LottaBorg962
Biomass is any organic material that is produced by plants and animals. This consists of all elements of plants, animal flesh and excretions such as for instance manure. Biomass in full of energy you can use for fuel which is sometimes called biofuel.
Fossil fuels are also a biomass since it's believed that they come from ancient plants and animals. But usually when people speak of biomass they are talking about material produced from sources that are alive now or were recently.
Biofuel is usually mentioned as though it absolutely was a new technology that we can use in the future to help solve our energy supply issues. But humans have been using biofuel since the beginning of humanity. The foodstuff we readily eat is just a form of biofuel that individuals wouldn't exist without. Humans have also used plant materials such as wood wax and whale oil as a fuel to burn off for heat and light for thousands of years.
Newer technologies have allowed us to use biomass to make other biofuels. Biomass could be burned to power electric generators or made into methane, alcohol or bio diesel for powering our cars. These procedures are energy intensive meaning plenty of energy is lost in converting biomass into the other forms of fuel or energy. As a result of this these biofuels have not been affordable or practical.
With all the technology going into biofuel research the one kind of biofuel that individuals have now been using since ancient times still remains the most efficient and practical. Burning biomass such as wood for direct heating is still probably the most efficient.
As opposed to focusing on wanting to use biomass to fuel our cars and generate electricity we possibly may be better off deploying it to heat our homes and buildings. Firewood might not be practical for most people but pellets made from wood and other biomass may be. Burning pellets is affordable, clean and may be the best solution to utilize the energy in biomass.
For those who want to use biomass as a renewable energy source heating with wood or other biomass pellets are practical and economical and the technology and distribution systems are already available.
