Biomass energy essay

For more than 100 years people have utilized fossil fuels including coal, petroleum, and petrol to provide energy for warming, transportation, and electricity. Even so fossil fuels are generally not renewable and therefore are rapidly becoming depleted. Due to the rapid depletion of fossil fuels people are beginning to turn to substitute renewable energy sources, including biomass energy. Biomass is usually biological materials from living, or just lately living organisms, most often talking about plant materials, and plant-based materials; even so animals may also be an example of biomass (Biomass Strength Centre, 2011).

Biomass is one of America’s most promising, ample and well-utilized renewable energy sources. Even though alternative strength is a fresh concept, biomass energy had been around for thousands of years. Biomass identifies any organic and natural material which you can use to create energy. Trees, turf, land fill waste and animal manure can all be used to create this strength.

Biomass gets its strength through the photosynthesis of light, which is then placed for energy.

Approximately three to four percent of America’s energy comes from biomass (Marc Lallanilla, site 1). Biomass can be immediately converted into high temperature energy through combustion just like burning a wood log in a fireplace. Biomass can also be converted to a fuel supply for example , ethanol gasoline that is certainly made from corn or methane gas caused by animal waste (Marc Lallanilla, page 1).

Biomass may be converted to energy in 3 ways thermal alteration, chemical transformation, and biochemical conversion. Thermal conversion methods use temperature as the primary method to convert biomass into another chemical substance form. One of thermal biomass would be using wood to get warmth. A variety of chemical procedures may be used to convert biomass.

Typically, the first step consists of gasification. Biomass gasification means heating the biomass up enough to get the gases out of it but not enough to combust the gases coming out of the biomass leading to production of combustible gas consisting of carbon monoxide, hydrogen and a small amount of methane.

This combination of gases is called producer gas. Producer gas can be used to operate gas or perhaps diesel motors or can be utilized as alternative as heating system oil. Seeing that any biomass substance can undertake gasification this process uses the nutrients of bacteria and other micro-organisms to break straight down biomass. Micro-organisms are used to complete the alteration processes just like anaerobic digestion, fermentation and composting (National Academies Press, 2009).

Biomass has it is pros and cons just like any other energy source. On the other hand one of the most significant pros is the fact biomass is actually a carbon natural cycle. Carbon from the atmosphere is absorbed into plant life when plants are starting photosynthesis. When the plant decays or is burnt to produce the biomass energy the carbon kept into the flower goes back in to the atmosphere.

Because it is a circuit, the next plants of crops absorbs that carbon over again. Therefore there exists a neutral harmony between the amount of co2 that the biomass releases into the atmosphere plus the amount that they remove by it. This carbon simple does not play a role in global warming.

Biomass fuels are definitely the cleanest energy to use. (Mathias Aarre Mæhlum, 2012). Biomass energy is renewable and retainable. Often there is an abundance of plants, trees, manure, and waste that can be used for this alternative strength. As you convert this year’s crop to fuel, you are developing another plants for up coming year’s fuel. Biomass can also be stored to get future employ, unlike additional renewable energy sources just like wind and solar energy. Biomass energy also is plentiful and proven, and is able to offer instant effects unlike different energy sources including fossil fuels.

The vitality from biomass is very affordable. Using this alternative energy less expensive than precious fuel really does. It is regarding one third fewer in price than fossil fuels. Biomass energy is definitely acknowledged as a very good way for high efficiency waste disposal, and it is all grown locally. Biomass allows convert neurological waste in to useable energy, which can after that be used to get numerous reasons. Biomass is known as a practical solution for the care of waste disposal plants filling up and a solution for the concerns above depleting non-renewable fuels.

A disadvantage of biomass is that it requires a lot of space to keep the

biomass materials. This kind of space could take up valuable farm land. This valuable farm property being used up could lead to persons having to choose between food and fuel. Biomass production could lead to deforestation. This could lead to even more greenhouse smells being provided into the ambiance. However this can be avoided by simply focusing on just using wood waste and by having incredibly strict control on how very much wood gets harvested (Ned Haluzan, 2012).

Even though biomass energy can be described as carbon simple cycle that involves emission of various other gases that may be harmful to the environment. The production of biomass strength causes the release of nitrous oxide and methane gases that cannot be reabsorbed by replanting the neurological material (such as a tree) that was used to create the biomass strength. This leads to greenhouse fumes storing in the atmosphere throughout the manufacturing of biomass energy.

Another pitfall with biomass strength is that the characteristics and characteristics of the biomass depend from the geography with the land. This kind of limits the kind of biomass designers would be able to utilization in certain parts. For example , dry out desert like places probably would not be able to work with wood as being a biomass because of the lack of forest, whereas in the north east United States there would be a plentiful flow of trees to use for the biomass production. (Peter Kay, 2011)

In the same way any other power source people frequently hear inappropriate information and myths about biomass. One common myth is that cutting down trees and shrubs causes carbon to be released, causing environment change (Bill Cook, 2009). This is at times true intended for the initially several years subsequent harvest, but after these forests have already been rebuilt the regenerating jungles absorb carbon at a faster rate than the previous forest that was there did, and the carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere is a same carbon dioxide that came from your atmosphere.

Another myth is the fact Ethanol gas takes even more energy to create than the energy you get from it. There is a difference between ethanol by cellulose, just like wood and ethanol by grains. The ethanol coming from cellulose is more efficient than ethanol via grains. It will require a lot less strength

ingestion to produce cellulose. (Bill Prepare, 2009)

Another myth is usually wood energy will not produce as many careers as precious fuel at the moment does. This can be completely not the case. In Sweden, where there system is mainly solid wood based, “250-300 jobs had been created for every single terawatt of wood strength. Michigan consumes 900 terawatts per year. The roles related to biomass are in the handling, and support in the feedstock supply chain (Peter Kay, 2011).  These kinds of jobs happen to be kept regional and keep the dollars community, which is best for the economy.

Biomass is a good source of energy, and looks to get promising to get America. Biomass is abundant, renewable and a clean burning gasoline. This cleanness when burning causes almost no contribution to the greenhouse gas which are accountable for global warming.

Bibliography

Biomass Energy Center. (n. d. ). Biomass. http://www.biomassenergycentre.org.

Biomass Energy Benefits and drawbacks ” Energy Informative. (n. d. ). Solar Panels and Home Energy Efficiency ” Strength Informative, http://energyinformative.org/biomass-energy-pros-and-cons/

Cook, W. (2009, May. ” Jun. ). Ten Biomass Misconceptions. Timber West, 1 . Recovered February four, 2013, from http://www.forestnet.com/TWissues/May_June_10/biomass%20myths.pdf

Kay, P. (n. d. ). Biomass energy pros and cons to put it briefly | Green Green Energy Power. Renewable Green Energy Power. http://www.renewablegreenenergypower.com/biomass-energy-pros-and-cons-in-a-nutshell

Liquid Transportation Fuels by Coal and Biomass (pp. 117-134). (2009). Biochemical Change of Biomass. Washington D. C.: THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS.

You might also be interested in the following: what happens to biomass as you move up the biomass pyramid?

1