The composition of the biosphere is a fundamental question in biology, yet a global quantitative account of the biomass of each taxon is still lacking. Energy & Fuels 25: 415–437. "Making fischer-tropsch fuels and electricity from coal and biomass: Performance and cost analysis." Smil estimates the following densities for biofuels: Combusting solid biomass is more energy efficient than combusting liquids, as the whole plant is utilized. [i] Compared to fossil fuels, the greenhouse gas (GHG) savings are large—even without considering the GHG effect of carbon sequestration, miscanthus fuel has a GHG cost of 0.4–1.6 grams CO2-equivalents per megajoule, compared to 33 grams for coal, 22 for liquefied natural gas, 16 for North Sea gas, and 4 for wood chips imported to Britain from the USA. Studies have reported life‐cycle GHG savings ranging from an 86% reduction to a 93% increase in GHG emissions compared with fossil fuels (Searchinger et al., 2008; Davis et al., 2009; Liska et al., 2009; Whitaker et al., 2010). Sugars present in this biomass are fermented to produce bioethanol, an alcohol fuel which serve as an additive to gasoline, or in a fuel cell to produce electricity.[12]. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. Soils already rich in carbon includes peatland and mature forest. [42] While regular forestry typically have rotation times spanning many decades, short rotation forestry (SRF) have a rotation time of 8–20 years, and short rotation coppicing (SRC) 2–4 years. Sewage sludge is another source of biomass. Examples of fossil fuels include coal, petroleum and natural gas. For the use of the term in ecology, see, It has been suggested that this article be, Biological material used as a renewable energy source, Power production compared to other renewables, "The environmental costs and benefits of bioenergy have been the subject of significant debate, particularly for first‐generation biofuels produced from food (e.g. Energy & Fuels, 32(7), 7294–7318. It is also the total amount of organic material produced by living things in a given area within a set period of time. Biomass also refers to the organic material on Earth that has stored sunlight in the form of chemical energy. miscanthus, switchgrass), wood or forest residues, waste from food crops (wheat straw, bagasse), horticulture (yard waste), food processing (corn cobs), animal farming (manure, rich in nitrogen and phosphorus), or human waste from sewage plants. [15] Some have been developed for use on high moisture content biomass, including aqueous slurries, and allow them to be converted into more convenient forms. The total annual SOC change across GB in the transition from arable to Miscanthus if all nonconstrained land was planted with would be 3.3 Tg C yr, "In summary, we have quantified the impacts of LUC [land use change] to bioenergy cropping on SOC and GHG balance. The economic viability of biomass is dependent on government mandates and subsidies, due to high costs of infrastructure and ingredients for ongoing operations relative to other sources of energy. Additionally, Smil estimates that newly installed photovoltaic solar parks reaches 7–11 W/m. The principal difference is that fossil fuels require thousands of years to be converted into usable forms, while properly managed biomass energy can be … Liu, G., E. D. Larson, R. H. Williams, T. G. Kreutz and X. Guo (2011). 3 confirmed either no change or a gain of SOC [soil organic carbon] (positive) through planting Miscanthus on arable land across England and Wales and only a loss of SOC (negative) in parts of Scotland. This can be performed directly in a direct carbon fuel cell,[20] direct liquid fuel cells such as direct ethanol fuel cell, a direct methanol fuel cell, a direct formic acid fuel cell, a L-ascorbic Acid Fuel Cell (vitamin C fuel cell),[21] and a microbial fuel cell. If emissions during agriculture, processing, transport and combustion are higher than what is absorbed, both above and below ground during crop growth, the GHG life cycle cost is positive. Humans did not create or manufacture them. In order to match these power densities, plantation yields must reach 17 t/ha, 50 t/ha and 83 t/ha for wind, hydro and solar respectively. 3), whilst the shorter term radiative forcing impact of black carbon particles from the combustion of biomass and biofuels also represents significant data uncertainty (Bond et al., 2013). IEA Bioenergy) counter with the argument that this higher amount of CO2 is irrelevant since it will be absorbed back by new plant growth (here assuming sustainable forestry practices). Perennial agricultural systems, such as grassland, have time to replace their infrequent disturbance losses which can result in higher steady-state soil carbon contents (Gelfand et al., 2011; Zenone et al., 2013). They criticize the bioenergy sceptics for blurring the distinction between fossil and biogenic carbon, and state that "it is incorrect to determine the climate change effect of using biomass for energy by comparing GHG emissions at the point of combustion."