Energy sustainability – an issue for today

Journal of Scientific Research

The population of the planet continues to rise rapidly. As a result, the percentage of global energy consumption is growing significantly. Methods of biomass briquettes and BDH (Biomass District Heating) with the biomass energy source has the attributes of fossil fuel while also being able to stored, renewed and transported. While conventional power sources are non-renewable and results in pollution. Thus, countries are setting up biomass power plants for developing an eco-friendly process for power production. This study states the new age technologies for biomass energy production, their economic and environmental benefits along with the capacity of these large plants to provide employment in bulk. The limitations of biomass energy are also stated along with how India, a developing country is coping with the installment of the newest technologies. Thus, replacing the fossil fuels in the upcoming dawns for a better environment.

Sustainable Growth and Applications in Renewable Energy Sources, 2011

2015

Biomass is a scientific term for living matter, more specifically any organic matter that has been derived from plants as a result of the photosynthetic conversion process. The word biomass is also used to denote the products derived from living organisms – wood from trees, harvested grasses, plant parts, and residues such as stems and leaves, as well as aquatic plants. The solid biomass processing facility may also generate process heat and electric power. As more efficient bioenergy technologies are developed, fossil fuel inputs will be reduced; biomass and its by-products can also be used as sources for fuelling many energy needs. The energy value of biomass from plant matter originally comes from solar energy through the process known as photosynthesis. In nature, all biomass ultimately decomposes to its elementary molecules with the release of heat. During conversion processes such as combustion, biomass releases its energy, often in the form of heat, and the carbon is re-oxidi...

2024

Biomass is defined as organic matter, such as wood, crops, and animal wastes used as fuel to produce electricity or heat. That means it comes from anything that's alive or been alive, including animal waste, animal dung, kitchen waste, crop waste, garden waste, wood, waste from forests, yards, or farms and so on. The particularly good thing about biomass is that it's a renewable, with a pretty infinite supply. Wood and wood residues is the largest biomass energy source today. Wood can be used as a fuel directly or processed into pellet fuel or other forms of fuels. Other plants can also be used as fuel, for instance corn, switch grass, miscanthus and bamboo. The main waste energy feedstocks are wood waste, agricultural waste, municipal solid waste, manufacturing waste, and landfill gas. Sewage sludge is another source of biomass. Other biomass feedstocks are enzymes or bacteria from various sources, grown in cell cultures or hydroponics. Based on the source of biomass, biofuels are classified broadly into three major categories: Firstgeneration biofuels are derived from food sources, such as sugarcane and corn starch. Sugars present in this biomass are fermented to produce bioethanol, an alcohol fuel that serves as an additive to gasoline, or in a fuel cell to produce electricity. Second-generation biofuels use non-food-based biomass sources such as perennial energy crops (low input crops), and agricultural/municipal waste. Proponents argue that there is huge potential for second-generation biofuels. Third-generation biofuels refer to those derived from microalgae.

2016

Currently, many countries in the world face the serious consequences of global warming, such as: floods, landslides, excessive heat during summer, drought and many others. The material consequences of climate changes on the economy, on human life and on the environment are very serious. Human activity overloads the atmosphere with carbon dioxide and other emissions that cause global warming, capture heat, slowly increase the planet's temperature and have a significant and harmful impact on our heath, on the environment and on the climate. The increase of providing renewable energy would allow replacing energy sources that have high carbon emissions and would lead to the reduction of global warming. The paper presents aspects regarding the importance of using renewable energy, as alternatives to using conventional energy sources (coal, petrol, wood, etc.).

SilvaWorld , 2023

The aim of the current study is to carry out an analysis of energy sources and find a source with the lowest ecological footprint; it is based on a desk study using data from databases that centralize energy sources globally. Currently, energy is sourced from seven types of resources: fossil fuels, hydro, solar, wind, nuclear, bio-fuel (biodiesel, biomass, ethanol, wood, etc.), and geothermal. The combustion of hydrogen obtained by electrolysis is still at the prototype stage. In recent decades, studies have focused on renewable sources, with the main focus on wind and solar energy. In 2019, the global energy produced from renewable sources represented only 7%, registering an increase of only 4% compared to 2000. This small increase indicates the premise of a long transition process, accompanied by increases in energy prices and inefficiency in the current use other alternative energy sources compared with fossil fuels. The most cost-effective energy source of the future is biomass because it is an inexhaustible source of energy, which regenerates at a rapid rate; it is produced naturally without the need for infrastructure and equipment; it fixes the CO2 produced by its combustion during the process of photosynthesis, with zero risk compared to nuclear energy. The extraction of biomass from different crops, including woody species (trees and shrubs), represents a way of reducing the pressure on wild plant diversity. The energy source with the most advantages regarding energy production is plant biomass; future studies should be oriented towards this source.

EPJ Web of Conferences, 2018

Biomass includes all materials that contain organic carbon bound in the chemical structure of molecules, resulting from the chlorophylline photosynthesis, carried out by autotrophies organisms. Lots of biomass from agricultural, agri-food and forestry sectors can be used for energy purposes, representing an essential renewable energy source that, if appropriately managed, can help to reduce the negative environmental impacts arising from the exploitation of fossil fuels. The possibility of using biomass for a specific production process mainly depends on its physical and chemical properties. This paper is organized in two sections: in the first one, the most important biomass used worldwide for energy generation (thermal energy and/or electric energy), as well as its properties, are described. In the second one, the main biomass-to-energy processes (thermochemical and biochemical conversions) are shortly explained. Finally, some emerging techniques (such as bio-methane and bio-hydroge...

E3S Web of Conferences, 2017

The article presents the fossil fuels combustion effects in terms of the dangers of increasing CO2 concentration in the atmosphere. Based on the bibliography review the negative impact of increased carbon dioxide concentration on the human population is shown in the area of the external environment, particularly in terms of the air pollution and especially the impact on human health. The paper presents biomass as the renewable energy alternative source to fossil fuels which combustion gives a neutral CO2 emissions and therefore should be the main carrier of primary energy in Poland. The paper presents the combustion heat results and humidity of selected dry wood pellets (pellets straw, energy-crop willow pellets, sawdust pellets), dried sewage sludge from two sewage treatment plants of the Holly Cross province pointing their energy potential. In connection with the results analysis of these studies the standard requirements were discussed (EN 14918:2010 "Solid bio-fuels-determination of calorific value") regarding the basic parameters determining the biomass energy value (combustion heat, humidity).

Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells, 1995

The energy of the sun and carbon dioxide from the atmosphere are captured by plants during photosynthesis. Plant biomass can be used to absorb carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels, or it can be converted into modem energy carriers such as electricity, and liquid and gaseous fuels. Biomass supplies 13% of the world's energy consumption (55 £1, 1990), and in some developing countries it accounts for over 90% of energy use. There is considerable potential for the modernisation of biomass fuels through improved utilisation of existing resources, higher plant productivities and efficient conversion processes using advanced technologies. The interest in bioenergy is increasing rapidly, and it is widely considered as one of the main renewable energy resources of the future due to its large potential, economic viability, and various social and environmental benefits. In particular, biomass energy is among the most favourable options for reducing carbon dioxide emissions. Most of the perceived problems such as land availability, environmental impact, economic viability, and efficiency can be overcome with good management. The constraints to achieving environmentally-acceptable biomass production are not insurmountable, but should rather be seen as scientific and entrepreneurial opportunities which will yield numerous advantages at local, national and international levels in the long term.