"Biomass" is a fancy word for something very simple: stuff that’s found in nature. People have used biomass energy ever since the very first caveman (Höhlenmensch) thought to make a fire out of wood! Today, biomass power plants use everything from animal waste to wood pellets to create electricity. There are lots of advantages to biomass energy, which is a renewable energy source.
What is biomass exactly?
Biomass is made up of living things (or things that were once living). This can include any plant or animal material, such as sugarcane or corn crops, wood chips, or even dung.
All these types of biomass contain energy, because they’re organic materials. So, whether they started life as plants or animals, they’ve all absorbed chemical energy naturally from the sun.
When they’re used as biomass, these materials are called ‘feedstocks’.
Picture 1: Sources of Biomass energy
How does biomass energy work?
Biomass feedstocks can be used to create 3 types of energy:
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Heat
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Electricity
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Biofuels, such as biodiesel
Some biomass plants are multi-taskers, creating both heat and electricity. These are known as CHP (Combined Heat and Power) plants.
So, how do biomass plants create heat? Simple: by burning feedstocks, just like our ancestors have done for thousands of years.
Biomass can generate electricity in a number of ways – but the most common is ‘direct combustion’. This means burning the agricultural waste or wood to heat water. This produces steam, which spins turbines.
Quiz
Which three options are sources of biomass energy?
- animal dung
- trees and plants
- soil
- water
- crops
(You can find the answers in the comments)
Sources
Biomass (ovoenergy.com)
Petar :D