What do you mean by biomass energy | Write a short note on- Biomass energy | Biomass

Energy & Environmental Engineering | Environmental Science | HOTS Questions | Important Questions

Q. What do you mean by biomass energy? [R.GP.V., May 2019 (III-Sem.))
Or
Write a short note on- Biomass energy. (R.GP.V., June 2008, Dec. 2014)

Ans. Biomass in general, refers to all living materials including plants, animals, fungi, bacteria. The energy obtained from biomass is known as biomass energy. Animals feed on plants, and plants get their food through photosynthesis process using solar energy. Therefore, biomass energy is an indirect form of solar energy. The earth's total biomass represents an enormous store of energy. It has been estimated that total biomass produced annually can satisfy total energy demand of the world eight times, and since biomass can be re-grown, it is a potentially renewable source.

                                                                                              The simplest way of getting energy from biomass is allowed them to dry out in the sun and burn them. This method is appropriate for static applications such as domestic heating or power generation, but it does not provide substitute for oil or gas. One alternative to this problem can be the fermentation of sugar or glucose obtained from starchy grains. This process gives ethanol, which is a potential substitute for petrol and diesel and also have many other industrial uses. Pyrolysis of wood yield methanol which may be used as a gasoline additive or can be modified chemically to use as a direct substitute of gasoline.

Another common way of treating biomass, is its anaerobic digestion, which yield biogas. Residue of this process can also be used as fertilizer in agriculture. The biogas can be used as a domestic fuel.