The bane of most biomass is that it has low energy density and it is spread out.  Economical use of biomass with current technology limits its use.  Transportation of most biomass is uneconomical.  Electrical power plants designed to use biomass as a fuel are located close to the source (mainly from waste wood sources such as mills) and are relatively small in size due to the local availability of biomass.  Smaller power plants are less efficient than larger plants.  This is also true of plants which produce biofuels.   Densification of biomass is greatly desired to decrease transportation costs to a power plant or centralized plant for conversion to other fuels.  Simplicity and low cost are key to this approach.  Of course, it is tempting to go to higher level biofuels directly, but this increases individual plant costs and the conversion efficiencies are lower.  It also creates a product that needs infrastructure to transport, which may not be available.  It is important to not lose sight of the goal to profitably convert a widely dispersed low value resource into a usable, easily transportable valuable fuel/feedstock.