There are a number of liquid forms of biomass that can be used as a fuel:

Bioalcohols

• Ethanol fuel produced from sugar cane is being used as automotive fuel in Brazil. Ethanol produced from corn is being used as a gasoline additive (oxygenator) in the United States. Cellulostic ethanol is being manufactured from straw (an agricultural waste product) by Iogen Corporation of Ontario, Canada.
• Methanol, which is currently produced from natural gas, can also be produced from biomass — although this is not economically viable at present. The methanol economy is an interesting alternative to the hydrogen economy.
• Butanol is formed by A.B.E. fermentation (Acetone, Butanol Ethanol) and experimental modifications of the ABE process show potentially high net energy gains with butanol being the only liquid product. Butanol can be burned "straight" in existing gasoline engines (without modification to the engine or car), produces more energy and is less corrosive and less water soluble than ethanol, and can be distributed via existing infrastructures.

Biologically produced oils (bio-oils) can be used in diesel engines :

• Straight vegetable oil (SVO).
• Waste vegetable oil (WVO).
• Biodiesel obtained from transesterification of animal fats and vegetable oil, directly usable in petroleum diesel engines.

Oils and gases can be produced from various wastes:

• Thermal depolymerization can extract methane and oil similar to petroleum from waste.
• Methane and oils are being extracted from landfill wells and leachate in test sites.

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