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Biomass :
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Wind
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| Questions about Biomass energy |
What is biomass?
How does it work?
How much electricity is currently produced from biomass?
What are the future prospects for this technology?
What are the environmental impacts of this technology?
What emissions does it cause?
| Answers about Biomass energy |
What is biomass?
Biomass (or biofuels or bioenergy) is obtained from organic matter, either directly from plants or indirectly from industrial, commercial, domestic or agricultural products. The use of biomass is classed as a 'carbon neutral' process because the carbon dioxide released during the generation of energy from biomass can be balanced by that absorbed by plants during its production.
How does it work?
Biomass falls into two groups; woody (forest products, straw etc) and non-woody (human and animal wastes). High energy crops such as rape, sugar cane and maize can be processed to produce bio-fuels.
Woody biomass works through combustion to produce energy, which can heat anything from a domestic stove to an entire community. Biomass can also fuel power stations. In industry or agricultural use, boilers fuelled by woody biomass such as cardboard, wood and waste pallets can help reduce waste removal costs.
Non-woody biomass works in a number of ways dependent on the source. Biogas, landfill gas and fermentation harness the natural process of anaerobic digestion - the decomposition of an organic substance by bacterial action in the absence of air and in warm and wet conditions. Biogas is generated from concentrations of sewage or manure. Digestion (in a digester) usually takes from 10 days to several weeks, at a temperature of 35°C. Landfill gas arises from waste deposited underground in landfill sites. Biodegradable organic matter decomposes anaerobically to produce a gas that is roughly an even mixture of carbon dioxide and methane (the methane gives the potential to act as a fuel).
How much electricity is currently produced from biomass?
The total capacity in 2003 was 735 MW (which breaks down as 473MW from landfill gas, 96MW from sewage sludge and 166 MW from other bio-energy).
What are the future prospects for this technology?
Biomass has the potential to make a significant contribution to the UK heat and energy generation in the future. However, it is constrained by limited resources (e.g. land fill gas), while energy-based crops are difficult to import economically. Likely development is in smaller scale regional projects, and the promotion of energy crops such as Short Rotation Coppice Willow.
Europe's biggest power station Drax, is testing the use of thousands of tonnes of wood pulped into biomass. If the tests are successful, willow-based biomass could provide five per cent of the power station's fuel by 2009 and cut out 700, 000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.
What are the environmental impacts of this technology?
The use of biomass has positive implications for the environment due to its carbon neutral status. Anaerobic digestions schemes can contain the decay process which otherwise, under current disposal practice, results in methane being released into the atmosphere. The carbon dioxide produced when methane is burned under an anaerobic digestion scheme is absorbed from the atmosphere by growing plants.
What emissions does it cause?
Anaerobic digestions schemes can contain the decay process which otherwise, under current disposal practice, results in methane being released into the atmosphere. The carbon dioxide produced when methane is burned under an anaerobic digestion scheme is absorbed from the atmosphere by growing plants.
Only if inadequate combustion chambers are used in biomass burning schemes, can by-products such as particulates and poly-aromatic hydrocarbons escape to the atmosphere.
Information supplied by the DTI 'It's only natural' campaign
Notes to editors:
About 'It's only natural'
The UK Government has committed to renewable energy by signing up to international agreements such as the Kyoto Protocol, which means we are now legally bound to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 12.5 per cent below 1990 levels by 2012. In addition, it has also set targets that by 2010, 10 per cent of the UK's electricity will come from renewable energy and that the percentage will increase to 20 per cent by 2020.
Currently just 3.86 per cent of the UK's electricity comes from renewables, so there is a lot of work to be done. This document is part of our campaign to provide you with more information about renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, biomass, wave and tidal power and why they are so important to the UK, to help us meet our international commitments and enable us to become a more sustainable nation.
For more information contact:
Aby Billi or Victoria Stainton, Porter Novelli
Tel: 01295 224533 or 01295 224397
Email: Firstname.lastname@cpn.co.uk
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