Biomass
From MoxyWiki
This namespace provides the 'heading' of the topic 'Biomass'.
Contents |
Definition
Biomass is defined in the glossary of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)[1] as:
- The total mass of living organisms in a given area or volume
- recently dead plant material contributes dead biomass
Its presence in a given area or volume is due to the energy of the sun:
- the sun's energy is captured by chlorophyll present in plant cells
- the process of photosynthesis converts carbon dioxide from the air and ground water into oxidizable organic materials:
Biomass as a renewable resource
Biomass can be harvested on a recurring basis
- agricultural biomass annually, or on cycle times of a few years
- forestry biomass on cycle times generally less than 100 years
Beneficial use can result when biomass can be replenished fairly quickly without permanently depleting the natural resources
- Beneficial biomass use can be considered part of the terrestrial carbon cycle[2]
Biomass is source of renewable power, sometimes referred to as Biopower.
It is also a renewable source of thermal energy, referred to as 'Bioenergy' and chemical energy.
Biomass categories
Biomass categories are as follows:
- forestry
- wood fibre waste and residues
- woody biomass short rotation energy crops (WBSRC)
- agricultural
- agricultural fibre waste and residues
- agricultural energy crops
- animal wastes
- biogas
- Municipal Solid Waste (MSW)
Both forestry and agricultural biomass are sources of organic matter in the form of:
- cellulose and ligno-cellulose
- starch and sugars
- lignin
Biomass supply chains
Cost- and performance-effective upstream biomass supply chains are essential to large-scale utilization of the biomass endowments of regions.
