BIOMASS

BIOMASS
 Biomass is any organic matter-wood, crops,
seaweed, animal wastes-that can be used as
an energy source. For thousands of years,
people have burned wood to heat their
homes and cook their food.
 It is a renewable energy source because its
supplies are not limited. We can always
grow trees and crops, and people will
always produce garbage.
 Biomass is primarily found in the
form of living or recently living
plants and biological wastes from
industrial and home use. Due to
the breadth of the term, the
physical composition of biomass
is inconsistent, but generally
includes carbon, water and
organic volatiles.
 TYPES OF BIOMASS
1. Wood and Agricultural Biomass
 Most biomass used today is home grown energy. Wood-logs, chips,
bark, and sawdust-accounts for about 79 percent of biomass energy.
But any organic matter can produce biomass energy. Other biomass
sources include agricultural waste products like fruit pits and corn
cobs.
2. Solid Waste
- Burning trash turns waste into a usable form of energy. One ton (2,000
pounds) of garbage contains about as much heat energy as 500 pounds
of coal. Garbage is not all biomass, perhaps half of its energy content
comes from plastics, which are made from petroleum and natural gas.
Power plants that burn garbage for energy are called waste-to-energy
plants. These plants generate electricity much as coal-fired plants do,
except that combustible garbage—not coal—is the fuel used to fire their
boilers.
 TYPES OF BIOMASS
3. Landfill Gas and Biogas
- Bacteria and fungi are not picky eaters. They eat dead plants
and animals, causing them to rot or decay. A fungus on a rotting
log is converting cellulose to sugars to feed itself. Although this
process is slowed in a landfill, a substance called methane gas is
still produced as the waste decays. New regulations require
landfills to collect methane gas for safety and environmental
reasons. Methane gas is colorless and odorless, but it is not
harmless. The gas can cause fires or explosions if it seeps into
nearby homes and is ignited. Landfills can collect the methane
gas, purify it, and use it as fuel. Methane can also be produced
using energy from agricultural and human wastes.
 TYPES OF BIOMASS
4. Ethanol
- Ethanol is an alcohol fuel (ethyl alcohol) made by
fermenting the sugars and starches found in plants and
then distilling them. Any organic material containing
cellulose, starch, or sugar can be made into ethanol. The
majority of the ethanol produced in the United States
comes from corn. New technologies are producing
ethanol from cellulose in woody fibers from trees,
grasses, and crop residues.
 EXAMPLES OF BIOMASS
1. Wood and wood processing wastes
 We burn wood and wood processing wastes to generate
electricity. We also use wood to heat homes and buildings
and produce heat in industry. Humans have been burning
woods to warm their homes and for cooking for thousands
of years.

2. Crops
- We burn crops a fuel. We also convert them into liquid
biofuels. If we ferment sugarcane juice and molasses, we get
sugarcane ethanol, an alcohol-based fuel. In some countries,
ethanol is a popular fuel for vehicles.
 EXAMPLES OF BIOMASS
3. Household Waste
 In many countries, people have to separate their household
waste. We can burn some of this waste to generate
electricity in power situations. We can also convert it into
biogas in landfills.

4. Human Sewage and Animal Manure

- We can convert human sewage and animal manure into
biogas, which we can then burn as a fuel.
 USING BIOMASS
ENERGY
 Burning
 Bacterial Decay
 Fermentation
 Conversion
 COMBUSTION
 It is the process by which flammable
materials are burned in the presence of air or
oxygen to release heat. It is the simplest
method by which biomass can be used
for energy. In its rudimentary form,
combustion is used for space heating (i.e. a
fire for warmth) but can also be used to heat
steam for electricity generation.
 CONVERTING BIOMASS INTO
ENERGY
 Solid biomass, such as wood and garbage, can be burned directly
to produce heat. Biomass can also be converted into a gas
called biogas or into liquid biofuels such as ethanol and
biodiesel. These fuels can then be burned for energy.
 Biogas forms when paper, food scraps, and yard waste
decompose in landfills, and it can be produced by processing
sewage and animal manure in special vessels called digesters.
 Ethanol is made from crops such as corn and sugar cane that are
fermented to produce fuel ethanol for use in vehicles. Biodiesel
is produced from vegetable oils and animal fats and can be used
in vehicles and as heating oil.
 HOW DOES BIOMASS WORK?
 Biomass contains stored energy. That's
because plants absorb energy from the sun
through the process of photosynthesis.
When biomass is burned, this stored energy
is released as heat. Many different kinds
of biomass, such as wood chips, corn, and
some types of garbage, are used
to produce electricity.
 HOW DOES BIOMASS WORK?
 A biomass-fired power plant produces
electricity and heat by burning biomass in a
boiler. The most common types of boilers
are hot water boilers and steam boilers.
Wood chips, residues and other types
of biomass are used in the boilers, in the
same way as coal, natural gas and oil.
 CO-FIRING BIOMASS WITH
COAL

 Co-firing biomass with coal (replacing a

portion of coal with biomass) is an effective
method of using biomass for energy purposes
and to reduce CO2 emissions. Coal plants
can be made suitable to replace part of the
coal by biomass or even to convert fully to
biomass – turning a coal plant into a 100%
renewable energy plant.
 GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS
 CO2 emissions from biomass are part of a short
cycle and do not lead to a net increase of CO2 in the
atmosphere: When forests grow, they absorb CO2.
When biomass is harvested from forests and used for
energy the CO2 is released again. When the forest
regrows it reabsorbs the CO2 again. Provided the
forest is managed sustainably the process of
harvesting and regrowth can be continued
indefinitely, making biomass a renewable source of
energy.
 BIOMASS BECOMES
ELECTRICITY AND HEAT