TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - ORGANIC CHEMISTRY - Preferred Method: The accumulating step includes the step of: packing the cellulosic biomass material to increase density of the cellulosic biomass material forming the pile; and shaping the pile of cellulosic biomass material so that the outer surface of the pile is substantially rounded without valleys and peaks, where the pile of cellulosic biomass material has a base dimension larger than a maximum height dimension. The controlling step includes the step of: covering the pile of cellulosic biomass material with an impermeable material; and creating a crust on the outer surface of the pile. The method further comprises the step of: controlling the passage of oxygen into the pile of cellulosic biomass material; introducing biochemical producing microbes into the pile; mixing cellulosic biomass materials having diverse moisture contents so that the average moisture content is substantially uniformly distributed; chopping the cellulosic biomass material into substantially randomly sized pieces before the mixing step; monitoring the temperature within the interior of the pile of cellulosic biomass material; and injecting air into the pile if the temperature of the interior of the pile is lower than the desired temperature range, and injecting carbon dioxide into the pile to displace oxygen within the interior of the pile if the temperature of the interior of the pile is higher than the desired temperature range. The cellulosic biomass material and the cellulosic feedstock material include cellulose and hemicellulose and the method comprises introducing enzymes into the pile to hydrolyze the cellulose and hemicellulose into sugars. The introducing step includes the step of incorporating enzyme producing microbes into the pile. The maintaining step includes the step of covering the pile of cellulosic feedstock material with an impermeable, flexible material (25). The method-2 comprises covering the outer surface of the pile with the impermeable material to restrict the flow of air and water into the pile, injecting a non-reactive gas into the pile to displace biochemical gases generated within the pile, and collecting the displaced biochemical gases from the pile. The method-2 further comprises the step of placing a conduit system in contact with the cellulosic feedstock material to conduct the injecting and collecting steps. Preferred Components: The cellulosic biomass material having less than 25% moisture can be substantially uniformly mixed with biomass material having greater than 50% moisture content such that an average moisture content of the cellulosic biomass material within the pile is 25-50%. The cellulosic biomass material includes corn cobs and the crust is formed of corn husks mixed with the corn cobs. EXAMPLE - None given.