Biomass, a definition

Written By Live Naturally
Dated: July 4, 2006

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Biomass is a term that is appearing more and more in the media, but what is it and what does it mean to you? Well for thousands of years man has been using biomass to survive in the form of wood which he burnt to stay warm and cook his food. The dictionary defines biomass as the total quantity of organisms in a given area or volume, doesn’t really help does it, but it is generally accepted that the term biomass refers to living biological material that can be used to produce energy. Note the term living, as biomass does not include organic material that has been converted to coal or petroleum fuels.

Biomass comes in various forms though the majority is from plants and trees, having said that cow manure falls under the classification, though the link is there as it comes from grass. As I said, wood has been used for generations to keep man warm, though today with conservation and global warming on everyones minds it is essential that the wood comes from a sustainable source inorder to balance the release of carbon dioxide from the burning of the wood. Remember from your biology classes that plants absorb carbon dioxide during photosynthesis thereby removing it from the atmosphere from whence it has entered, having been burnt.

Not only can wood be used for heating, but also to produce electricity by burning to release steam, gas or biofuel which in turn is used for electricity production. Of course this requires a huge supply, though provided the trees are replaced, the carbon process is neutral.

Most recently, what with oil prices spiralling, biofuels have been the focus of attention. The great thing about biofuels is that they are a renewable source, all that is needed is soil, sun, water and the seed which of course renews itself as part of the biological process, ain’t nature great? Coal and oil, however are not renewable and take millions of years to be formed.

Most biofuels come from rotated crop production, using for example, corn, soya beans, hemp, flaxseed and rapeseed, though there are many others that could be used as all that is happening is the extraction of the suns energy that the plants store, we’re back to that biology lesson again. Not only can biofuel be used for heating, but it can also be used for the running of petrol and diesel vehicles and the production of electricity. Use it in my car I hear you say, well you probably are now, though only in small quantities as many forecourt petrol pumps contain 5% biofuel and 95% petrol. In Brazil, bioethanol cars (bioethanol is the petrol alternative, whereas biodiesel is the diesel alternative) have been outselling petrol vehicles and the same for Sweden where the Ford flex-fuel model outsells both the diesel and petrol variants. So why isn’t it happening here? Well the UK government target is that 5% of all motor fuel must come from renewable sources by 2010. So it is, but as ever, slowly.