The Future of Biomass

In essence, the term biomass actually refers to all the plant and animal matter on the Earth’s surface. These materials contain stored energy from the sun, which can be transformed into usable energy. The harvesting and conversion of biomass materials into energy forms such as heat, electricity, and motion is known as bioenergy. Common examples of biomass fuels include wood, crops, manure, and some forms of garbage. Biomass energy is considered a renewable energy source, since these organic waste products will always exist. Here’s a look at biomass, its technologies, and the promise this holds for our energy future.

How Biomass Is Converted to Usable Energy

The energy contained in biomass can be released in many different ways. Of course, burning these fuels in order to produce steam is one approach, but there are other cleaner ways to achieve usable forms of energy like methane gas, ethanol, and biodiesel. Methane gas is actually released naturally in landfills and other depositories for agricultural and human waste. Ethanol is produced from the fermentation of crops such as corn. And biodiesel can actually be produced from leftover oils and animal fats used in the preparation of foods. Both ethanol and biodiesel can be used as transportation fuels.

Disadvantages of Biomass

There are certain disadvantages to biomass energy that have prevented it from becoming a mainstream energy source. More than anything, it’s expensive to collect, harvest, and store the raw materials, as well as process and convert them into usable energy. In the case of combustion-driven energy generation, greenhouse gases are created and released in the burning process. And finally, large-scale crop production necessitates vast areas of land and a high use of water, making this not a particularly efficient energy source at this time.

Biomass Energy: Now and in the Future

A growing focus on the research and development of biomass technologies is aimed at transforming the abundant biomass resources available into efficient, high-performance, and cost-competitive biofuels, bioproducts, and biopower. Innovative technologies have been developed, such as the conversion of corn harvest waste products into renewable biofuels. Researchers are also looking into the development of spaces in which to “grow” biomass resources in marginal or degraded lands that already contain contaminated or non-potable water. Even better, the potential exists for consumers to eventually be able to make their own biofuels.

Biomass certainly taps into the idea of re-using what we have in order to create energy options for our future. But there is still much technology that needs to be developed before this resource becomes cost-efficient and therefore sustainable.