Biomass Pros And Cons

PART – I

GENESIS OF BIOFUEL AND ITS PROS AND CONS

Biomass

1. Biomass can be defined as “the amount of living matter as in a unit area or volume of habitat” . Use of biomass to generate energy is not new and dated back to ancient times. Woods, animal dung and peat are few of the examples used since ancient times. It is estimated that total biomass of the earth is 560 billion metric tons (approximately) out of which 146 billion tons of biomass is generated by plants . This is a common term used by the biofuel industry to refer to biological materials from living or recently living organisms but not restricted to plants derived materials only. Biomass can be used as a fuel by direct and indirect means that is through burning and chemically or biologically converting it as a fuel.

Biofuel and its History

Biofuels are fuels that are produced directly or indirectly from organic material which includes plant materials and animal waste. Biofuels can be solid,

First generation biofuel is made from food crops or feed stocks that can also be consumed as human food by extracting the oils through fermentation. Crops like wheat, sugarcane, corn, sugar beet and sorghum are some of the main sources of producing biofuel. Since their availability and extraction through conventional means they are termed as conventional biofuels. Most common first generation biofuel includes:- (1) Biodiesel. Extracted from vegetable oils, animal fats, seeds from plants like Soybeans, Canola, and Sunflower are few of the examples. This fuel is commonly used in means of transportation. (2) Ethanol. This is acquired through fermentation process. Sugar cane and starch crops like Corn and Wheat are few of the examples. A litre of ethanol contains about two-thirds as much energy as a litre of gasoline . (3) Biogas. Biogas is a biofuel produced from the anaerobic fermentation of carbohydrates in plant material or waste like food peelings or manure by