That's why Energy Matters was created. We believe it's important to equip people with unbiased information so they may form opinions, join the conversation and feel confidence in the work and accomplishments of the energy sector.
Energy Matters is an initiative that provides transparent information and perspective on energy. Here, we'll cover a range of topics: the scale of global energy; the ways energy is sourced and produced; current energy technology; forthcoming innovations; the world's future energy needs; and the sustainable sources of energy that will fill them.
Because energy matters to everyone, we hope you'll rely on Energy Matters as an ongoing source of balanced information. Biomass How is biomass energy created? What is biofuel? Where is biomass energy found? Why is biomass a renewable energy source? Back to top. Algae has enormous potential as an alternative energy source. However, processing it into usable forms is expensive.
The cost will likely come down, but it is currently out of reach for most developing economies. People and Biomass Advantages Biomass is a clean, renewable energy source. Its initial energy comes from the sun, and plants or algae biomass can regrow in a relatively short amount of time. Trees, crops, and municipal solid waste are consistently available and can be managed sustainably.
If trees and crops are sustainably farmed, they can offset carbon emissions when they absorb carbon dioxide through respiration. In some bioenergy processes, the amount of carbon that is re-absorbed even exceeds the carbon emissions that are released during fuel processing or usage.
Many biomass feedstocks, such as switchgrass, can be harvested on marginal land s or pastures, where they do not compete with food crops. Unlike other renewable energy sources, such as wind or solar, biomass energy is stored within the organism, and can be harvested when it is needed. Disadvantages If biomass feedstocks are not replenished as quickly as they are used, they can become non-renewable. A forest, for instance, can take hundreds of years to re-establish itself.
This is still a much, much shorter time period than a fossil fuel such as peat. It can take years for just a meter 3 feet of peat to replenish itself. Most biomass requires arable land to develop. This means that land used for biofuel crops such as corn and soybeans are unavailable to grow food or provide natural habitats. Most biomass plants require fossil fuels to be economically efficient. An enormous plant under construction near Port Talbot, Wales, for instance, will require fossil fuels imported from North America, offsetting some of the sustainability of the enterprise.
Scientists and engineers estimate that it is not economically efficient to transport biomass more than kilometers miles from where it is processed. Burning biomass releases carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and other pollutants and particulates.
If these pollutants are not captured and recycled, burning biomass can create smog and even exceed the number of pollutants released by fossil fuels.
Zutshi, S. Beaugez, M. Hendrikx, S. Heydt, M. Oeltjenbruns, A. Munoraharjo, F. Choudhury, G. Upton, O. Siudak, M. Gunther, R. Balancing Biomass The Union of Concerned Scientists helped develop A Balanced Definition of Renewable Biomass , which are practical and effective sustainability provisions that can provide a measure of assurance that woody biomass harvests will be sustainable.
The Joseph C. McNeil Generating Station uses wood from low-quality trees and harvest residue, and produces about 50 megawatts of electricityalmost enough to sustain Burlington, Vermont's largest city. Fowl Play The 3 million chickens of the enormous Beijing Deqingyuan chicken farm, outside Beijing, China, produce tons of manure and tons of wastewater each day.
Using gasification technology from GE Energy, the farm is able to convert chicken manure into 14, megawatt-hours of electricity per year. World's Top Biofuel Crops 1. Gas molecules are in constant, random motion. Also called a primeval forest, primary forest, primal forest, or ancient woodland. Peat can be dried and burned as fuel. Pesticides can be fungicides which kill harmful fungi , insecticides which kill harmful insects , herbicides which kill harmful plants , or rodenticides which kill harmful rodents.
Also called biocrude or bio-oil. Seaweed can be composed of brown, green, or red algae, as well as "blue-green algae," which is actually bacteria. The audio, illustrations, photos, and videos are credited beneath the media asset, except for promotional images, which generally link to another page that contains the media credit.
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If no button appears, you cannot download or save the media. Text on this page is printable and can be used according to our Terms of Service. Any interactives on this page can only be played while you are visiting our website. You cannot download interactives. Plants are autotrophs, which means they produce their own food. They use the process of photosynthesis to transform water, sunlight, and carbon dioxide into oxygen, and simple sugars that the plant uses as fuel. These primary producers form the base of an ecosystem and fuel the next trophic levels.
Without this process, life on Earth as we know it would not be possible. We depend on plants for oxygen production and food. Learn more about this vital process with these classroom resources.
However, over time, there has been a shift in demand for cheaper and cleaner fuel options, such as the nonrenewable energy source of natural gas, and renewable options like solar power and wind energy. Each energy resource has its advantages and disadvantages. Explore nonrenewable and renewable options with this collection on energy resources.
Non-renewable energy comes from sources that will eventually run out, such as oil and coal. Renewable energy comes from sources that will not be used up in our lifetimes, such as the sun and wind. Learn how biomass is converted into clean, renewable transportation fuels to power our cars, trucks, planes, and trains. Join our community of educators and receive the latest information on National Geographic's resources for you and your students. Department of Energy DOE fit into this equation?
Each time you fill-up at the gas station, you are likely pumping biofuels into your tank. Ethanol is typically blended with gasoline to increase octane and cut down on air pollution.
It also plays a role in reducing our dependence on imported oil, extending the supply of U. The aviation industry is also taking biofuels to new heights. BETO sponsored an award-winning research project that involved the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Skokie, Illinois-based LanzaTech, which can recycle industrial waste gas from steel making and other heavy processes and convert it to a revolutionary form of jet fuel with dramatically reduced levels of emissions.
The project received awards from the Innovation Research Interchange in and the Federal Laboratory Consortium in Biobased feedstocks can be used to produce a range of personal care products, such as skin cream, shampoo, mascara , and more. For example, the acetone in your nail polish remover can be produced by fermenting plant sugars, while the palmitic acid that gives your hair that glossy shine after you condition is one of the most common saturated fatty acids found in microorganisms and plants.
Public demand has renewed industry interest in biobased cosmetics, and innovations in biotechnology are making these products cheaper and more efficient to manufacture. Algae are big-time oil producers capable of generating up to 5, gallons of oil per acre.
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