon dioxide to be emitted into the atmosphere. India has started to replace charcoal with biomass briquettes in regards to boilerfuel, especially in the southern parts of the country because the biomass briquettes can be created domestically, depending on the availability of land. Therefore, constantly rising fuel prices will be less influential in an economy if sources of fuel can be easily produced domestically. Lehra Fuel Tech Pvt Ltd is approved by Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA), is one of the largest briquetting machine manufacturers from Ludhiana, India.

In the African Great Lakes region, work on biomass briquette production has been spearheaded by a number of NGOs with GVEP (Global Village Energy Partnership) taking a lead in promoting briquette products and briquette entrepreneurs in the three Great Lakes countries; namely, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. This has been achieved by a five year EU and Dutch government sponsored project called DEEP EA (Developing Energy Enterprises Project East Africa). The main feed stock for briquettes in the East African region has mainly been charcoal dust although alternative like sawdust, bagasse, coffee husks and rice husks have also been used.

Use in Developed World

Coal is the largest carbon dioxide emitter per unit area when it comes to electricity generation. It is also the most common ingredient in charcoal. There has been a recent push to replace the burning of fossil fuels with biomass. The replacement of this nonrenewable resource with biological waste would lower the carbon footprint of grill owners and lower the overall pollution of the world. Citizens are also starting to manufacture briquettes at home. The first machines would create briquettes for homeowners out of compressed sawdust, however, current machines allow for briquette production out of any sort of dried biomass.

Arizona has also taken initiative to turn waste biomass into a source of energy. Waste cotton and pecan material used to provide a nesting ground for bugs that would destroy the new crops in the spring. To stop this problem farmers buried the biomass, which quickly led to soil degradation. These materials were discovered to be a very efficient source of energy and took care of issues that had plagued farms. 

The United States Department of Energy has financed several projects to test the viability of biomass briquettes on a national scale. The scope of the projects is to increase the efficiency of gasifiers as well as produce plans for production facilities.

Criticsm

Biomass is composed of organic materials, therefore, large amounts of land are required to produce the fuel. Critics argue that the use of this land should be utilized for food distribution rather than crop degradation. Also, climate changes may cause a harsh season, where the material extracted will need to be swapped for food rather than energy. The assumption is that the production of biomass decreases the food supply, causing an increase in world hunger by extracting the organic materials such as corn and soybeans for fuel rather than food.

The cost of implementing a new technology such as biomass into the current infrastructure is also high. The fixed costs with the production of biomass briquettes are high due to the new undeveloped technologies that revolve around the extraction, production and storage of the biomass. Technologies regarding extraction of oil and coal have been developing for decades, becoming more efficient with each year. A new undeveloped technology regarding fuel utilization that has no infrastructure built around makes it nearly impossible to compete in the current market.

- Wikipedia