What is biomass, and how can it be used as energy?

One advantage of "renewable" resources is that they typically require less handling, storage, or processing than "fossil" fuels. "Biomass" can take a wide variety of physical forms and characteristics, from plant cuttings to animal manure to household garbage. In many cases, what might be considered "storage" – a bin or landfill, for example – are really integrated parts of the processing, whether as feedstock for burning, digestion, or decomposition. The "sizing" of any storage is based on the density and handling characteristics of the biomass and the rate of usage or consumption.

A landfill is sized based on available area, collection range, the type of waste desired, landfill operating life, desired production timelines and quantities of produced gas. An anaerobic digester would be sized for the type and quantity of feedstock available. A fermentation process would be sized for the amount of feed, processing water and enzymes or bacteria required, as well as later processing steps.

Energy efficiency measures the ratio of the energy available for use to the amount of energy from the source. Lifecycle efficiency may be more challenging to calculate, especially with the variety of "biomass" available. In use, the efficiency is the same as any other gas burning energy production.

Since energy cannot be created or destroyed—it can only change form—and because entropy, or disorder, is always growing, even changing one form of energy into another also "loses" energy to the environment, our ability to choose processes that use the least amount of source energy to achieve the desired final form or use depends on our understanding of how "efficient" an energy conversion process is.

An engine in a car, for instance, converts energy in multiple ways. Firstly, it transforms chemical potential energy into thermal energy (heat) during fuel combustion. Secondly, it transforms that thermal energy into mechanical energy through engine design. This mechanical energy then undergoes multiple conversions, from the first pistons to the wheel axles' final drive. A portion of this mechanical energy is then converted into electrical energy by generators. Finally, every time energy is transformed, some of it is lost to the environment as thermal energy.

This also applies to power generation, whether from coal, oil, hydro, biomass, nuclear, or solar energy. In this example, we may only end up using 15–30% of the chemical energy contained in the fuel! See also: https://tutor.hix.ai for automotive details. Consequently, we never convert "100%" of the available energy from a source into useful work.

Before we can truly determine what is a "better" energy technology, we must carefully consider construction materials, costs, environmental impacts (pollution), land and water use, operating costs, waste materials, AND production and distribution efficiencies. This is because understanding environmental impacts requires looking at the TOTAL cost of energy production, not just the final stage.

Biomass is organic material derived from plants and animals. It can be used as energy through various processes such as combustion, fermentation, and conversion to biofuels like ethanol and biodiesel. Biomass can also be used to generate electricity through direct combustion in power plants or by converting it into biogas for use in electricity generation or heating.