Biomass.. what is it?

Biomass is any material produced by living organisms (such as wood and other forest products, crop residues, livestock waste, food industry waste, etc.) that can be used as fuel for energy production. Biomass fuel is also known in Greece as pellets.
A form of biomass: pellets resulting from the mechanical compression of sawdust, without the addition of chemicals or adhesives

The energy bound to plant substances comes from the sun. Through the process of photosynthesis, plants transform solar energy into biomass. Animal organisms absorb this energy with their food and store a part of it. This energy is ultimately provided by the biomass, after its processing and use. It is a renewable energy source because it is actually stored solar energy captured by plants during photosynthesis.

Biomass is the oldest and most widespread renewable energy source. Primitive man, to warm himself and cook, used the energy (heat) that came from burning wood, which is a type of biomass.

But even to this day, mainly the rural populations, both in Africa, India and Latin America, as well as in Europe, use wood, plant residues (straw, sawdust, useless fruits or seeds, etc.) to heat, cook and light. .etc.) and animal waste (manure, animal fat, waste catches, etc.).

All the above materials, which directly or indirectly come from the plant world, but also the liquid waste and most of the urban waste (food scraps, paper, etc.) from cities and industries, we can turn them into energy .

Features

Biomass energy (bioenergy or green energy) is secondary solar energy. Solar energy is transformed by plants through photosynthesis. The main raw materials used are water and carbon dioxide, which are abundant in nature.

The only naturally occurring carbon energy source whose reserves are sufficient to be used as a substitute for fossil fuels is biomass. In contrast to these, biomass is renewable as it only takes a short period of time to replenish what is used as an energy source. In general, different terms are adopted for different end uses. Thus, the term "bioenergy" describes the systems that use biomass raw materials instead of the usual fossil fuels (natural gas, coal) for electricity generation, while "biofuels" refer mainly to liquid transport fuels that replace petroleum products, e.g. petrol or diesel.

A key advantage of biomass is that it is a renewable energy source and that it provides energy stored in chemical form. Its exploitation can be done by transforming it into a wide variety of products, with various methods and the use of relatively simple technology. Its advantage is that no ecological and environmental problems are created during its production and conversion. On the other hand, as a form of energy, biomass is characterized by diversity, low energy content, compared to fossil fuels, due to low density and/or high water content, seasonality, wide dispersion, etc. These characteristics imply additional, in relation to with fossil fuels, difficulties in its collection, transport and storage. As a consequence, the cost of converting it into more usable forms of energy remains high.

However, the research and technological progress made in the last 10 years have made biomass energy conversion technologies extremely attractive globally. In fact, the prospects of bioenergy are constantly becoming greater and more promising. In the most economically advanced countries, it is expected to cover a significant part of energy production in the future.[1]

Advantages

    Burning biomass has a zero carbon dioxide (CO2) balance and does not contribute to the greenhouse effect – because the amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) released during biomass burning are recaptured by plants to create biomass.
    The low presence of sulfur in biomass contributes significantly to limiting emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO2) which is responsible for acid rain.
    Since biomass is a domestic source of energy, its utilization into energy contributes significantly to reducing dependence on imported fuels and improving the trade balance, securing energy supply and saving foreign exchange.
    The energy utilization of biomass in an area increases employment in rural areas by using alternative crops (various types of canola, sorghum, cane, kenaf) the creation of alternative markets for traditional crops (sunflower, etc.), and the retention of the population in their homes, thus contributing to the socio-economic development of the region. Studies have shown that the production of liquid biofuels has positive effects on employment in both the agricultural and industrial sectors.
    It is a renewable energy source