Implications of Burning Biomass


by Abe Monhegan


When talking about renewable energy sources, one must remember about biomass. While the name sounds just a little "high tech", that it is the oldest type of heating. Biomass actually refers to biological material that is either living or recently dead. When talking about it in the alternative energy sense, we are typically referring to plant matter. The most common example you think of is burning wood.

Indeed, up until in regards to a hundred years ago wood was the main heating source for man. Many people still tried on the extender today in wood stoves in their home as well as the newer and much more eco-friendly wood pellet stoves.

Biomass, being plant matter, is renewable because you can simply plant a lot of trees or what ever biological material you are using. If used responsibly, you'd never run out of your supply and it is renewable because you would continually be planting new trees to exchange the ones you used to produce energy.

However, biomass is a part of the carbon cycle and burning it releases co2 in to the air. If used properly, it's really a carbon neutral fuel though because the living plants actually absorb co2. So if you're planting as many baby plants as you are burning, then you'll have a neutral effect when it comes to carbon dioxide.

Biomass doesn't have to refer to just plants though it may also be animal matter too. Even garbage might be considered biomass however i don't believe you would burn it in your wood stove! Yet, you don't have to burn biomass to release its energy - it can be converted into methane or ethanol or even by biodiesel.

When it comes to greenhouse gases, this is often a very good thing because methane, that is released within our landfills, dairies and cattle feed lots, has 21 times the worldwide warming potential that carbon dioxide has. Therefore, collecting the methane and taking advantage of it for wind turbine could reduce harmful green house gases which contribute to climatic change.

Biomass fuel has an additional as it is very versatile. Unlike wind or solar energy which could simply be stored as electricity in batteries or used immediately, biomass can be created into a gas for heating and burning, a liquid for fueling cars or even a bricklike briquette like charcoal.

With this supply of non-renewable fuels quickly running out, you will likely be hearing more and more about research being carried out regarding how to harness the green, alternative energy of biomass fuels.




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