Alternative Energy: Biomass

Erica Cabalunaand others

• Biomass is a biological matter that is made of living or recently living plants or animal waste that can be used to make energy in many situations.

• It is a renewable resource that is more evenly distributed over the Earth's surface than are finite energy sources.

What does biomass mean?

How is it used in cars?• Biomass accounts for roughly half of all the

renewable energy produced in the United States, and we use more of it than any other country in the world.

• One way is to produce ethanol, a liquid alcohol fuel. Ethanol can be used in special types of cars that are made for using alcohol fuel instead of gasoline. The alcohol can also be combined with gasoline. This reduces our dependence on oil and is also an example of potential energy.

How is biomass being used today to create electricity?• Because biomass is just organic material, things like

burning wood or charcoal count as using biomass as an alternative energy source in addition to deriving biofuel from plants. Electricity is generated through the combustion (burning) of biomass.

What are ways biomass is used to heat homes today?• Producing energy from

biomass usually involves theburning of organic/previouslyorganic material. Generatingheat using biomass is extremelysimple. The combustion of thesematerials creates heat, becauseobviously, fire is hot, i.e. theburning of wood in a woodstoveto heat up the house.

Advantages of Biomass• Renewable• Burns cleanly• Available throughout the world Disadvantages • Contributes to global warming if burned

directly• Expensive• Amount of energy put into growing biomass

What can be done to encourage the use of biomass energy in the future so we don't use up the world's fossil fuel supply?    • Planting large areas of

new forest can slow the increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide by removing CO2 from the atmosphere. 

• The rate of growth in atmospheric carbon dioxide can be reduced substantially by decreasing the current rate at which forest is being converted to other land uses.

Biomass Energy

• Forests that are not harvested do not continue to accumulate carbon indefinitely. Must plant new generation of trees.

• Fast growing trees can recycle carbon rapidly and will displace fossil-fuel with every cycle.