ABOUT BIOMASS ENERGY
Biomass is all plant and animal matter on the Earth's surface.
Biomass is anything that is alive. It is also anything that was
alive a short time ago. In the context of biomass for energy this
is often used to mean plant based material, but biomass can equally
apply to both animal and vegetable derived material.
The carbon used to construct biomass is absorbed from the
atmosphere as carbon dioxide (CO2) by
plant life, using energy from the sun. Plants may subsequently be
eaten by animals and thus converted into animal biomass. However
the primary absorption is performed by plants. If plant material is
not eaten it is generally either broken down by micro-organisms or
burned: If broken down it releases the carbon back to the
atmosphere, mainly as either carbon dioxide (CO2) or methane. If burned the carbon is returned
to the atmosphere as CO2. These processes
have happened for as long as there have been plants on Earth and is
part of what is known as the carbon cycle.
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 programme 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.
Categories of biomass materials
Within this definition, biomass for energy can include a wide
range of materials.
There are five basic categories of material:
- 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 post-consumer waste
- Industrial waste and co-products from
manufacturing and industrial processes.
Why use BIOMASS?
Biomass is a renewable, low carbon fuel that is already widely,
and often economically available throughout the UK. Its production
and use also brings additional environmental and social benefits.
Correctly managed, biomass is a sustainable fuel that can deliver a
significant reduction in net carbon emissions when compared with
fossil fuels.
The problem with burning fossil fuels
Burning any carbon-based fuel converts carbon to carbon dioxide.
Unless it is captured and stored, this carbon dioxide is usually
released to the atmosphere. Burning fossil fuels releases carbon
that was removed from the atmosphere millions of years ago by
animal and plant life. This leads to increased concentrations of
carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
What is the Greenhouse Effect?
The greenhouse effect is the heating of the surface of earth due
to the presence of an atmosphere containing gases that absorb and
emit infrared radiation.
Greenhouse gases, which include carbon dioxide, water vapor and
methane, are almost transparent to solar radiation but strongly
absorb and emit infrared radiation. Thus, greenhouse gases trap
heat within the surface-troposphere system
Global warming
The increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases in the
atmosphere since the industrial revolution and the resulting
widespread use of fossil fuels, gives rise to an increase in the
greenhouse effect, and an increase in the average global
temperature, known as Global Warming. This is predicted to lead to
widespread, unpredictable changes to the global climate.
Using biomass to achieve a carbon balance
The combustion (direct or indirect) of biomass as a fuel also
returns CO2 to the atmosphere. However this carbon is part of the
current carbon cycle: it was absorbed during the growth of the
plant over the previous few months or years and, provided the land
continues to support growing plant material, a sustainable balance
is maintained between carbon emitted and absorbed.
- As trees in the energy plantation grow, they absorb carbon
dioxide from the atmosphere.
- During photosynthesis the trees store carbon in their woody
tissue and oxygen is released back to the atmosphere.
- At harvest, wood fuel is transported from the plantation to the
heat or power generating plant.
- As the wood is burned at the heat or power generating plant the
carbon stored in the woody tissue combines with oxygen to produce
carbon dioxide, this is emitted back to the atmosphere in the
exhaust gases.
The amount of additional biomass that grows over the course of a
year in a given area is known as the annual increment. Provided the
amount consumed is less than the annual increment its use can be
sustainable and biomass can be considered a low carbon fuel and
biomass CO2 absorption and emission is in balance.
5 Good reasons to use biomass as a sustainable
fuel:
- Correctly managed, biomass is a sustainable fuel that can both
offer a significant reduction in net carbon emissions compared with
fossil fuels.
- Biomass can be sourced locally, from within the UK, on an
indefinite basis, contributing to security of supply.
- UK sourced biomass can offer local business opportunities and
support the rural economy.
- The establishment of local networks of production and usage,
allows financial and environmental costs of transport to be
minimized. There is no region in the UK that cannot be a producer
of biomass, although some have greater productivities than
others.
- Woodlands, forestry and agriculture are generally perceived to
be an environmentally and socially attractive amenity by the UK
population, providing opportunities for recreation and leisure
activities.
Source: The Biomass Energy Centre UK: www.biomassenergycentre.org.uk