Biomass

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Total dry weight of all living organisms that can be supported at each tropic level in a food chain. Also, materials that are biological in origin, including organic material (both living and dead) from above and below ground, for example, trees, crops, grasses, tree litter, roots, and animals and animal waste. (source: EPA)

Background from Wikipedia

See biomass (ecology) for the use of the term in ecology, where it refers to the cumulation of living matter Switchgrass, a hardy plant used in the biofuel industry in the United States

Biomass, in the energy production industry, refers to living and recently living biological material which can be used as fuel or for industrial production. Most commonly biomass refers to plant matter grown for use as biofuel, but also includes plant or animal matter used for production of fibres, chemicals or heat. Biomass may also include biodegradable wastes that can be burnt as fuel. It excludes organic material which has been transformed by geological processes into substances such as coal or petroleum. It is usually measured by dry weight.

The term "biomass" is especially useful for plants, where some internal structures may not always be considered living tissue, such as the wood (secondary xylem) of a tree.

Biofuels include bioethanol, biobutanol, biodiesel & biogas. Biodiesel and biobutanol are direct biofuels and can be used directly in petroleum engines.

Biomass is grown from several plants, including switchgrass, hemp, corn, willow and sugarcane[1]. The particular plant used is usually not very important to the end products, but it does affect the processing of the raw material. Production of biomass is a growing industry as interest in sustainable fuel sources is growing.

Though biomass is a renewable fuel, it can still contribute to global warming. This happens when the natural carbon equilibrium is disturbed; for example by deforestation or urbanisation of green sites.

Biomass is part of the carbon cycle. Carbon from the atmosphere is converted into biological matter by photosynthesis. On decay or combustion the carbon goes back into the atmosphere. This happens over a relatively short timescale and plant matter used as a fuel can be constantly replaced by planting for new growth. Therefore a reasonably stable level of atmospheric carbon results from its use as a fuel.

Although fossil fuels have their origin in ancient biomass, they are not considered biomass by the generally accepted definition because they contain carbon that has been 'out' of the carbon cycle for a very long time. Their combustion therefore disturbs the carbon dioxide content in the atmosphere.

Other uses of biomass, besides fuel:

Building materials Biodegradable plastics and paper (using cellulose fibers)

Syngenta Starts Research Partnership in Australia for Sugarcane ...  -  22 Oct 2007
CNNMoney.com..."This broadens Syngenta's biofuels strategy into new crops and speeds up our development of biomass conversion technologies to make cellulosic ethanol

Another biomass boiler brought in to cut bills  -  22 Oct 2007
BHL,A set of schools in the US is following the trend for installing a biomass boiler to cut heating bills. Benton Area School District in Pennsylvania intends

Plans for biomass station on show  -  22 Oct 2007
Driffield Today,A series of public exhibitions are being held on proposals for a new £60m biomass power station in Sheffield. Energy firm E.ON is planning the power station

Deshpande Center distributes $1 million  -  22 Oct 2007
Boston Globe,The teams are working on projects that have the potential to "revolutionize disease therapies, nano-scale imaging, renewable energy from biomass,

"CELLULOSIC ETHANOL COST-COMPETITIVE AROUND 2013/14" - CEO SEKAB  -  22 Oct 2007
PR-Inside.com (Pressemitteilung),For that you need a balance in demand and specifically in supply of biomass, since you cannot produce in a sustainable manner if you use more than the

Farm Bill Crucial for US Renewable Policy  -  22 Oct 2007
RenewableEnergyAccess.com,The Rural Repowering proposal calls for creating short-term markets for energy crops and other biomass by repowering fossil fuel boilers to biomass for heat

Clean Indian energy group takes AIM  -  22 Oct 2007
Growthcompany.co.uk (subscription),Greenko, an Indian energy producer seeking to treble biomass and hydroelectricity capacity to 112 megawatts, hopes to raise £42 million.

Oilsource Holding Group Forms Joint Venture With Abundant Biofuels ...  -  22 Oct 2007
Grainnet,...“Our goal is to produce biodiesel and biomass for electricity needs in rural areas,� said Felipe Cano, CEO of Oilsource Holding. “We will not compete with

Investment fund discovers renewable energy potential  -  22 Oct 2007
Czech Business Weekly,...“We have a significant interest in biomass and waste-to-energy projects, which means reducing the need for landfills by converting municipal waste,

We Energies RFP  -  22 Oct 2007
North American Windpower...has issued a request for proposals (RFP) for up to 200 MW of renewable energy generation, including wind, biomass, hydroelectric and solar energy.

