Biomass, a renewable energy source, is biological material from living, or recently living organisms, such as wood, waste, (hydrogen)

gas, and alcohol fuels. Biomass is commonly plant matter grown to generate electricity or produce heat.

Why biomass is a renewable source Biomass takes carbon from the atmosphere while it is growing, and returns it as it is burned. If it is managed on a sustainable basis, biomass is harvested as part of a constantly replenished crop. This is either during woodland or arboricultural management or coppicing or as part of a continuous programmed of replanting with the new growth taking up CO2 from the atmosphere at the same time as it is released by combustion of the previous harvest.

Chemical composition Biomass is carbon based and is composed of a mixture of organic molecules containing hydrogen, usually including atoms of oxygen, often nitrogen and also small quantities of other atoms, including alkali, alkaline earth and heavy metals. There are five basic categories of material:
y y y y y

Virgin wood, from forestry, arboricultural activities or from wood processing Energy crops: high yield crops grown specifically for energy applications Agricultural residues: residues from agriculture harvesting or processing Food waste, from food and drink manufacture, preparation and processing, and postconsumer waste Industrial waste and co-products from manufacturing and industrial processes.

Conversion technologies There are a number of technological options available to make use of a wide variety of biomass types as a renewable energy source. Conversion technologies may release the energy directly, in the form of heat or electricity, or may convert it to another form, such as liquid biofuel or combustible biogas. While for some classes of biomass resource there may be a number of usage options, for others there may only one appropriate technology. Biomass Technology Chart Conversion Process Type Thermochemical Major Biomass Feedstock Energy or Fuel Produced heat steam electricity

Technology

Direct Combustion

wood agricultural waste municipal solid waste residential fuels wood agricultural waste municipal solid waste wood agricultural waste municipal solid waste

Gasification
40% to 55%

Thermochemical

low or medium-Btu producer gas

Pyrolysis

Thermochemical

synthetic fuel oil (biocrude) charcoal

Anaerobic Digestion

Biochemical (anaerobic)

animal manure agricultural waste landfills wastewater sugar or starch crops wood waste pulp sludge grass straw rapeseed soy beans waste vegetable oil animal fats wood agricultural waste municipal solid waste

medium Btu gas (methane)

Ethanol Production

Biochemical (aerobic)

ethanol

Biodiesel Production

Chemical

biodiesel

Methanol Production

Thermochemical

methanol

How Much It Costs The cost of electricity from biomass energy depends on the type of biofuel used, how it's converted to electricity and the size of the plant. Power plants that burn biomass directly currently generate electricity at a cost of between 7 and 9 cents per kilowatt-hour.
Estimated Cost of Renewable Energy Options (Cents per kWh)

BIOMASS GENERATES MORE CARBON THAN COAL

BIOMASS IS NOT CARBON NEUTRAL BIOMASS ENERGY IS INEFFICIENT BIOMASS SANITIZES AND MINES OUR FORESTS The dispersed nature of wood as a fuel source combined with its low energy value means any sizeable energy plant must burn a lot of wood. For instance, 50 megawatt biomass plant would require roughly 32,500 acres of forest each year if running at near full capacity and entirely on wood.

BIOMASS ENERGY USES LARGE AMOUNTS OF WATER A large-scale biomass plant (50 MW) uses close to a million gallons of water a day for cooling. Most of that water is lost from the watershed since approximately 85% is lost as steam. Water channeled back into a river or stream typically has a pollution cost as well, including higher water temperatures that negatively impact fisheries, especially trout. Since cooling need is greatest in warm weather, removal of water from rivers occurs just when flows are lowest, and fish are most susceptible to temperature stress.