What Is Biomass And How Can It Be Used?

Many people are familiar with wind and solar energy as alternatives to fossil fuels to lower carbon emissions and support energy independence, however for many people biomass and pellets is a less familiar solution.

However, biomass is now gaining much more attention particularly in the form of wood pellets and electrical generation. This has led many people to ask themselves 'what is biomass?'. Well, biomass is simply a collective term used to describe a group of organic materials which can be used to generate energy. So for many people their first thoughts on what is biomass is wood. And yes, wood is the most common reference of biomass, however there are many more materials. For example straws, grasses and energy crops. These biomass resources will play a more significant role in future energy production as their growth cycle is much faster than most woods, and can generate larger yields within a shorter time period. This also means using less land for energy production that should be used for food. However, in many cases there are biomass materials which can benefit both food and fuel. Take wheat for example, after the wheat is ready for harvest there is a large volume of straw remaining. This can then be processed into fuel pellets. This means from one crop and one piece of land both food and fuel can be produced from the same crop without impacting on the cost of food. Corn ethanol production has been blamed for raising the price of corn as a food substance. Using wheat straw for fuel could potentially lower the cost of wheat as a food substance as two incomes would be generated from the crop and lower the costs of production while increasing profitability. This shows the true potential of biomass to generate food and fuel.

Biomass Biofuels and Renewable Energy

As in most cases to release the energy from biomass requires burning, many people automatically presume using biomass is bad for the environment. However, this is simply not the case though efficient combustion is crucial to reduce air pollution. Biomass is plant matter and as plant mater consumes carbon dioxide during growth only the same proportion of carbon dioxide is released during combustion. Therefore burning biomass has a neutral effect on the levels of carbon dioxide within the atmosphere and is regarded as a carbon neutral fuel source. Unlike fossil fuels which were trapped forms of carbon that during combustion do place additional carbon dioxide into the air. Biomass unlike fossil fuels such as oil and gas is also a renewable source of energy. This means we can replace the biomass we use within the life cycle of its consumption as we can grow more biomass quickly. Please click the link below to see a collection of videos on making and burning biomass pellets. Our mini pellet machine can operate from single phase.

Pellet Mill Videos Click Here

The Wood Pellet Production Guide © PelHeat Ltd - What Is Biomass And How Can It Be Used?