[34]. [citation needed], Thermal conversion processes use heat as the dominant mechanism to upgrade biomass into a better and more practical fuel. Cofiring with biomass has increased in coal power plants, because it makes it possible to release less CO2 without the cost associated with building new infrastructure. [27][28][29] In 2009 a Swedish study of the giant brown haze that periodically covers large areas in South Asia determined that two thirds of it had been principally produced by residential cooking and agricultural burning, and one third by fossil-fuel burning. The others do not exist by themselves — they were extracted in some way from nature by humans. These blends and mixtures can also include woody biomass. Biomass might be one of the most environmentally friendly methods for creating heat and electricity in the U.S., but it is not the most common. iLUC) creating a carbon debt which could take decades to repay (Fargione et al., 2008). See, "A systematic review and meta-analysis were used to assess the current state of knowledge and quantify the effects of land use change (LUC) to second generation (2G), non-food bioenergy crops on soil organic carbon (SOC) and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of relevance to temperate zone agriculture. Biomass power plants use a boiler to produce high-pressure steam, which, in turn drives a turbine to generate electricity. Some have even higher total GHG emissions than some fossil based alternatives. [22] The fuel can also be consumed indirectly via a fuel cell system containing a reformer which converts the biomass into a mixture of CO and H2 before it is consumed in the fuel cell. Many first generation biomass projects have a positive GHG life cycle cost, especially if emissions caused by direct or indirect land use change are included in the GHG cost calculation. Biomass can refer to species biomass, which is the mass of one or more species, or to community biomass, which is the mass of all species in the community. Critics argue that the use of this land should be utilized for food distribution rather than crop degradation. There are numerous types of plants, including corn, switchgrass, miscanthus, hemp, sorghum, sugarcane, and bamboo. ", "The raw material for wood pellets is woody biomass in accordance with Table 1 of ISO 17225‑1. sfn error: no target: CITEREFvan_den_Broek1996 (, "The global outlook for future wood supply from forest plantations", ISO (International Organization for Standardization) 2014a, ISO (International Organization for Standardization) 2014b, "Biomass – Energy Explained, Your Guide To Understanding Energy", "Carbon emissions from burning biomass for energy", "Congress Says Biomass Is Carbon Neutral but Scientists Disagree - Using wood as fuel source could actually increase CO2 emissions", "Primary Production of the Biosphere: Integrating Terrestrial and Oceanic Components", "Genetic Engineering of Algae for Enhanced Biofuel Production", "Biomass-to-Fuel Conversion (Princeton University USA)", "Measuring the regional availability of biomass for biofuels and the potential for microalgae", "The potential for production of high quality bio-coal from early harvested Miscanthus by hydrothermal carbonisation", "Thermostable glycoside hydrolases in biorefinery technologies", "Emerging electrochemical energy conversion and storage technologies (open access)", "Above-ground biomass in forest per hectare", Federal Statistical System of the United States, "Biomass subsidies 'not fit for purpose', says Chatham House", "Proposed biomass plant: Better than coal? However, there are still significant concerns over the impacts of iLUC, despite policy developments aimed at reducing the risk of iLUC occurring (Ahlgren & Di Lucia, 2014; Del Grosso et al., 2014). The main components of plant biomass are carbohydrates (approximately 75%, dry weight) and lignin (approximately 25%), which can vary with plant type. ", "Household Air Pollution from Coal and Biomass Fuels in China: Measurements, Health Impacts, and Interventions", "Emission Reductions from Woody Biomass Waste for Energy as an Alternative to Open Burning", "Emission Factors for Greenhouse Gas Inventories", "Serious mismatches continue between science and policy in forest bioenergy", "The use of forest biomass for climate change mitigation: response to statements of EASAC", "Sustainable forest management for dry forests of south Asia", "Treetrouble: Testimonies on the Negative Impact of Large-scale Tree Plantations prepared for the sixth Conference of the Parties of the Framework Convention on Climate Change", "Impacts of intensive forestry on early rotation trends in site carbon pools in the southeastern US", "The financial and institutional feasibility of sustainable forest management", Soil Carbon under Switchgrass Stands and Cultivated Cropland (Interpretive Summary and Technical Abstract), "Most wood energy schemes are a 'disaster' for climate change", Implied Objectives of U.S. Biofuel Subsidies, "Environmental costs and benefits of growing Miscanthus for bioenergy in the UK", "Consensus, uncertainties and challenges for perennial bioenergy crops and land use", "Potential impacts on ecosystem services of land use transitions to second-generation bioenergy crops in GB", "Land use change to bioenergy: A meta-analysis of soil carbon and GHG emissions", "Growth and agronomy of Miscanthus x giganteus for biomass production", "Economic and Environmental Assessment of Seed and Rhizome Propagated Miscanthus in the UK", "Yield and quality of elephant grass biomass produced in the cerrados region for bioenergy", "ISO 17225-2:2014(en) Solid biofuels — Fuel specifications and classes — Part 2: Graded wood pellets", "ISO 17225-6:2014(en) Solid biofuels — Fuel specifications and classes — Part 6: Graded non-woody pellets", "Electric power transmission and distribution losses (% of output)", Biomass interactive by PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Biomass&oldid=1000445634, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from October 2020, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 15 January 2021, at 04:00. 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