BIOMASS

BIOMASS
TYPES OF BIOMASS
• Biomass is biological material derived from living, or
recently living organisms. In the context of biomass as a
resource for making energy, it most often refers to plants
or plant-based materials which is not used for food or
feed, and are specifically called lignocellulosic biomass .[1]
As an energy source, biomass can either be used directly
via combustion to produce heat, or indirectly after
converting it to various forms of biofuel. Conversion of
biomass to biofuel can be achieved by different methods
which are broadly classified into: thermal, chemical, and
biochemical methods.
• There are three sources of biomass in energy product
context: 1- Woody source of biomass'(Lignocelluloses)
such as:Forest residues, Landscaping residues, Energy
wood plantations, Residues from food, Industrial wood
residue, Waste wood residues 2- Non Woody biomass
(Oil, sugar, starch) such as: Energy plants from agriculture,
Straw and other harvesting residues from agriculture,
Residues from food industry, Landscaping residues(grass
etc.) 3- Animal/Men(Fats/Proteins), Farm slurry
/excrements, Slaughter waste, Organic waste from
households and industry
• Wood remains the largest biomass energy source to date;
[2]
examples include forest residues (such as dead trees,
branches and tree stumps), yard clippings, wood chips
and even municipal solid waste. In the second sense,
biomass includes plant or animal matter that can be
converted into fibers or other industrial chemicals,
including biofuels. Industrial biomass can be grown from
numerous types of plants, including miscanthus,
switchgrass, hemp, corn, poplar, willow, sorghum,
sugarcane, bamboo,[3] and a variety of tree species,
ranging from eucalyptus to oil palm (palm oil).
• Plant energy is produced by crops specifically grown for
use as fuel that offer high biomass output per hectare
with low input energy. Some examples of these plants
are wheat, which typically yield 7.5–8 tonnes of grain per
hectare, and straw, which typically yield 3.5–5 tonnes per
hectare in the UK.[4] The grain can be used for liquid
transportation fuels while the straw can be burned to
produce heat or electricity. Plant biomass can also be
degraded from cellulose to glucose through a series of
chemical treatments, and the resulting sugar can then be
used as a first generation biofuel.
• Biomass can be converted to other usable forms of
energy like methane gas or transportation fuels like
ethanol and biodiesel. Rotting garbage, and agricultural
and human waste, all release methane gas—also called
landfill gas or biogas. Crops, such as corn and sugar
cane, can be fermented to produce the transportation
fuel, ethanol. Biodiesel, another transportation fuel,
can be produced from left-over food products like
vegetable oils and animal fats.[5] Also, biomass to liquids
(BTLs) and cellulosic ethanol are still under research.[6][7]
• There is research involving algal, or algae-
derived, biomass due to the fact that it is a
non-food resource and can be produced at
rates five to ten times faster than other types
of land-based agriculture, such as corn and
soy. Once harvested, it can be fermented to
produce biofuels such as ethanol, butanol, and
methane, as well as biodiesel and hydrogen.
• Forests, not fuel: Burning trees for energy increases
carbon pollution and destroys forests
• Plants capture and store the sun's energy as they grow.
Today's biomass energy comes from annual row crops,
such as corn and soybeans, agricultural leftovers, such as
rice husks and pressed sugar cane, and wood, including
whole trees, from forests -- a highly problematic source of
biomass. Researchers are developing ways to produce
energy from special, fast-growing, and higher-yielding
"energy crops" such as willow, miscanthus, and
switchgrass.
• All this plant material can be treated in different ways to
produce energy and fuel. Biomass can be:
• Burned in power plants to produce heat or electricity, with
fewer harmful emissions than coal.
• Fermented to produce fuels, like ethanol, for cars and trucks.
• Digested by bacteria to create methane gas for powering
turbines.
• Heated under special conditions, or "gasified," to break down
into a mix of gases that can be burned for electricity or used
to make a range of products, from diesel to gasoline to
chemicals.
 Advantages of Biomass Energy

• Farmers and foresters already produce a great deal of residue. While much of
it is needed to protect habitat, soil, and nutrient cycles, tens of millions of tons
and more could be safely collected with the right management practices. Every
year in the United States, roughly 39 million tons of crop residues go unused.[2
]
• Unlike coal, biomass produces no harmful sulfur or mercury emissions and has
significantly less nitrogen -- which means less acid rain, smog and other toxic
air pollutants.
• Over time, if dedicated biomass is sustainably managed, converting it to energy
can result in low or no net carbon emissions, provided that the carbon
released is rapidly absorbed back from the atmosphere by biomass re-growth.
• Using biofuels in our cars and airplanes can potentially produce less global
warming pollution than petroleum-based fuels, and allows us to invest our
energy dollars at home rather than in foreign oil.
• Switchgrass, a promising source of biofuels, is a native,
perennial prairie grass that is easier to grow responsibly
than most row crops. If planted in such a way that it does
not replace native habitat or take land out of food
production, switchgrass and other sustainably managed
energy crops have the potential to reduce erosion and
nitrogen runoff, and increase soil carbon faster when
mowed than when standing.
• Many ethanol refineries are owned by farmer-
cooperatives, which help preserve the economic vitality of
rural communities.