Many years ago wood was our main source of fuel, now this form of biomass energy is becoming a long lost energy source that is seldom used. Wood does still give us some of our energy but only on a very small scale. So what is the importance of biomass energy and can it help us address out long-term energy needs? Is it possible that natural fuels can provide us with a clean, renewable source of energy?

In some parts of the world sugar cane is grown and can be fermented to make alcohol. Alcohol can be burned in order to generate energy in much the same way as coal. It is also possible to crush the sugar cane pulp or “bagasse” and burn it to produce steam to power turbines which can run generators. This is a form of biomass energy.

The sugar cane is harvested and crushed to release the juice. The pulp that remains can be burned in a power station. The station can in turn provide power to the mill as well as electricity to the community. But it is not only agricultural products that can be used to generate biomass energy. There are other forms of waste that can be utilized to create a natural form of energy.

Many solid wastes can be burned to generate heat or steam for power stations. The process of bioconversion is one in which plant and animal wastes are used to produce fuels like methanol, natural gas and oil. The fuel is burned and this heats water which forms steam. Many materials can be used to create biomass energy. Some examples are rubbish, animal manure, woodchips, seaweed and corn stalks.

There are both advantages and disadvantages to using biomass energy. Obviously it is sensible to use our waste materials in this way. The fuel generated is also very inexpensive. Generating this kind of fuel will also place less strain on the earth’s natural resources. So there are some positive aspects to the production of biomass energy. But what about its disadvantages?

Unfortunately there are many drawbacks to the production of biomass energy. It is very difficult to collect the large quantities of waste material needed to produce sufficient amounts of energy. The fuel needs to be burned and this creates greenhouse gases which are harmful to the earth’s atmosphere. In addition useful waste materials are not available all year round. This means that waste will need to be stored in large plants.

While it may seem more ecologically friendly to use biomass energy, we can clearly see that it is not necessarily so. The fact that we needs vast amounts of waste to be collected and stored makes this expensive and this will mean paying more for the energy that we use in our daily lives. Since the production of greenhouse gases is something governments are trying to avoid, biomass energy is probably not the answer to clean energy that we are looking for.