Component identification of solid biomass fuels using reflected light microscopy: Interlaboratory study 2

Agnieszka Drobniak; Maria Mastalerz; Zbigniew Jelonek; Iwona Jelonek; Menandro Acda; Tushar Adsul; Neža Malenšek Andolšek; Lorenzo Animali; Omid Ardakani; Telma Ataide; Demberelsuren Batbold; Mohd Younus Bhat; Tara Congo; Bryon S. Donohoe; Olugbenga Ehinola; Deolinda Flores; Carolina Fonseca; Santanu Ghosh; Paula Gonçalves; Paul C. Hackley; James C. Hower; Luvsanchultem Jargal; Michelle Nicole Johnston; Stavros Kalaitzidis; Sławomir Kędzior; Wayne Knowles; Susheel Kumar; Jolanta Kus; Grzegorz Lis; Kacper Lis; Bei Liu; Bangjun Liu; Qingyong Luo; Meili Du; Alessio Mencarelli; Divya Mishra; Magdalena Misz-Kennan; Nicola Mitillo; Roksana Muzyka; Jennifer Nedzweckas; Jennifer M.K. O'Keefe; Silvia Omodeo-Salé; Luvsannyam Oyunjargal; Jackie Park; Aulia Agus Patria; Richard Pearson; Henrik I. Petersen; Georgeta Predeanu; Ganzorig Ranjin; Julito Reyes; Joana Ribeiro; Genaro de la Rosa Rodríguez; Arka Rudra; Marcin Sajdak; Margaret M. Sanders; George Siavalas; Piotr Sosnowski; Atul K. Varma; Małgorzata Wojtaszek-Kalaitzidi; Mateusz Wolszczak; Zhanjie Xu; Alexander Zdravkov; Lei Zhao; Magdalena Zielińska; Konrad Ziemianin

doi:10.1016/j.coal.2025.104814

Component identification of solid biomass fuels using reflected light microscopy: Interlaboratory study 2

International Journal of Coal Geology

By: Agnieszka Drobniak, Maria Mastalerz, Zbigniew Jelonek, Iwona Jelonek, Menandro Acda, Tushar Adsul, Neža Malenšek Andolšek, Lorenzo Animali, Omid Ardakani, Telma Ataide, Demberelsuren Batbold, Mohd Younus Bhat, Tara Congo, Bryon S. Donohoe, Olugbenga Ehinola, Deolinda Flores, Carolina Fonseca, Santanu Ghosh, Paula Gonçalves, Paul C. Hackley, James C. Hower, Luvsanchultem Jargal, Michelle Nicole Johnston, Stavros Kalaitzidis, Sławomir Kędzior, Wayne Knowles, Susheel Kumar, Jolanta Kus, Grzegorz Lis, Kacper Lis, Bei Liu, Bangjun Liu, Qingyong Luo, Meili Du, Alessio Mencarelli, Divya Mishra, Magdalena Misz-Kennan, Nicola Mitillo, Roksana Muzyka, Jennifer Nedzweckas, Jennifer M.K. O'Keefe, Silvia Omodeo-Salé, Luvsannyam Oyunjargal, Jackie Park, Aulia Agus Patria, Richard Pearson, Henrik I. Petersen, Georgeta Predeanu, Ganzorig Ranjin, Julito Reyes, Joana Ribeiro, Genaro de la Rosa Rodríguez, Arka Rudra, Marcin Sajdak, Margaret M. Sanders, George Siavalas, Piotr Sosnowski, Atul K. Varma, Małgorzata Wojtaszek-Kalaitzidi, Mateusz Wolszczak, Zhanjie Xu, Alexander Zdravkov, Lei Zhao, Magdalena Zielińska, and Konrad Ziemianin

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coal.2025.104814

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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 of methodology guidelines 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.

Suggested Citation

Drobniak, A., Mastalerz, M., Jelonek, Z., Jelonek, I., Acda, M., Adsul, T., Andolšek, N.M., Animali, L., Ardakani, O., Ataide, T., Batbold, D., Bhat, M.Y., Congo, T., Donohoe, B.S., Ehinola, O., Flores, D., Fonseca, C., Ghosh, S., Gonçalves, P., Hackley, P.C., Hower, J., Jargal, L., Johnston, M.N., Kalaitzidis, S., Kędzior, S., Knowles, W., Kumar, S., Kus, J., Lis, G., Lis, K., Liu, B., Liu, B., Luo, Q., Du, M., Mencarelli, A., Mishra, D., Misz-Kennan, M., Mitillo, N., Muzyka, R., Nedzweckas, J., O'Keefe, J.M., Omodeo-Salé, S., Oyunjargal, L., Park, J., Patria, A.A., Pearson, R., Petersen, H.I., Predeanu, G., Ranjin, G., Reyes, J., Ribeiro, J., de la Rosa Rodríguez, G., Rudra, A., Sajdak, M., Sanders, M.M., Siavalas, G., Sosnowski, P., Varma, A.K., Wojtaszek-Kalaitzidi, M., Wolszczak, M., Xu, Z., Zdravkov, A., Zhao, L., Zielińska, M., and Ziemianin, K., 2025, Component identification of solid biomass fuels using reflected light microscopy: Interlaboratory study 2: International Journal of Coal Geology, v. 307, 104814, 17 p., https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coal.2025.104814.

Additional publication details
Publication type	Article
Publication Subtype	Journal Article
Title	Component identification of solid biomass fuels using reflected light microscopy: Interlaboratory study 2
Series title	International Journal of Coal Geology
DOI	10.1016/j.coal.2025.104814
Volume	307
Year Published	2025
Language	English
Publisher	Elsevier
Contributing office(s)	Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center
Description	104814, 17 p.