Conner Wants Action On Farm Bill  -  22 Oct 2007
Michigan Farmer,Those proposals include strong soil conservation and rural development programs, increased funds for bioenergy research on cellulosic ethanol and biomass

MIT's Deshpande Center announces fall 2007 research grants  -  22 Oct 2007
MIT News,These projects have the potential to revolutionize disease therapies, nano-scale imaging, renewable energy from biomass, energy storage, HIV care in the

Macphie installs biomass steam plant  -  Oct 20, 2007
Sunday Herald,By Kenny Hodgart By Karen Peattie FOOD INGREDIENTS manufacturer Macphie of Glenbervie is to install a multi-million pound biomass plant at its rural

Op-Ed Contributor How Green Is My Garden?  -  Oct 19, 2007
New York Times,The place is an unlikely but active biomass production center — especially at this season with countless autumn leaves eddying in every nook and cranny

Nexterra Energy closes sale of biomass gasification system  -  Oct 19, 2007
Biofuel Review,Nexterra Energy Corp has completed the sale of a large biomass gasification system to Dockside Green Power Limited (DGPL). When completed in 2008,

Benton’s Biomass Boiler Project Fuels Interest  -  Oct 19, 2007
Lancaster Farming,BENTON, Pa — The motivation behind Benton Area School District’s plan to install a biomass boiler system to heat two schools is simple: utilize a renewable

China Holdings, Inc. Announces Biomass Renewable Energy Project ...  -  Oct 15, 2007
CNNMoney.comThe BIOMASS ENERGY PROJECTS (Power Capacity: 50MW) are with the total expected annual power generating capacity are 400 million kilowatt hours (kWh) and

BlueFire Ethanol Selected for Federal Support of Innovative ...  -  Oct 16, 2007
CNNMoney.comThe projects in the Loan Guarantee Program include advanced technologies involving the uses of biomass, fossil energy, solar, industrial energy efficiency,

China Holdings gets rights to build biomass plant  -  Oct 19, 2007
EnergyCurrent,All resources needed to develop and construct the 50 MW Biomass Renewable Energy Project have been prepared and secured or will be secured,

Welsh hospitals embrace biomass  -  Oct 19, 2007
Hospital Development,Two new-build hospitals in Wales will be amongst the first facilities in the UK to start using biomass boilers from supplier Wood Energy.

Biomass project at UM-Western shown off  -  Oct 19, 2007
KPAX-TV,A tour of one of Montana's largest biomass system was conducted on Thursday in Dillon. Officials with the Montana Department of Natural Resources and

Spain's Abengoa to build US biomass ethanol plant  -  Oct 15, 2007
ReutersMC: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Monday it had signed a contract with the US Department of Energy worth $38 million to develop a biomass ethanol plant

Burn it Professionally in Biomass Energy System  -  Oct 18, 2007
openPR (press release),So, there need some utilities of biomass bales like biomass-energy systems to support the farmers to market and earn out of their bales.

China Holdings Announces Biomass Renewable Energy Project  -  Oct 18, 2007
RenewableEnergyAccess.com,The Biomass Energy Project (Power Capacity: 50MW) has a total expected annual power generating capacity of 400 million kilowatt hours (kWh) and expected

Biomass gets boost from logging company donation  -  Oct 17, 2007
Nevada Appeal,A collaboration between private business and government officials is working to boost “biomass� energy, which also would help prevent catastrophic wildfires

Johnson Controls and Nexterra Energy Form Strategic Alliance to ...  -  Oct 11, 2007
CNNMoney.comNexterra's patented gasification technology converts biomass into clean burning syngas that can be used to displace natural gas or fuel oil to generate heat

Genencor develops biomass enzymes  -  Oct 17, 2007
Feedstuffs,This week at the Cellulosic Ethanol Summit in Washington , DC , Genencor unveiled Accellerase 1000, the first commercially available biomass enzyme for

Biomass looks for boost  -  Oct 17, 2007
Hays Daily News,The cooperative is looking to western Kansas for its member-owners, who will supply the biomass the plant needs. That material could include corn stalks,

Biomass boiler leads renewable energy trend  -  Oct 17, 2007
BHL,A UK youth hostel has installed a biomass boiler after receiving a green cash grant. A total of £180000 from the Lake District National Park Authority's

New Biomass Conversion plant open in Nebraska  -  Oct 16, 2007
Cherry Creek News,Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman presided over opening ceremonies for a state-of-the-art biomass pilot plant to develop and advance processes for the

Swedish scientists discuss biomass use in Plymouth  -  Oct 16, 2007
Laconia Citizen,Lundmark explained that his focus was biomass production for energy conditions. He said Sweden is a major forest nation, the number 3 provider in Europe of

Ethanol Production Facility 80% Complete Months Ahead of Schedule ...  -  Oct 17, 2007
CNNMoney.comThe Plant Office Building, on-site Employee Dormitory and Biomass Storage Warehouse were completed in August and passed government inspection in September.

