It is generally acknowledged that burning fossil fuels and deforestation are major contributors to anthropogenic climate change. Biomass from plants can serve as an alternative renewable and carbon-neutral raw material for the production of energy. Low densities of 80-150 kg/m 3 for herbaceous and 150-200 kg/m 3 for woody biomass limit their application in energy production. Prior to cost-effective use in energy applications, these materials need to be densified to increase their bulk densities

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... to help reduce technical limitations associated with storage, loading, and transportation. Pelleting, briquetting, or extrusion processing are methods commonly used to achieve densification. The aim of the present report is a comprehensive review of biomass processing, which includes densification technologies and specific energy consumption, biomass pretreatment methods, densification process modeling, and optimization. The specific objectives include: