The Benefits of Biomass Energy
As you’ll see, there are many advantages to biomass energy. However, remember that reaping these advantages requires appropriate use. Energy policy often can be tainted with political motives, and it’s as accurate with biomass energy programs as with any other form.
Still, the advantages are real.
Carbon Neutral
One of the significant advantages of biomass energy is its small carbon footprint compared to fossil fuel.
As long as new plant material is grown to replace that used, biomass energy does not produce a net CO2 increase.
To the extent biopower reduces fossil fuel consumption, it reduces CO2 release.
One problem prevents this from being as good news as it should be: fossil fuels are often used to harvest and manipulate biomass.
For example, loggers use chainsaws to fell trees and trucks to transport the lumber, so some fossil fuel is used to produce wood for fuel.
Depending on the exact situation, the fossil fuel consumption required for biofuel offsets or eliminates any carbon advantage.
Because of this, I think using corn to produce ethanol is an inferior form of biomass energy.
It takes almost as much oil energy in the form of fertilizer and fuel for farm machines and ethanol production as the ethanol itself contains.
Intelligent use of biomass fuel reduces carbon dioxide production.
Reduces Methane in the Atmosphere
The advantages of biomass energy include methane reduction.
Methane causes even more greenhouse effect than carbon dioxide, so its release into the atmosphere is cause for concern.
The decomposition of organic matter releases methane. Capturing this methane yields energy while protecting the atmosphere.
The animal industry and landfills produce significant amounts of methane. This is an excellent opportunity to use biomass effectively. We can now harvest this gas and use it.
This is another area where applying biomass technology has multiple benefits. Consider using an anaerobic digester to manage cattle manure.
The digester is a closed container, so odors are eliminated from the beginning. The methane produced by the decomposition is captured and burned.
Some energy keeps the digester at the proper temperature in colder climates.
It also powers a generator to produce electricity for use on the farm.
Ultimately, the digester produces a valuable fertilizer with more stable nutrients than unprocessed manure.
The advantages of an appropriate manure management system are pretty compelling.
Reduces the Need for Landfills and Lessens the Environmental Impact of Existing Landfills.
Using wood and other plant waste as fuel keeps waste out of landfills, which will, therefore, be smaller.
Also, since the decomposition of organic matter releases methane, reducing the amount of organic matter in a landfill minimizes the potential for methane production.
And technology now makes it possible to capture the methane released to burn it for energy.
Again, we gain energy while protecting the environment.
Protects the Forests and the Atmosphere
While it may seem odd to recommend cutting down trees to protect forests, it is a good policy.
Forest fires were once part of the cycle of forests. Small fires kept scrub growth under control and thinned the forest.
The decades-old policy of fire suppression has changed the natural evolution of forests. It has led to dense growth that is unhealthy for the forest and the accumulation of potential fuel that results in an intense wildfire if one starts.
We saw such a wildfire in San Diego a few years ago. These extreme forest fires are very dirty in terms of atmospheric pollution. They release vast amounts of particulate matter, including the sulfur and nitrogen compounds that give rise to acid rain.
Every time I hear of a forest fire, I think of the waste in terms of lumber and fuel lost and the additional burden it adds to the atmosphere.
Selective harvesting of wood from a forest improves its health while providing fuel that can now be burned cleanly.
It also reduces the risk of an intense, out-of-control forest fire. The Oregon Department of Energy commissioned an excellent Forest Health and Biomass Energy paper. Here’s a quote from that paper that explains the detrimental effects of forest overgrowth:
“In recent years, the consequences of fire suppression on the ecosystems have become evident. Plant communities that are too dense for a particular site's moisture and nutrient conditions compete for limited resources. When the competition becomes excessive during dry spells, major diebacks occur. In many Western climates (characterized by dry summers and cold winters), biological decomposition is too slow to offset the fuel buildup. More living and dead fuels are present, both in larger landscape patches and in the vertical structure of the forest. Any ignition in dry weather will likely result in a major wildfire that behaves so violently that suppression may be impossible. Such intense fires kill plant communities that were historically tolerant of milder fires. The heat from these intense, unnatural fires causes serious and often permanent soil damage.”
Prudent forest management calls for selective thinning. The resultant wood can be used as either lumber or fuel. We gain energy while helping the forest.
This is another situation in which the advantages of biomass energy are multifaceted.
Reduction of Air pollution and Acid Rain
To the extent biomass fuels replace fossil fuels and reduce the severity of forest fires and field burns, they reduce air pollution and the addition of nitrogen and sulfur compounds responsible for acid rain to the atmosphere. As you can see, there are several advantages of biomass energy. It will never completely meet our energy needs, but it certainly is a good addition to our energy mix.