Abengoa opens pilot biomass plant in Nebraska  -  Oct 15, 2007
Cleantech,Madrid's Abengoa announced today that it opened a pilot biomass plant in Nebraska. The $35 million facility was constructed under a US Department of Energy

Managers eye improvements with biomass pilot project  -  Oct 16, 2007
Fergus Falls Daily Journal,Forty-eight acres of the 300-acre Eldorado WMA and 16 acres of the 160-acre Klason WMA will be cut as part of a biomass pilot project that includes the DNR,

Harvest, Storage and Transportation for Bio Feedstocks Featured  -  Oct 19, 2007
Farms.com,AMES, Iowa – Harvest, storage, and transportation systems for “next generation� biomass crops will be key topics at the 2007 Biobased Industry Outlook

Our View — Biomass incentive plan worth pursuing  -  Oct 14, 2007
Mankato Free Press,Experts in the renewable energy field point to cellulosic ethanol as not only a commercially viable renewable fuel but one that is even more efficient than

COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY RECEIVES WOODY BIOMASS GRANT  -  Oct 11, 2007
Colorado State University (press release),Due to its potential applications, woody biomass utilization can provide significant social and economic benefits to Coloradans.

Growth Rates of Emission-Fed Algae Show Viability of New Biomass Crop  -  Sep 26, 2007
Die Welt,..."At this productivity level, GreenFuel’s system is ahead of other biomass production methods,� said Professor Otto Pulz, president of the European Society

New Biomass Extraction Equipment Increases Yields for Contract R&D ...  -  Oct 10, 2007
NPIcenter (press release),SASKATOON, SK, October 9, 2007 - A new biomass extraction processing line being assembled at POS Pilot Plant will maximize the amount of oil extracted from

Biomass boiler makes Yorkshire building a winner  -  Oct 12, 2007
BHL,A building that uses a biomass boiler powered by woodchips has received an award from the prime minister. Dalby Forest Visitor Centre in North Yorkshire was

Nviro, CLP to develop coal and biomass treatment  -  Oct 12, 2007
Cleantech,London-based Nviro Cleantech (AIM: NVR) announced today that would work with Hong Kong's CLP Holdings to develop a coal and biomass treatment technology in

Johnson Controls, Nexterra in biomass alliance  -  Oct 11, 2007
Cleantech,The two companies plan to jointly develop and implement biomass gasification projects. Johnson Controls said it plans to offer the biomass solutions to its

Johnson Controls Teams With Nexterra Energy To Offer Biomass ...  -  Oct 11, 2007
Trading Markets (press release),As per the partnership accord, the companies would team up to develop and implement biomass gasification projects that would enable customers to cut energy

Biomass expectations unrealized, Opportunity Center project halted  -  Oct 10, 2007
Mount Shasta Herald,By Paul Boerger The biomass electrical generation machine at the Siskiyou Opportunity Center is being returned to its manufacturer after not living up to

ENERGY-BRAZIL: Elephant Grass for Biomass  -  Oct 10, 2007
IPS,Its dry biomass, burned in ovens, can generate 25 times as much energy as the amount of fossil fuel used to produce it, while sugarcane converted into

Sustainable biofuels move a step closer  -  Oct 18, 2007
Accountancy Age,So-called second-generation biofuels made from woodchips, corn stalks and other forms of waste biomass moved a step closer to commercial viability this week

Forestry Packs Economic Punch as Georgia Marks National Forest ...  -  Oct 19, 2007
Duluth Weekly,According to McClure, consumers are beginning to understand the environmental value of renewable, carbon-friendly biomass in a variety of uses.

Medical Discoveries/Global Clean Energy Holdings, and Corporativo ...  -  Oct 19, 2007
PR-Inside.com (Pressemitteilung),The biomass can be used as a feedstock for cellulostic ethanol, green power generation or biomass to synthetic fuel production.

Speakers say biofuel boom puts pressure on water  -  Oct 20, 2007
DesMoinesRegister.com,Molden and others at the Norman E. Borlaug Symposium at the downtown Marriott said reducing the amount of water needed to grow grain, or other biomass,

Power to the people or a biomass of trouble?  -  Oct 9, 2007
Dorset Echo,Eco-composting is seeking approval from Dorset county council for its pioneering scheme to develop a biomass generator on its Parley Lane complex to turn




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