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Renewable Energy: The Five Types Of Biomass

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Our Earth is made up of matter that is everything that has mass and occupies space. The formation of matter is because of energy and one of the examples of energy is the renewable energy. Renewable energy is energy that sources from natural resources that is constantly renewed on a human timescale and cannot be exhausted. Renewable energy is classified into five components which are hydro, wind, biomass, solar and geothermal energy (refer to Figure 1 in Appendix 1). The first type of renewable energy is the hydro energy. Hydro energy is a form of energy that is generated from the water resource. Water can be a useful source to replace the depending on the fossils source to generate electricity in daily life. The fact that 70% of the Earth’s …show more content…

According to Lorenzini, Biserni, and Flacco (2010), the term biomass encompasses a large number of materials of an extremely heterogeneous nature. We can state that everything that has an organic matrix is a biomass. Plastics and fossil materials have been excluded, even though they belong to the family of carbon compounds, because they do not have anything in common with the characterization of the organic materials discussed here. In scientific terms, the word biomass included every kind of material of biological origin; it is so linked to carbon chemistry which directly or indirectly derives from the chlorophyllian photosynthesis (p. 133). The advantage of biomass energy is carbon neutral. This is important as biomass is a part of the carbon cycle. Carbon from the atmosphere is absorbed into plants during photosynthesis and when the plant decays or is burnt that carbon goes back into the atmosphere. Because it is a cycle, the next crop of plants absorb that carbon over again, so there is a balance between the amount of carbon that the biomass fuel release into the atmosphere and the amount that they extract from it. This is why biomass fuels do not contribute to global warming. Biomass fuels are clean. However, biomass has disadvantage also as extraction cost is extremely expensive. In some areas we find that biomass projects may not be worth the price and is therefore never finished. This is also true for the harvesting and …show more content…

Geothermal energy also known as Earth heat is due to the geothermal energy flux (Dipippo, 2012). Dipippo (2012) mentioned that the Earth crust is composed of various types of rocks which contain radioactive isotopes, for example, uranium (U-235, U-238), thorium (Th-232) and potassium (K-40). The radioactive decay of these radioactive isotopes produces the heat reaches the surface. Dipippo (2012) further explains that there are several types of geothermal resources such as hydrothermal (hot water), hot dry rock, geopressure, magma energy and deep hydrothermal. For the application of geothermal energy, Ngo (2008) states that it classified into three types, that are the low-energy, medium-energy and high-energy applications. Low-energy geothermal (temperature between 30°C and 100°C), is found from a few hundred metres to 2500m depth, either directly or through a heat exchanger when the pressure or temperature is too high, is used for heating homes. For medium-energy geothermal situated at any depths from a few hundred metres to several kilometres at a temperature of 90-180°C, can be used to run power stations ranging from a few kW to several MW with a lifespan between 30 to 50 years (Ngo, 2008). In Ngo (2008) study, high-energy geothermal corresponds to steam of temperatures between 250°C and 350°C, are found 1500-3000m. It is used to generate electricity for industrial uses. Advantage of geothermal energy is it causes

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In addition, raw sugarcane is a common biofuel that is used as an advantageous renewable energy; however, the greenhouse gas emissions are higher than that of corn (Renouf et al., 2008). The major disadvantage to the use of corn for ethanol fuel production was that starch must be converted to sugar and then converted to ethanol at a slower rate than sugarcane; however, the benefit to using corn was that there was lower carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions than that of sugarcane. Although sugarcane would be more efficient in ethanol production, the environment in the United States favors growing agricultural crops such as corn, instead of sugarcane. The positives to using sugarcane for ethanol fuel production in Brazil include the estimated 19 billion liters of ethanol that were produced in 2007, its expansive territory, and the availability of water (Martinelli et al., 2008). On the other hand, the cons of using sugarcane for ethanol fuel production in Brazil include environmental degradation and the accumulation of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere (Martinelli et al., 2008).

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It uses flowing water to generate electricity. It does this by using dams and reservoirs for storage. This method gives us the most electricity rather than any other renewable energy source. Not only do the dams and reservoirs create electricity, they also control flooding (Sambu). Hydropower is the least expensive procedure to generate electricity.

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They are two crucial aspects to the topic of energy, but are not included by the UN. A determinant reason that millions of people across the globe have to resort to biomass to cook is that the cost associated with modern energy makes it less accessible (Birol, p.1). This unfortunate situation is due to many reasons. A key reason is that many of the resources required to install energy plants are disproportionally controlled by a few geopolitical actors. This causes large fluctuations on the commodity prices all over the globe, making not only modern energy, but also other basic human development targets, such as shelters and transportations less attainable (Regnier, p.2).

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Biomass is natural material got from living life forms and renewable vitality source that diminishes carbon emanations and can be useful for the earth. Likewise biomass comprises essentially or dead or notwithstanding living organic matter. According to the class summary data sheet, the Douglas fir has the greatest abundance biomass and productivity on Sehome Hill. In fact, Douglas fir is coniferous and it has almost 99% more biomass than all of the other coniferous trees species combined like Western hemlock and Western red cedar. The Grey birch has the greatest abundance biomass that all of the deciduous trees on Sehome Hill.

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This high production of biomass energy and reusing waste has more potential than just West Texas. Texas contains several farms, waste-water plants, and agricultural land to utilize for biomass energy

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Dina Cappiello, writer for the Clarion Ledger, notes that in the short term, some biofuels create more global warming than gasoline (Cappiello). Cappiello reports that leaving the corn husk to rot fertilizes the field, while turning the husk into biofuel adds to global warming (Cappiello). Cappiello argues that current biofuels do not even qualify as “renewable energy” according to environmental laws (Cappiello). Plus, biofuel has created some hidden problems, according to the USA Today newspaper. USA Today also states that biofuel production using corn has caused food prices to rise (SIRS).

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The existence of biofuels is now familiar to many people as an alternative to fossil fuels, but little is understood about the true sustainability of these fuel sources. According to Ryan Georgianna and Stephen Mayfield, professors specializing in biotechnology at the University of California San Diego (UCSD), biofuels will have the most success if they can compete economically with fossil fuels (Georgianna & Mayfield, 2012). This competition will drive people to weigh the benefits and drawbacks of biofuels as compared to fossil fuels. Supported by their extensive research in biofuels, Mayfield and Georgianna state that using fossil fuels “drives climate change, exhausts finite reserves and contributes to global political strife” (Georgianna & Mayfield, 2012). These issues are already influenced greatly by the growth of the human population, so increased demand and decreased supply of fossil fuels compounds a negative effect on both society and the earth.

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