Biomass Energy

Biomass energy is a renewable energy from living or recently living organic material such as plants and animals. Types of this are: wood and wood waste, municipal solid waste (our garbage), biogas (methane from our landfills), and biofuels (such as ethanol and biodiesal ).

It's kind of like solar energy in that plants take energy from the sun and store it through the process of photosynthesis. Chlorophyll in the plant converts carbon dioxide from the air and water into carbohydrates. When these same carbohydrates are burned they convert back into carbon dioxide and water and release that original energy collected from the sun. The most basic example of this is a campfire. Wood from a tree is burned and the light and heat is bioenergy.

Power crops, also known as energy crops, are grown on farms in mass quantities like our food. The best power crops are fast growing trees, grasses, corn, hemp, and sorghum. Corn is the most exploited source thus far. Blended with fossil fuels (gasoline and diesel), corn is converted into transportation fuel like ethanol and biodiesel for cars and trucks. When burned they have a smaller carbon footprint then petroleum based fuels. How corn is converted to ethanol, in greater detail, and more is also given right here to you by your friendly neighborhood Geek!

Other Resources From Friends of The Geek:

Did you know that certain crops are grown for their oil content? Soybeans, palm, jatropha, and canola are grown as biodiesel feedstock. Pressing biodiesel crops will extract the oil and the oil in turn, can be processed into biodiesel.

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