A presentation by:Orion Stand-Gravois

andZack Spillers

History of BiomassBiomass fuel has been used for energy for years. Henry Ford powered his first Model T using biomass energy.

How biomass is obtainedBiomass is a renewable resource that comes from plant matter. During the process of photosynthesis, the building blocks of biomass are formed by carbohydrates.

This occurs when carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is combined with water from the earth.

` Refining BiomassTechniques to transform biomass into fuel using Bioconversion and Thermal Conversion are currently under development at different research laboratories.

Composition of Biomass

How is Biomass used?After being changed to fuel from plants, Biomass can be used by burning the fuel to give of energy. It is like a very safe, efficient form of gasoline.

Positive aspects of biomassBiomass can solve nearly all of the world’s energy problems.Biomass is safer than most sources of energy on the environment.

Negative aspects of biomass The burning of biomass sends carbon dioxide

into the air, which contributes to the Greenhouse effect. However, if a new tree was planted for each tree that was used for the making of biomass, the new tree would take all of the carbon dioxide out of the air that the burning of the old tree put into the air. Therefore, there would be no long-term increase in carbon dioxide.

HempHemp produces more biomass than any plant that can be grown in the United States. Many scientists believe that if hemp were made legal and widely grown in the U.S. for biomass, it alone could supply 100% of U.S. energy needs.

Actor Woody Harrelson, who has become a major environmentalist, recently toured the country in a bus that was converted from diesel to hemp biomass fuel.

Woody explains the benefits of hemp biomass fuel at the Seattle Hemp Festival.

Bibliographyhttp://rredc.nrel.gov/biomass/www.seattlehempfestival.comwww.biomass.org