Biomass Fuel- Versatile Green Energy

Biomass fuels come from an abundance of diverse organic materials. This makes them an excellent source for renewable energy. Biomass fuels are made with wood, waste, plant materials and countless other materials that are widely available. Over the decades more creative and earth friendly uses for this fuel have become known and are being used every day.

Incineration is a common process in which biomass is used. This includes burning of dead trees and tree stumps, wood chips and yard clippings. An example of biomass in action is burning wood in the fireplace. Burning this wood creates heat (energy) used for warmth and to cook food. This practice dates back to ancient times-although our ancestors never heard of the word biomass.

In Hawaii, several electric companies purchase biomass power from nearby sugar mills that burn their waste products. The last remaining sugar plantation on Maui burns sugar cane waste to generate the electricity used to run the plantation. On the island of Kaui, burning sugar cane waste produced one half to a quarter of the island's electricity needs. All over the country fuel crops are grown specifically to produce biomass. Industrial biomass is grown from a large variety of plants such as hemp, willow and switch grass in addition to certain tree species.

Christmas trees keep the holiday spirit alive in a green way long after December 25 in cities like San Francisco. Christmas trees are taken to a nearby biomass plant and burned. The steam that comes from the burned wood chips provides pure energy. This electricity is sold to the local utility company. The amount of electricity produced from these trees can power 20,000 houses for a month. During the post Christmas holiday period garbage collectors are instructed to remove any trees from the garbage of local residences. The rest of the year the biomass plant uses tree trimmings, nut shells, peach pits and other waste for biomass fuel.

Municipal solid waste (MSW), what we call garbage, produces about twelve percent of biomass energy in the United States. Paper, leather products and food scraps are common examples of MSW produced in the average household. Every American throws away around 4 ½ pounds of trash per day, up from 3 pounds per day for each citizen in 1960. All organic waste found in garbage contains energy.

Burning is not the only way this versatile green energy can be released. Really stinky stuff like human waste and rotten garbage naturally releases methane gas; which is the primary ingredient of natural gas. This gas is also known as biogas or landfill gas. The fermentation of crops has long been used to make a fuel known as ethanol. Another process of creating biomass gas is called transesterification. This is a chemical process that converts waste into biodiesel fuels. Biodiesel is a transportation fuel made from leftover fats and oils that is frequently used in recent years.

There are countless ways and means in which to produce biomass fuels. About 3 percent of the energy used in the United States is from biomass fuels. There is still a continued effort to increase the use of biomass fuels in order to cut back on waste and for the benefit to the environment. In time, the use of green energy, including biomass fuels, will far outweigh the use of fossil fuels which are harming the planet.

Biomass Articles

• Growing Fuel in the Backyard Garden
• Excremental Energy: Ways to Turn Biological Waste into Fuel
• Equating Biomass Fuel Consumption with Carbon Neutrality
• Can Biofuels Replace Fossil Fuels?
• Solar Bio-Oil Extraction
• Number Two Could be Number One Answer to Clean Fuel
• Making the Planet Green with Biosphere Technology
• Which Biofuel is Better for the Environment?
• Turning Sewage into Energy
• Non-Food Sources of Ethanol
• Hurdles to Using Biofuels
• One Man's Trash is Another Man's Biofuel
• Algae's Role in the Move Toward Alternative Energy
• Biomass Fuel- Versatile Green Energy
• Grease into Electricity
• Biofuels- 3rd Generation

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