Biomass

http://www.window.state.tx.us/specialrpt/energy/exec/ethanol.html

http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/energy_in_brief/biofuels_use.cfm

http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/analysispaper/biomass/

Overview

• Biomass is the oldest source of energy since wood was first burned to create heat. It remains the world’s widest used energy source today.

• The sun’s energy, stored in plant matter and animal waste, is bio energy. All living things store energy from the sun as chemical energy.

• Biomass is the fuel used to create bio energy which is used for heating, electricity generation, and transportation fuels called bio fuels.

Overview Continued

• Bio fuels provide more than 3 percent of the energy used in the United States.

• The goal is to develop a carbon-neutral bio fuels economy that meets more than 30% of the US transportation demand without competing with foods, feed or export demands.

Advantages

• The United States has the land, the economic resources, and the agricultural infrastructure to shift a large portion of our energy requirements to the domestically available biomass sector.

• Biomass is easy to convert to fuel and the technology is already established.

• Unlike other renewable energy sources, biomass can be converted directly into liquid fuels for our transportation needs.

• Biomass does not emit impurities such as sulfur oxides which are a great pollution concern to large metropolitan areas.

Advantages Continued

• Biomass is not intermittent – it is not dependent on the wind or sun.

• It can reduce the amount of waste in landfills if the waste is used for energy production.

• Because ethanol is made from crops that absorb carbon dioxide and give off oxygen, it has the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help maintain the balance of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. This process is called the carbon cycle. See illustration on next slide.

                                                                                                                                                      

Courtesy of ORNL at http://bioenergy.ornl.gov/papers/misc/bioenergy_cycle.html

• When mixed with coal for electricity generation (called co-firing) the advantages in the coal plant are lower operating costs, and reductions of harmful emissions.

• Using ethanol and bio-diesel for transportation means that we use less oil (a nonrenewable fuel) to make gasoline.  o When small amounts of ethanol or bio-diesel are added to gasoline or diesel fuel, usually less than 10 percent, it reduces carbon monoxide and other toxic pollution from the tailpipes of vehicles, making the air cleaner.o It keeps engines running smoothly without the need for lead or other chemical additives.

Advantages Continued

Disadvantages

• Some claim that growing crops for biomass fuels takes more energy for production of fertilizers, planting, harvesting, storage, and transportation than is produced.

• It takes up land needed for food production. It is believed that some of the recent years’ rise in food prices is due to converting food to biomass production.

• It uses one of our most precious resources – water.

• The effects of biomass can be beneficial or harmful to the soil quality, water, land use, and biodiversity depending on the types and locations of the plants utilized.

• The ability to grow biomass is dependent on climate changes.

Technical Considerations

Through the process of photosynthesis, plants absorb the sun’s energy. This chemical energy is passed on to animals who eat the plants. When plants, animals and their waste are burned, the energy is released and produces steam which can be used to make electricity or provide heat to buildings.

Technical Considerations Continued

There are many biofuel sources, including:o Agricultural crops, e.g. sugar cane, corn and rapeseed o Agricultural residue o Paper mill residue o Urban wood waste o Forest residue o Landfill gas (methane)

Technical Consideration Continued

There are many applications for biomass energy:

• Bio fuels such as ethanol and bio diesel are used for transportation:

o Ethanol is a fuel made from plant matter using a process called fermentation which is similar to that made to create alcoholic beverages.

o Bio diesel is made with vegetable oils, fats, or greases. o Flex fuel cars use different mixes of ethanol and

gasoline.o Electricity generation or biopower processes such as

direct-firing, co-firing, gasification, pyrolysis, and anaerobic digestion.

Technical Consideration Continued

• Bioproducts can be used to create products similar to petrochemical products such as plastics, acids, synthetic fibers, antifreeze, glues, artificial sweeteners, and gels.

• Biorefineries can integrate all of these processes in order to maximize the biomass resources.

Technical Consideration Continued

Gasification and Pyrolysis, are new technologies which promise to make the future of biomass more efficient.

It is possible that in the future genetically altered plants can yield as much as 30% more crops which have potential for bio energy.

Economic Considerations

• Today, on average, biomass costs about twice as much as natural gas to produce electricity.

• Biomass has the potential to make a valuable contribution to relieving the current global energy crisis, but evaluating its specific numerical value is difficult due to many factors: o There are many resources, processes, and outcomes from

this versatile energy source.o The variety of resources being developed make it difficult

to assess accurately the potential effects of biomass.

Economic Considerations Continued

• Biofuels tend to require subsidies and other market interventions to compete economically with fossil fuels, which creates deadweight losses in the economy.

• The Energy Information Administration provides the most recent figures on energy production and consumption by source.

Environmental Considerations

• It is generally believed that the use of bio fuels is good for the environment because the plants grown reduce carbon dioxide and produce oxygen.

• Some claim that growing crops for biomass fuels takes more energy for production of fertilizers, planting and harvesting, than it produces and it takes up land.

• It effects the soil quality, water, land use, and biodiversity. • Bio refineries are run with fossil fuels, so there is potential for biofuels to

produce more GHG than fossil fuels alone. • If biofuels are made from feedstock which replaces areas such as the

rainforest, the GHG emissions would likely increase.

Legal/Regulatory Considerations The U.S. government has passed several acts in the past 5 years

which offer tax incentives, loans, grants, and subsidies for research and development in bio fuels and to encourage the production of biomass crops and building of bio refineries: The Energy Policy Act of 2005The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA)Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008,American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act)

Biomass is a local regulatory issue because of the high cost of transporting the feedstock. Bio refineries must be near the feedstock production areas.

Anticipated Status

Of all the energy sources currently known, biomass has the most need and potential for research and development as an energy source. Although the growing of crops was one of the first skills developed by mankind, it continues to present many possibilities to assist in alleviating our energy source challenges if managed wisely.

Biomass is used in all types of demand sectors and more than half

of the renewable energies used today are from biomass.

Biomass usage will continue to grow along with other renewable energy sources.

Anticipated Status Continued

It is predicted that bio fuels technologies such as cellulosic ethanol will allow bio fuels to play a larger role in the future. Cellulosic fibers come from the stems and branches of most plants and can be obtained from crop residues, wood waste, municipal solid waste and dedicated energy crops such as switchgrass.

One of the biggest potentials for the growth of biomass is using algae. Its advantages include:• Algae produces oil and can generate 15 times more oil per

acre than other plants. • It will grow in all kinds of water including those unsuitable

for food production. • Although burning algae oil creates carbon dioxide, it

consumes it in the growth process and algae grows better when provided with more carbon dioxide so there is a potential that it can also be used to clean up after fossil fuel production.

The challenges of algae as a bio fuel include:• Separating the oil from the plant.• Algae currently produces half of the oxygen on Earth so

some people do not want to alter it for fear of potential genetic disaster.

Summary

Biomass has the potential to provide us with a variety of sustainable, domestic resources for energy production. Solving its economic and environmental problems through research and development is an exciting opportunity for the scientific community today. Not only for the U.S. but for communities worldwide, the responsible use of biomass can be a bridge to future sustainable energy sources. Feed stocks such as switch grass, algae, and cellulosic crops hold great potential for the future use of biomass.