Renewable Biomass

Biomass is a renewable energy source, which originates from living organisms and is considered one of the oldest sources of energy that is utilized by human. Example of biomass sources are garbage, wood, waste, landfill gases and alcohol fuels. The most conventional way of obtaining energy from biomass is to combust them, producing heat. Modern technology allows conversion of heat energy produced into electric energy.

Biomass obtained its energy from the sun. This is because all living organism obtain its energy direct or indirectly from plants, which in turn stores sun energy. Due to its renewable source, biomass is also considered a renewable source of energy. Burning of biomass is preferable over fossil fuel due to lesser pollution caused as well as it reduces biomass disposal problems. Furthermore, biomass used is usually considered waste, causing it to be a cheap source of energy.

 While some are combusted directly, some biomass is further treated into biofuel. Brazil is a country which relies heavily on ethanol, a biofuel that is produced from the fermentation of sugarcane. Ethanol is used to fuel cars and satisfy domestic energy demand. Other than reducing pollution problems, ethanol fuel also reduces the dependency on fossil fuels, which price has been volatile over the recent years.

Decomposition of biomass creates biogas, which is a gas produced from biological breakdown of organic matter in the absence of oxygen. It mainly consists of methane and carbon dioxide. Biogas is also a renewable source of energy and can be used as fuel.