What is Biomass Energy and its role of in our future?

Biomass is the general name of all biological materials obtained from

organisms that have lived in the recent past (not yet fossilized) or living, and biomass
energy is the transformation of biomass into useful energy forms such as heat,
electricity and liquid fuels by burning biomass or by energizing it as a result of
different processes. There fuels can be derived from wood, forests, wastes, plants
and animals. There are various ways to convert biomass energy into other forms of
energy, that are combustion, pyrolysis, anaerobic digestion and alcohol
fermentation. The limited capacity of raw materials and energy resources, and the
continuous and rapid increase of needs of raw materials have increased the
importance of biomass. We have found a wide application area all over the world
with the features that aim at developing, which provides environmentally friendly
sustainable energy production and environmental management. Therefore,
evaluation of biomass in energy production in the world and Turkey has become
more important subject. Of course, although important and valuable, there are
disadvantages as well as advantages but they can be solved. In my opinion, the
impact of biomass energy on the environment is economically significant and is a
more beneficial mechanism of energy generation than other renewable energy
sources in terms of its future role.

BODY 1: Biomass Energy Conversion Technologies and Applications

The ways of converting biomass energy into other forms of energy are
combustion, alcohol fermentation, anaerobic digestion and pyrolysis.
The most common and simple way to obtain energy from biomass is by burning it.
This is called combustion. The energy that emerges as the result of direct
combustion is heat. For this reason, it can be used to increase the temperature of an
environment without any operation. Unfortunately, however, the incineration of
biomass causes a large amount of air pollution and releases atmospheric greenhouse
gases. Nowadays, it is a relatively expensive process to cultivate high amounts of
agricultural products and produce energy through combustion. For this reason,
different methods of obtaining energy from biomass are used.
The alcohol fermentation method is the conversion of starch in an organic substance
to sugar with the help of heat, followed by fermentation of the sugar to yield the
final ethanol. The resulting ethanol is purified and blended with another fuel to
produce the final product called Gasohol. The major disadvantage of this fuel line,
which is commonly used in the United States and Brazil, is that it needs fossil fuels
during production. (Biyokütle Enerjisi, Uğur Gül,2012)
Anaerobic digestion is the production of methane and carbon dioxide which are
main components of natural gas from biomass and waste products. This method of
generating energy is very attractive in terms of producing a ready-to-use energy
source such as gas from human, animal and agricultural wastes. Although production
is costly, it is much more efficient than other methods. ( Renewable Energy Sources,
Antonia V. Herzog, Timothy E. Lipman,Daniel M. Kammen,2001)
Pyrolysis is the heating of biomass in an oxygen-free environment. Wood or
agricultural wastes are heated to around 1000 degrees Fahrenheit and separated
into gas and charcoal. The most important advantage of this method is that carbon
dioxide gas does not come out in the separation process. Carbon dioxide release, one
of the biggest obstacles to biomass energy generation methods, does not apply to
the pyrolysis method. The disadvantage of this method is that the biomass needs to
be heated to a high degree and that a high amount of energy is consumed. (Biyokütle
Enerjisi, Uğur Gül,2012)

BODY 2: Implementation of Biomass Energy Systems

Biomass sources can be found almost anywhere on land and seas. In recent years,
besides naturally grown resources, work has begun to obtain these resources.
Biomass energy sources are the three main sources. These are forest-based,
agricultural and urban-industrial waste origin. First resource is forest based.
Approximately 90% of the world's biomass is found in forests, bushes, foliage and
rubbish, living animals and microorganisms and the annual net biological production
of world forests is estimated at about 50 x 1019 tons.
Some fast growing trees such as willow, black poplar, eucalyptus, poplar and cynara
are being cultivated in order to obtain energy.
These trees can grow in very different climatic and soil conditions and their growth
rates are higher than other trees. These trees are pruned every 5 years and grown
again and harvested branches are used as biomass source. In this way, both the
protection of existing forests and the reduction of environmental pollution are
ensured.
The second source of biomass is the source of agriculture and animal husbandry.
In recent years there has been an increase in the number of studies on plants that
have high growth rates and are able to grow even in very inefficient soils. A new type
of agriculture has been developed that can be described as energy agriculture with
these plants. Some of these plants are c4 type plants such as corn, sugar beet and
sugarcane. to the high yield from the cultivation of these c4 plants, the cost of
generating electricity from burning biomass can be greatly reduced.
The use of biogas produced by fermentation of animal manure in an oxygen-free
environment is quite common. Methane from any waste is carried out in two stages
by bacterial growth bacteria. The first complex organics are converted to volatile
fatty acids by acid bacteria and then the acids that are produced are methane
converted into methane by methane bacteria. The resulting gas has methane, carbon
dioxide, hydrogen sulphide and water composition in small quantities. Another way
to obtain methane gas is through alga. some algae are growing rapidly in sewage
treatment plants where there are plenty of nutrients for the plant. These algae
grown in the facilities are used in the production of methane gas.
Another resource of biomass is urban-industrial waste. Sewage sludge formed in the
landfills and domestic wastewater treatment plants is separated by aerobic
organisms and converted into methane gas. Since the gas is also effective in the
formation of the greenhouse effect, the formation is controlled. For this purpose, the
gases formed in the garbage collection area are collected according to a certain level,
the gas is sent to the generator and electricity is generated in the generator.

