What is biomass energy used for

Other sources include food crops, grassy and woody plants, residues from agriculture or forestry, oil-rich algae, and the organic component of municipal and industrial wastes. Even the fumes from landfills which contain methane, the main component in natural gas can be used as a biomass energy source. Biomass can be used for fuels , power production, and products that would otherwise be made from fossil fuels.

NREL's vision is to develop technology for biorefineries that will convert biomass into a range of valuable fuels, chemicals, materials, and products—much like oil refineries and petrochemical plants do. Biofuels are transportation fuels, such as ethanol and biodiesel, created by converting biomass into liquid fuels to meet transportation needs.

Learn more about biofuels. Department of Energy estimates that biomass has the potential to produce 40 million tons of hydrogen per year. This would be enough to fuel million vehicles.

Currently, hydrogen fuel cells are used to power buses, forklifts, boats, and submarines, and are being tested on airplanes and other vehicles. However, there is a debate as to whether this technology will become sustainable or economically possible. The energy that it takes to isolate, compress, package, and transport the hydrogen does not leave a high quantity of energy for practical use.

The carbon cycle is the process by which carbon is exchanged between all layers of the Earth: atmosphere , hydrosphere , biosphere , and lithosphere. The carbon cycle takes many forms. It is exchanged through photosynthesis, decomposition, respiration, and human activity. Carbon that is absorbed by soil as an organism decomposes, for example, may be recycled as a plant releases carbon-based nutrients into the biosphere through photosynthesis.

Under the right conditions, the decomposing organism may become peat , coal, or petroleum before being extract ed through natural or human activity.

Between periods of exchange, carbon is sequestered, or stored. The carbon in fossil fuels has been sequestered for millions of years. When fossil fuels are extracted and burned for energy, their sequestered carbon is released into the atmosphere. Fossil fuels do not re-absorb carbon. In contrast to fossil fuels, biomass comes from recently living organisms. The carbon in biomass can continue to be exchanged in the carbon cycle.

In order to effectively allow Earth to continue the carbon cycle process, however, biomass materials such as plants and forests have to be sustainably farmed. It takes decades for trees and plants such as switchgrass to re-absorb and sequester carbon. Uprooting or disturbing the soil can be extremely disruptive to the process. A steady and varied supply of trees, crops, and other plants is vital for maintaining a healthy environment. Algal Fuel Algae is a unique organism that has enormous potential as a source of biomass energy.

Algae, whose most familiar form is seaweed , produces energy through photosynthesis at a much quicker rate than any other biofuel feedstock—up to 30 times faster than food crops!

Algae can be grown in ocean water, so it does not deplete freshwater resources. It also does not require soil, and therefore does not reduce arable land that could potentially grow food crops. Although algae releases carbon dioxide when it is burned, it can be farmed and replenished as a living organism. As it is replenished, it releases oxygen, and absorbs pollutant s and carbon emissions. Algae takes up much less space than other biofuel crops. Department of Energy estimates that it would only take approximately 38, square kilometers 15, square miles, an area less than half the size of the U.

Algae contains oils that can be converted to a biofuel. At the Aquaflow Bionomic Corporation in New Zealand, for example, algae is processed with heat and pressure.

Algae is an excellent filter that absorbs carbon emissions. Bioenergy Ventures, a Scottish firm, has developed a system in which carbon emissions from a whiskey distillery are funneled to an algae pool. The algae flourishes with the additional carbon dioxide. When the algae die after about a week they are collected, and their lipid s oils are converted into biofuel or fish food. Algae has enormous potential as an alternative energy source.

However, processing it into usable forms is expensive. The cost will likely come down, but it is currently out of reach for most developing economies. People and Biomass Advantages Biomass is a clean, renewable energy source.

Its initial energy comes from the sun, and plants or algae biomass can regrow in a relatively short amount of time. Trees, crops, and municipal solid waste are consistently available and can be managed sustainably. If trees and crops are sustainably farmed, they can offset carbon emissions when they absorb carbon dioxide through respiration. In some bioenergy processes, the amount of carbon that is re-absorbed even exceeds the carbon emissions that are released during fuel processing or usage.

Many biomass feedstocks, such as switchgrass, can be harvested on marginal land s or pastures, where they do not compete with food crops.

Unlike other renewable energy sources, such as wind or solar, biomass energy is stored within the organism, and can be harvested when it is needed.

Disadvantages If biomass feedstocks are not replenished as quickly as they are used, they can become non-renewable. A forest, for instance, can take hundreds of years to re-establish itself. This is still a much, much shorter time period than a fossil fuel such as peat. It can take years for just a meter 3 feet of peat to replenish itself. Most biomass requires arable land to develop.

This means that land used for biofuel crops such as corn and soybeans are unavailable to grow food or provide natural habitats. Most biomass plants require fossil fuels to be economically efficient. An enormous plant under construction near Port Talbot, Wales, for instance, will require fossil fuels imported from North America, offsetting some of the sustainability of the enterprise. Scientists and engineers estimate that it is not economically efficient to transport biomass more than kilometers miles from where it is processed.

Renewable Energy: Solar Energy Factsheet. How is electricity made? Renewable Energy Video. Energy Factsheet. In all cases, ReEnergy has suppliers to deliver a steady stream of biomass, and has engaged other suppliers to ensure the facilities have what they need. In addition, we create fuel for other biomass consumers — as well as other products — at our recycling facilities.

When anything is burned, it can create emissions and ash. Our facilities have state-of-the-art cleaning processes that keep emissions below state regulatory levels, and we reuse our ash. Biomass fuels provided about 4 percent of the energy used in the United States in Of this, about 46 percent was from wood and wood-derived biomass, 43 percent was from biofuels mainly ethanol , and about 11 percent was from municipal waste. Researchers are trying to develop ways to burn more biomass and fewer fossil fuels.

Using biomass for energy cuts back on waste and greenhouse gas emissions.