Understanding the Bigger Energy Picture by Michael Düren

Author:Michael Düren
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Publisher: Springer International Publishing, Cham

Biomass

Energy production by biomass is—besides the human’s own metabolic process—as old as the first usage of fire by our prehistoric ancestors. It is a vast field that can be structured according to the origin of the biomass, its treatment and its application [24]. The origin of the biomass is versatile: wood from forests, bushes from scrubland, energy plants from agriculture, algae and plants from lakes, ocean, or hydro culture, waste from agriculture or households, faeces from livestock or communities. To make use of biomass, it can be treated in several ways. Besides direct burning, the main two methods are pyrolysis and fermentation. Pyrolysis can be applied to produce gas (mainly methane and hydrogen), oil, tar and/or to produce charcoal. Fermentation is used to produce biogas or alcohol (Fig. 3.7). Certain energy plants are used to directly produce biodiesel, e.g. seeds from Jatropha Curcas that contain up to 40% oil. The big advantage of biomass as energy carrier is that it is easily storable e.g. as pellets, liquids or gas and can be used as “energy on demand”. In a sustainable future, biomass will have an increasing importance as raw material for construction (as in the old days) and for chemical industry. These applications diminish the fraction of biomass that can be used as energy source.

Fig. 3.7Biogas production will replace natural gas as storable energy carrier and as base material for chemical industry [25]

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