Biomass

From Swikipedia

Introduction

Biomass, as a renewable energy source, refers to living and recently dead biological material that can be used as fuel or for industrial production. In this context, biomass is commonly plant matter grown to generate electricity or produce heat. For example, forest residues (such as dead trees, branches and tree stumps), yard clippings and wood chips may be used as biofuel. However, biomass also includes plant or animal matter used for production of fibers or chemicals. Biomass may also include biodegradable wastes that can be burnt as fuel. It excludes organic material which has been transformed by geological processes into substances such as coal or petroleum. Biomass is a renewable energy resource derived from the carbonaceous waste of various human and natural activities. It is derived from numerous sources, including the by-products from the timber industry, agricultural crops, raw material from the forest, major parts of household waste and wood.

Biomass does not add carbon dioxide to the atmosphere as it absorbs the same amount of carbon in growing as it releases when consumed as a fuel. Its advantage is that it can be used to generate electricity with the same equipment or power plants that are now burning fossil fuels. Biomass is an important source of energy and the most important fuel worldwide after coal, oil and natural gas.

Traditional use of biomass is more than its use in modern application. In the developed world biomass is again becoming important for applications such as combined heat and power generation. In addition, biomass energy is gaining significance as a source of clean heat for domestic heating and community heating applications. In fact in countries like Finland, USA and Sweden the per capita biomass energy used is higher than it is in India, China or in Asia. Biomass fuels, also known as biofuels, may be solid, liquid, or gas and are derived from biomass feedstock. Biofuel technologies can efficiently transform the energy in biomass into transportation, heating, and electricity generating fuels.

Brief Description

Benefits of Biomass

• Biomass fuels produce virtually no sulfur emissions, and help mitigate acid rain.

• Biomass fuels "recycle" atmospheric carbon, minimizing global warming impacts since zero "net" carbon dioxide is emitted during biomass combustion, i.e. the amount of carbon dioxide emitted is equal to the amount absorbed from the atmosphere during the biomass growth phase.

• The recycling of biomass wastes mitigates the need to create new landfills and extends the life of existing landfills.

• Biomass combustion produces less ash than coal, and reduces ash disposal costs and landfill space requirements. The biomass ash can also be used as a soil amendment in farm land.

• Perennial energy crops (grasses and trees) have distinctly lower environmental impacts than conventional farm crops. Energy crops require less fertilization and herbicides and provide greater vegetative cover throughout the year, providing protection against soil erosion and watershed quality deterioration, as well as improved wildlife cover.

• Landfill gas-to-energy projects turn methane emissions from landfills into useful energy.

Use of Biomass in sustainable habitat

During the day, the building is powered by a biomass gasifier, which is fed by firewood, twigs, branches, and crop stubble from the campus itself. In conventional devices that burn firewood directly, a large part of the energy is lost. In a biomass gasifier this wood is burnt twice as efficiently. Any surplus energy that is generated is used to recharge the battery bank. This battery bank is thus served by two sources of power, namely the photovoltaic panels and the gasifier.

References:

http://edugreen.teri.res.in/explore/renew/biomass.htm

http://www.puco.ohio.gov/PUCO/IndustryTopics/Topic.cfm?id=4400