Why Biomass is a Good Alternative Energy Source

How biomass is made

Remember back to elementary school when you learned about photosynthesis; that’s the process of plants absorbing the sun’s energy. As animals and humans eat those plants, that chemical energy from the sun is passed on.

Biomass is simply the organic material that comes from plants and animals and contains stored energy from the sun.

Biomass is renewable energy

Renewable energy occurs naturally and is generally abundant. There are other renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, and hydro-electric. Renwable energy sources are not derived from fossil fuels.

Biomass produces energy in several ways

Examples of biomass fuels are wood, crops, manure and rotted garbage. When biomass is burned, the chemical energy within it is released as heat.

When you burn a piece of wood for heating purposes, that wood is biomass fuel. This is the most common use. But biomass can also be converted into other viable forms of energy. This includes methane gas, ethanol and biodiesel.

Methane Gas

The principal component of methane is natural gas. Methane derived from biomass is a renewable energy source. A primary source of methane gas is landfills.

A vast amount of methane is created naturally as the waste in landfills decomposes. This gas can be harnessed and used by gas-to-energy plants to fuel engine or turbine driven generators of electricity, reducing fossil fuel dependency.

Ethanol

This alcohol fuel comes from sugars found primarily in grains such as corn and wheat. Ethanol is a transportation fuel made from biomass materials.

Currently, most of the ethanol used in the US comes from corn. The process of distilling ethanol from corn is considered costly. Scientists continue to seek alternative methods of making ethanol by using all parts of plants and trees. This would help reduce cost. Ethanol is a renewable energy source unlike petroleum from fossil fuels.

Biodiesel

In the United States, biodiesel is rapidly growing as an alternative fuel. Unlike diesel fuel made from petroleum, biodiesel is a renewable fuel source.

Biodiesel is made from vegetable oils, animal fats, or grease. Maybe you’ve seen one of those diesel trucks attach a hose to McDonald’s and wondered what they were doing. They are actually collecting the grease to be recycled into biodiesel fuel.

Biodiesel fuels are becoming more popular because:

• Biodiesel fuel can be used in vehicles that already use diesel fuel made from petroleum
• Biodiesel can be stored and easily transported
• Biodiesel is clean burning and easy to use
• Biodiesel fuel is cost efficient
• Biodiesel fuel is a renewable energy source

The Need for Biomass Research and Development

In October 2008, the USDA and the Department of Energy released it’s National Biofuels Action Plan in response to President Bush’s “Twenty in Ten” goal. The Biomass Research and Development Board was created as a result. Their objective is to accelerate the development of a sustainable biofuels industry.

A shift from fossil fuels to biomass fuels is the environmentally correct choice. However, much research and development is still required. Because biomass is a renewable energy source, it seems the obvious alternative fuel source in reducing our dependency on fossil fuels.