Biomass Energy

The term "biomass"refers to organic matter that has stored energy through the process of photosynthesis. It exists in one form as plants and may be transferred through the food chain to animals' bodies and their wastes, all of which can be converted for everyday human use through processes such as combustion, which releases the carbon dioxide stored in the plant material. Many of the biomass fuels used today come in the form of wood products, dried vegetation, crop residues, and aquatic plants. Biomass has become one of the mostcommonly used renewable sources of energy in the last two decades, second only to hydropower in the generation of electricity. It is such a widely utilized source of energy, probably due to its low cost and indigenous nature, that it accounts for almost 15% of the world's total energy supply and as much as 35% in developing countries, mostly for cooking and heating.Biomass is one of the most plentiful and well-utilised sources of renewable energy in the world. Broadly speaking, it is organic material produced by the photosynthesis of light. The chemical material (organic compounds of carbons) are stored and can then be used to generate energy. The most common biomass used for energy is wood from trees. Wood has been used by humans for producing energy for heating and cooking for a very long time.Biomass has been converted by partial-pyrolisis to charcoal for thousands of years. Charcoal, in turnhas been used for forging metals andfor light industry for millenia. Both wood and charcoal formed part of the backbone of the early Industrial Revolution (much northern England, Scotland and Ireland were deforested to produce charcoal) prior to the discovery of coal for energy.Wood is still used extensively for energy in both household situations, and in industry, particularly in the timber, paper and pulp and other forestry-related industries. Woody biomass accounts for over 10% of theprimary energy consumed in Austria,and it accounts for much more of the primary energy consumed in most of the developing world, primarily for cooking and space heating.It is used to raise steam, which, in turn, is used as a by-product to generate electricity. Considerable research and development work is currently underway to develop smaller gasifiers that would produceelectricity on a small-scale. For the moment, however, biomass is used for off-grid electricity generation, butalmost exclusively on a large-, industrial-scale.There are two issuesthat affect the evaluation of biomass as a viable solution to our energy problem: the effects of the farming and productionof biomass and the effects of the factory conversion of biomass into usable energy or electricity. There are as many environmental and economic benefits as there are detriments to each issue, which presents a difficult challenge in evaluating the potential success of biomass as an alternative fuel. For instance, the replacement of coal by biomass could result in "a considerable reduction in net carbondioxide emissions that contribute to the greenhouse effect." On the other hand, the use of wood and other plant material for fuel may mean deforestation. We are all aware of theproblems associated with denuding forests, and widespread clear cuttingcan lead to groundwater contamination and irreversible erosion patterns that could literally change the structure of the world ecology.Biomass has to be consideredin the search for an alternative source of energy that is abundant in a wide-scale yet non-disruptive manner, since it is capable of being implemented at all levels of society. Although tree plantations have"considerable promise" in supplying an energy source, "actual commercial use of plantation-grownfuels for power generation is limited to a few isolated experiences." Supplying the United States ' current energy needs would require an area of one million square miles. That's roughly one-third of the area of the 48 contiguous states. There is no way that plantations could be implemented at this scale, not to mention that soil exhaustion would eventually occur. Biomass cannot replace our current dependence on coal, oil, and natural gas, but it can complement other renewables such as solar and wind energy.According to Flavin and Lenssen of the Worldwatch Institute, "If the contribution of biomass to the world energy economy is to grow, technological innovations will be needed, so that biomass can be converted to usable energy in ways that are more efficient, less polluting, and at least as economical as today's practices." When we have enough government support and have allotted enough land for the continuous growth ofenergy crops for biomass-based energy, we may have a successful form of alternative energy. But "as long as worldwide prices of coal, oil and gas are relatively low, the establishment of plantations dedicated to supplying electric power or other higher forms of energy will occur only where financial subsidies or incentives exist or where other sources of energy are not available." Although itis currently utilized across the globe, biomass energy is clearly not capable of sustaining the world's energy needs on its own.