Biomass energy is as old as a caveman’s fire, yet it is still a major source of renewable energy in many parts of the world. Despite its long history as a source of heat and energy, many people are unaware of what biomass energy is or where biofuels originate.
The term “biomass” simply means “organic matter.” That means it comes from living or dead things, such as animal waste, agricultural waste, garden trash, and so on. Biomass has the advantage of being a renewable resource with an almost limitless supply. Even better, we can use it to generate biomass heat.
Forest wastes (such as dead trees, branches, and tree stumps), yard clippings, wood chips, and even municipal solid trash are all examples of biomass energy sources. Lignocellulosic biomass (second-generation biofuels) is used to generate wood energy. Harvested wood can either be burned directly or collected from wood waste streams to be processed into pellet fuel or other fuels. Pulping liquor, sometimes known as “black liquor,” is a waste product from the pulp, paper, and paperboard industries that provides the most energy from wood.
Plant or animal matter that can be turned into fibers or other industrial compounds, such as biofuels, is considered biomass in the second sense. Miscanthus, switchgrass, hemp, corn, poplar, willow, sorghum, sugarcane, bamboo, and a number of tree species ranging from eucalyptus to palm oil can all be used to produce industrial biomass.
Biomass has three main applications. It may be used to generate energy, biofuels, and biogas, among other things. One of the most common uses for biomass is to create electricity. A biomass power plant burns organic stuff to generate electricity. Heat is produced when organic matter combusts. This heat can then be transferred to water, causing it to boil. Steam is produced when water boils. This will be used to power a turbine and create electricity.
Biomass power plants are extremely similar to regular coal, oil, and gas-fired power plants in terms of how they operate. Some power firms have succeeded in converting their plants to burn biomass rather than fossil fuels.
Although there are many different types of biomass, wood is the most common source of biomass electricity. This is usually derived from tree crops like Willow and Poplar, but it can also be derived from wood chips, tree bark, logs, and other wood sources. Biogas can also be used to generate electricity. This takes a similar method to the last one, but instead of burning organic stuff, it burns gas.
Biofuels are another application for biomass. Bioethanol and biodiesel can be made from food crops and animal fats. Bioethanol is a good substitute for gasoline, and biodiesel is a good substitute for diesel fuel. Transportation using biofuels is possible, but it requires a compatible engine. If you try to use bioethanol or biodiesel in an engine that doesn’t support these fuels, the engine will be damaged.
Bioethanol is the most widely used of all biofuels. This is due to the fact that it is less expensive to create than biodiesel. It’s a type of alcohol fuel that can be made from starchy foods. Wheat, corn, sugarcane, and potatoes are the most popular bioethanol crops.
Because of the amount of land required, biodiesel is less cost-effective than bioethanol. It is mostly made up of a combination of animal fats and vegetable oils. The amount of land that these sources consume is significantly greater than the amount of land that can be used to produce bioethanol.
Biogas production is the third major application of biomass energy. This is primarily made in an anaerobic digester. We’re going to put organic materials in an airtight chamber. We can then heat it to hasten decomposition, resulting in methane, a flammable gas. The methane can then be extracted and stored for further use.
Biomass is a sustainable energy source that can be refilled with each agricultural cycle, wood harvest, or manure pile but it’s not without flaws. Biomass fuel isn’t always consistent in quality or energy efficiency because it originates from a range of sources, and there isn’t currently a well-developed network of biomass refineries and distributors like there is for gasoline and natural gas.
Furthermore, biomass fuel combustion, like fossil fuel combustion, produces potentially hazardous pollutants such as volatile organic compounds, particulate matter, carbon monoxide (CO), and carbon dioxide (CO2) (CO2). CO2 is a greenhouse gas that plays a major role in global warming and climate change.
Biomass energy’s renewable nature, on the other hand, can considerably lessen this environmental impact. While burning biomass emits carbon monoxide and CO2 into the environment, photosynthesis in trees and plants developed for biomass energy captures carbon from the atmosphere. This is referred to as “carbon sequestration” or “carbon banking.”
The cost-benefit analysis of biomass energy and carbon sequestration has sparked significant debate. According to some researchers, the carbon released into the atmosphere (CO and CO2) when biomass fuels are burned is nearly equivalent to the carbon retained in trees and plants cultivated on biomass “plantations.” Biomass energy is practically carbon neutral and environmentally good, according to this analysis.
Other specialists, on the other hand, have discovered that large-scale biomass energy production has a negative impact on the natural environment and air quality. Greenpeace’s “Fueling a Biomess” analysis indicates that large-scale biomass energy growth has gone beyond waste sources like sawdust and paper mill waste, and that entire trees and other critical forest ecosystems are now being destroyed. Biomass energy, despite its lengthy history, has a long way to go before it can fully replace other energy sources such as fossil fuels and nuclear power.
Check out my related post: Is it costly to go green in Singapore?
Interesting reads:
https://greencoast.org/advantages-of-biomass/
https://surgeaccelerator.com/biomass-power-plant/
https://news.climate.columbia.edu/2011/08/18/is-biomass-really-renewable/
https://www.theecoexperts.co.uk/blog/biomass-power-plant
https://www.greensquare.co.uk/blog/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-biomass-energy
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/plant-biomass
https://biomassenergytechniques.com/what-is-biomass/
https://www.clean-energy-ideas.com/biomass/bioenergy/uses-of-biomass-energy/
https://www.thespruce.com/what-is-biomass-energy-1709003
https://nature.visualstories.com/how-efficient-is-biomass-energy
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