Biomass

=​Biomass Energy= Alex Scott Heather-Kathleen Dodge

Biomass, also referred to as bioenergy, is able to generate energy through the burning of organic materials or by converting them into "fossil equivalent fuels" that are then used in combustion processes. These organic materials include wood waste from forestry, agricultural products, food-processing residues, industrial wastes, municipal sewage and household garbage. For example, corn, an agricultural product, in used to create ethanol, while biodiesels are produced using canola, soybeans or palm nuts.
 * What is biomass?**

The direct burning of biomass generates energy in a very similar way to that of fossil fuels: by combustion. The simplest way to convert biomass into energy is by burning it in a furnace, where it releases hot gases that contain approximately 85% of its potential energy. These hot gases are either used directly for heat, or indirectly through the employment of a heat exchanger. Biomass can also be burned in a boiler, where the heat from combustion is converted into steam. This steam is then converted into electricity using a steam-electric generator, which converts the energy from the steam into rotary motion. The steam may also be used directly for heat. Biomass may also be converted into biofuels, which are then turned into energy by combustion. Biofuels can be liquid, solid or gaseous. There are three different ways to convert biomass into biofuels: In thermochemical conversion, the plant matter is heated, causing it to break down into gases, liquids or solids. These products are then refined into fuels. Biochemical conversion uses the fermentation process to break down biomass, which can be used for fuel. During chemical conversion, biomass oils are chemically converted into biodiesel or gasoline additives. Biofuels are converted into energy using steam-electric generators, gas turbines, combustion turbines and fuel cells.
 * How does it work?**
 * Thermochemical conversion
 * Biochemical conversion
 * Chemical conversion

Increasingly, power plants are burning biomass with coal in a process called co-firing as a way of increasing the use of biomass in the short term. This way some of the disadvantages of biomass mitigated, while the emissions produced by the burning of fossil fuels are reduced.

Though energy of biomass has clear advantages, its many disadvantages have often come under scrutiny from those involved in creating new energy laws. For the most part, the main downfall of biomass energy is that though it is usually considered a renewable form of energy, it has been documented that biomass energy causes environmental pollution. The first manner in which this occurs in through the transportation of the materials. For example, a recent article by Becky Kramer analysed the conundrum facing the Kettle Falls biomass plant near Seattle, WA, one of the largest biomass plants in America. Unfortunately, the act of trucking many thousands of loads of timber from all around Washington state and southern British Columbia to the Kettle Falls plant releases a lot of pollution into the air. To further the irony, a staggering amount of non-renewable fuel is wasted in order to transport the materials to make energy from biomass. Not only does this add to the pollution of our air, but these events also cost extra money. As well, pollution is caused by the pesticides and other chemicals used to grow the plants that are converted into biofuels. Not surprisingly, the high cost of biomass energy is another reason that it is sometimes frowned upon. First, the biomass plants cost money to build and maintain. Especially in a world where we already have the working plants necessary for producing fuel (most of which is non-renewable), many people do not see the appeal of spending lots of money building new plants, even if they can give us fuel that can be used long into the future. Companies also face other financial challenges as it the fuel (usually non-renewable) that is used to transport the raw materials for biomass to the plants is usually very expensive. Furthermore, biomass initiatives require other initiatives as well. Reforestation, for example, must occur in tandem with biomass production when timber is used to produce energy or the process is no longer renewable. Also, some biomass plants have been documented to leech pollutants into water, and when this is the case, measures must be in place to keep the water clean. These initiatives cost both money and substantial time. Finally, as is evident in the local economy near a Nova Scotia biomass plant, people worry that the high costs of biomass will drive up commodity prices in the area, thus causing shifts in the financial atmosphere of a community.
 * Disadvantages of Biomass Energy**

Kevin Booth, environmental compliance coordinator of Avista (an environmental agency), explains biomass as "a continuous cycle, not a net addition of carbon to the atmosphere ." This can be simplified to mean that biomass is a cyclic function by which carbon dioxide is utelized to grow biomass which can be processed to create biofuels, which in turn are put to work and release carbon dioxide as a biproduct. This confirms Booth's ascertation that the creation and use of biomass energy does not add new pollution into the air but rather uses materials that are already present in the environment to make fuel. Another reason that biomass energy has been extolled is that it is a renewable form of energy. Unlike the fossil fuels - the most common form of fuel today - which exist in a certain quantity. No more fossil fuels will be able to be created once their reserves are depleted. Biomass, a type of renewable energy, therefore has the potential to be used not only today but far into the future. Biofuels are also quite versatile. Gaseous biofuels can be used in a variety of power plant configurations; methane, for example, can be used to fuel steam generators, combustion turbines, combined cycle technologies or fuel cells. And unlike other renewable sources of energy like wind or solar power, energy can be produced at any time.
 * Advantages of Biomass Energy**

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