In this article Takagreen informs you about one of the 5 main families of renewable energies: BIOMASS
Faced with the climate emergency and the need to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions from fossil industries, it seems essential to use new sources of energy that are more respectful of the environment.
- Biomass, energy source
- What is biomass? Biomass is all living organic matter of animal or plant origin. This material that makes up living beings and their residues comes from the forest, agriculture, or waste (green waste; bio-waste).
- How does it work? Biomass is an energy reserve because it originates from the carbon cycle or photosynthesis. This source of energy has many advantages: it is not likely to run out, it releases very few greenhouse gases and stores carbon. In France, biomass is the main source of renewable energy: it represents more than 55% of final energy production.
- How is biomass valued? Thanks to the energy recovery of biomass, it is possible to produce three forms of useful energy: heat, electricity and driving force for movement. Several processes exist to valorize biomass: The thermochemical sector which uses combustion, gasification, pyrolysis; methanation (biogas, digestate) and production of biofuels (biodiesel, bioethanol)
2. Biomass for heating or producing electricity
By combustion: The biomass boiler uses the energy released by the combustion of wood or cereals to supply central heating or produce domestic hot water.
By incineration of waste: During their combustion, waste releases energy which can be transformed into heat or electricity to supply a network. A cogeneration which allows to produce with the same installation two different energies.
Discover the responsible suppliers registered on Takagreen offering this type of solution:
Anaerobic digestion is the process of fermentation of organic plant or animal matter in an oxygen-free environment (anaerobic). This reaction produces biogas, composed of 50% to 70% methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2). These two gases being flammable, it is therefore sufficient to burn the biogas to produce heat and/or electricity.
Discover the responsible suppliers registered on Takagreen offering this type of solution:
- France : Sublime Energie – Deltaly – HoSt – Innolab Franc – Methavo – Waga Energy – AgriCarbon – Elysetechnoloy
2. Biomass to move
The production of biofuels consists of transforming plants (cereals, beets, palm oil, etc.) into fuel. The transport sector represented in France, in 2019, 31% of greenhouse gas emissions. Road transport contributes the most, contributing 94% of these GHGs. This is why it seems important to find alternatives with a more positive energy balance. Our (French) partner supplier Elysetechnoloy also offers a solution for using biomass to produce bio-fuel.
Finally, discover our (French) partner suppliers offering accessories related to the use of biomass:
- Station Bois : Automatic dispenser that delivers doses of pellets / wood pellets in bulk.
- Nenufar Biogaz : Biogas recovery pit cover.
3. What are the advantages and energy limits of biomass?
Biomass is a renewable energy that has many advantages for gradually replacing fossil fuels and contributing to the reduction of our C02 emissions.
Its use is likely to develop rapidly but this will have to be done on the basis of resources resulting from sustainable management. It does indeed appear essential to mobilize biomass while respecting the environment, biodiversity and soil fertility.
Sources
Articles :
https://www.connaissancedesenergies.org/fiche-pedagogique/biomasse
https://www.ecologie.gouv.fr/biomasse-energie#scroll-nav__4
Podcast :
Act4Gaz radio « WWF et l’utilisation de la biomasse pour l’énergie »