Biomass has advantages and disadvantages when obtained by various methods

through these sources. Benefits of biofuel use:
– Reduces oil imports,
– Supports sustainable energy,
– Provides for the development of energy agriculture,
– Ensures the socio-economic structure of rural areas,
- Creates local jobs and contributes to the development of manufacturing industry,
– Provides protection of natural energy resources and environment.
- Biodiesel protects the engine due to its lubricating properties.
– High Flash point temperature-to-use, safe to transport and store diesel fuel and
burns cleaner than diesel and can be stored under the storage conditions.
– With the regional and modern operation of biomass, it is possible to create regions
that provide self-sufficient energy, especially in remote areas of energy lines.
Especially because of the need for agricultural labor, biomass energy production can
also create employment opportunities in rural areas.
Biomass energy is an environmentally friendly energy source in general, but it can
create some environmental effects according to the type of biomass used. For
example, waste resulting from the burning of garbage and similar wastes requires
some Environmental precautions. Burning wastes and decaying wastes emit
hazardous chemicals and greenhouse gases such as CO2 and cause air pollution as a
result of combustion. The land used to grow corn and sugar cane can reduce habitats
and damage the ecosystem. The land used to grow biomass can be used to grow
food and other crops. The use of fertilizers and other chemicals to grow biomass can
cause water and environmental pollution. On the other hand, such resources which
can create temporary visual environmental pollution by their storage are eliminated
as a result of their use as an energy source. Despite all the negative effects of
biomass energy, many people think biomass is a better and cleaner source of energy
than petroleum and fossil fuels.

BODY 3: The Future Role of Biomass

Energy consumption is a sign of the level of development of countries, indispensable
for the comfortable life of individuals. With the developing technology and the
increasing population, the increase in energy consumption makes energy as an
important problem in our country as well as in the whole world. The fact that fossil
fuel resources are rapidly depleting and causing extreme harm to natural life and the
environment while consumed threaten the lives of future generations. For this
reason, efforts to utilize renewable energy sources have become even more
important in recent years. Rapid industrialization, population growth, urbanization
and rising standards of living in recent years have led to the rapid depletion of energy
resources while increasing energy consumption. The amount of energy consumption
in the world has increased about 17 times in the last 100 years. As a result of all this,
biomass studies have been given great speed in the world to meet the energy deficit.
Given the great potential as well as the economically and environmentally favourable
aspects of biomass, interest in bioenergy has been increasing steadily. Biomass is an
important source of energy in order to form the fourth largest energy source in the
world. Many developed countries see bioenergy as the main energy source for your
future (Anonymous, 2011a: 13). It is believed to be one of the most important
renewable energy sources of the future due to its great potential, its different social
and economic benefits. (Perlack, R. D. et al., 1995; Hall, 1997).
Approximately 6% of the EU's total annual energy consumption is provided by
biomass and biomass energy usage is 45 MTEP per year (Boztepe & Karaca 2009,
Ozcan, M. vd, 2011: 243). Biomass is the fourth largest energy source in the world is
an important energy source. Many developed countries see bioenergy as the main
energy source for your future. For example; 16% of Swedish energy is biomass.
Likewise, 13% of Austrian energy is biomassed, while Finland is also benefiting from
biomass energy considerably (Karayılmazlar, S. vd, 2011: 64; Anonymous, 2011a)
For this purpose, various advances in the world are mentioned. It is foreseen that
biofuel products to be obtained by bioreactor conversion of traditional biomass in
modern facilities in the coming years will have an important place among renewable
energy sources.
When the potential biomass energy sources in Turkey are evaluated, the fact that
residues of wood and non-wood forest products can be transformed into alternative
fuels by suitable techniques such as gasification, fermentation and anaerobic decay
of industrial wastes from biomass origin in cities where animal wastes are
concentrated in high concentrations. When this happens, biomass fuels will be
evaluated at the combined power, heat and cooling facilities and will contribute to
increasing energy production from domestic sources and reducing dependence on
foreign sources.

Conclusion
When the subject is energy, there is no absolute gain or absolute loss from nothing.
There are only advantages and disadvantages. Energy policies should aim to achieve
uninterrupted, reliable, clean and cheap energy. In this context, it is important to
increase the diversity of resources in addition to the efficient use of energy provided
to consumption in terms of energy policies. Today, the work of finding new sources
of energy is increasing steadily. Research is focused on discovering new, economic
and renewable energy sources, and it is becoming more and more widespread with
each passing day. One of these energy sources is biomass containing wood, oil seed
and carbs, biocompatible waste, agricultural, industrial and urban waste. Biomass
energy in these sources can be converted to solid, liquid and gas fuels by various
thermochemical and biochemical methods to be used in energy technology and as an
alternative to conventional fuels. Biofuels can be used as fuel for heat, electricity and
vehicles, burning systems, boilers, generators, internal combustion engines and
turbines can also be used. Based on the attainable statistical data, biomass Energy
has an important technical potential for use in the world and in Turkey. It is observed
that investments in biomass energy in developed countries of the world and
international communities such as the European Union are increasing and their
applications in other countries are becoming widespread. In 2011, a total of 21.4
billion liters of biodiesel was produced in the world and the countries that produce
most biodiesel are Germany, USA, Argentina, Brazil, France. ( A Research in the Field
of Energy Geography: Usage of Biomass Energy in the World and Turkey),Dr. Erol
Kapluhan, 2014). Biomass energy is more profitable than other renewable resources
because it has more advantages about future role effects and environmental effects
and economic and production issues. Despite it has some disadvantages, advantages
are dominant. For this reason, today, it has a significant place in energy production
and the future will increase gradually.