Glenbourne - Biomass

What is BIOMASS?

Biomass is biological material derived from living, or recently living organisms most often referring to plants or plant-based materials.

As an energy source, biomass can either be used directly via combustion to produce heat, or indirectly after converting it to various forms of biofuel.

Wood remains the largest biomass energy source (e.g. forest bi-products) followed by plant or animal matter that can be converted into fibres or other industrial chemicals (including biofuels).

Industrial biomass can be grown from numerous types of plants and a variety of tree species as well as sourced from agricultural waste.

Biomass takes carbon out of the atmosphere while it is growing, and returns it as it is burned. If it is managed on a sustainable basis, biomass is harvested as part of a constantly replenished crop. This is either during woodland or arboreal management or coppicing or as part of a continuous programme of replanting with the new growth taking up CO2 from the atmosphere at the same time as it is released by combustion of the previous harvest.

This maintains a closed carbon cycle with no net increase in atmospheric CO2 levels.

Categories of biomass materials

Biomass for energy can, and needs, to include a wide range of materials.

The realities of the economics mean that high value materials (such as good quality, large timber) for which there is an alternative market, are very unlikely to become available for energy applications.

There are, however, huge resources of residues, co-products and waste that exist which could potentially become available, in quantity, at relatively low cost or at negative cost: where there is currently a requirement to pay for disposal.

Types of fuels

There are five basic categories of material:

  1. Virgin wood, from forestry, arboreal activities or from wood processing.
  2. Energy crops: high yield crops grown specifically for energy applications.
  3. Agricultural residues: residues from agriculture harvesting or processing.
  4. Food waste, from food and drink manufacture, preparation and processing, and post-consumer waste.
  5. Industrial waste and co-products from manufacturing and industrial processes.

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