Biomass is ... Extraction of biofuel

Everyone from the school's bench should know the meaning of the biological term "biomass". This concept can be designated as the aggregate of all living things on our planet. In this article we will talk about biomass expanded, and special attention will be paid to its processing. Few people know that biomass is a source of biological fuel. We will briefly review all methods of processing. After reading this article, you can expand the knowledge gained in the lessons of biology.

Biomass

Let's start with the concept of "biomass". This, as many directories say, is the mass of all living our planet. Biomass is also called biomaterial. Both options will be correct. For example, take the biomass of our planet Earth: it is about 4.5 billion tons. Agree, a pretty impressive figure!

The concepts of "biomaterial" and "fuel" are inextricably linked. Biomass is a valuable and unique resource of energy. This energy resource contains the necessary amount of carbon, which can replace fossil fuels. This source of energy, which is biomass, is renewable. Now directly about how the processing of biomaterials takes place.

Processing of biomass

So, biomass is the totality of all life on the planet. Now let's outline the main ways of processing. There are the following options for extracting energy from biomass:

• burning;
• gasification;
• Pyrolysis;
• fermentation;
• fermentation.

Biomass can be converted into fuel of various types: liquid, solid, gas. At the moment, the direction of biofuel production through direct combustion is more developed.

Burning

Biomass is the totality of all living organisms that can be transformed into the energy we need. In this section we will talk about the transformation of the most common way - burning.

Why is this the most used? It's very simple, because burning is the easiest way to extract energy. The waste is burned, the generated steam drives the rotor of the generator, which is necessary for energy production.

This method does not apply to all types of material due to the accumulation of ash in the boilers, which increases the cost of maintenance and reduces productivity. In this way, certain objects are processed.

Gasification

What is biomass? This biology treats as a combination of the mass of all living things on our planet, the only kind of renewable energy resource. Now briefly about the method of processing called "gasification".

This method is based on the effect of high temperature on solid fuel. It differs from direct combustion in that the source of oxygen is limited. In this way, we can get a different gaseous fuel for a gas turbine. A mixture of gases can consist of:

• Carbon monoxide;
• carbon dioxide;
• Nitrogen;
• Hydrogen;
• Methane.

The advantage of this technology is the formation of methane, which can be used for the same purposes as natural gas.

Pyrolysis

Speaking of what biomass is, the biology of the school course does not mention pyrolysis, another processing method in which biomass (particularly wood) decomposes into liquid and gaseous products under the influence of high temperature and the absence of oxygen. Residual material after pyrolysis is charcoal. It concentrates the same amount of energy, but the weight of solid fuel is an order of magnitude smaller, which is very convenient for its transportation.

Now a technology has been developed that converts volatile substances into gas fuel. The gas extracted in this way is a valuable source for obtaining many hydrocarbons.

Fermentation

This method is based on the processing of biomass by anaerobic bacteria that are able to consume organic matter and process it into gas. With the help of such bacteria, energy can be extracted even from the manure of domestic animals. And here nature helps man. The latter only needs to use competently the available knowledge in order to produce the emitted gases (in this case methane and hydrogen).

Anaerobic bacteria are present in places where there is no oxygen. The most common habitat is the swamps. That is why near such water bodies there is such a persistent smell.

Fermentation

People are accustomed to extract ethyl alcohol with sugar and yeast. With the help of the latter, a fermentation process is possible, and fermentation is based on this principle. Only for the extraction of energy from biomass use a wider range of materials, up to the workings of wood production.

Biomass and fuel

In this paper, we looked at ways to extract energy from biomass, got acquainted with the very notion. It should also be added that ethanol was the most widely used. It is often used as a fuel for transport, of course, not in pure form, but when mixed with gasoline. This is well reflected not only on less pollution of the atmosphere, but also on transport performance.