Biomass Energy

Biomass Energy

Introduction Biomass is biological material derived from living, or recently living organisms. It mostly often refers to plants or plant-derived materials which are specifically called lignocellulosic biomass. As a renewable energy source, biomass can either be used directly via combustion to produce heat, or indirectly after converting it to various forms of biofuel.

The source of biomass energy. Wood energy. is the largest biomass energy source today. The other source of biomass energy are Waste energy (e municipal solid waste (MSW), manufacturing waste, and landfill gas) Plant energy (sugarcane and corn starch etc.)
Biomass conversion process to useful energy Conversion of biomass to biofuel can be achieved by different methods which are broadly classified into: thermal, chemical, and biochemical methods.
Economic benefits of biomass Energy
Biomass energy plants make a substantial, positive impact on local and regional economies by generating well-paying jobs in:construction and operation of the plant and collection and transportation of biomass material.
Besides these economic development benefits, biomass plants help ensure a sustainable market for forest products. The jobs created as a result of these facilities help to protect and preserve the unique culture of many rural communities.
Social Benefits of Biomass Energy As demand for power increases, many regions of the country face potential supply shortfalls. These shortfalls could result in significantly higher electric prices and potential blackouts. Biomass power generation can help address this issue by providing a source of electricity.
Environmental Benefits of Biomass Energy
Biomass power facilities have numerous attributes, which benefit the environment and world climate change.
Environmental benefits include: cleaner air and better forestry management. encourage better forestry practices which in turn lead to increased protection of critical wildlife habitats, produce ash which can be used for soil enhancement in farmland, reduce the impact of invasive species, reduce wildfire risk, improve solid waste management by providing an outlet for land-clearing debris, diseased/infected trees and other wood wastes rather than open burning or depositing in already crowded landfills and reduce the impact of natural disasters by providing an outlet for storm debris.
Climate Change Benefits of Biomass Energy Biomass energy facility significantly reduce the amount of carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere along with other emissions such as particulate matter. Biomass energy has additional climate change benefits.
Like all renewable energy technologies, biomass energy displaces the production of an equivalent amount of energy from fossil fuels. However, biomass energy is not just carbon neutral but actually carbon negative.
In the absence of biomass energy, a large portion of biomass material would be left to decompose naturally, be open-burned or landfilled. Landfilled or naturally decaying biomass material releases carbon in the form of methane as well as carbon dioxide. Methane is 20 to 25 times more potent as a greenhouse-gas than carbon dioxide.
Biomass energy contributes to forest health and fire resiliency, which increases the amount of carbon stored on a sustainable basis.

Conclusion
“Biomass is generally accepted as a ‘green’ fuelfor energy production as carbon emissions are much lowerthan for fossil fuels.
Biomass, also known as biofuels or bioenergy, comes from organic matter either directly from plants or indirectly from industrial, commercial, domestic or agricultural products. Biomass is a renewable source of energy that can help emissions of carbon dioxide, the main cause of climate change. However, we need to ensure that biomass projects are developed and operated to minimise impacts on the local environment.