bioenergy
Sign in to saveBioenergy is a type of renewable energy that is derived from plants and animals. The biomass that is used as input materials consists of recently living (but now dead) organisms, mainly plants. Thus, fossil fuels are not regarded as biomass under this definition. Types of biomass commonly used for bioenergy include wood, food crops such as corn, energy crops and waste from forests, yards, or farms. Bioenergy can also refer to electricity generated from the photosynthesis of living organisms, typically using microbial fuel cells and biological photovoltaics.
Article
17 sectionsContents
- Definition and terminology
- Input materials
- Applications
- Biomass for heating
- Biofuel for transportation
- Production of liquid fuels
- Comparison with other renewable energy types
- Land requirement
- Related technologies
- Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS)
- Climate and sustainability aspects
- Environmental impacts
- Scale and future trends
- By country
- See also
- References
- Sources
Bioenergy is a type of renewable energy that is derived from plants and animals. The biomass that is used as input materials consists of recently living (but now dead) organisms, mainly plants. Thus, fossil fuels are not regarded as biomass under this definition. Types of biomass commonly used for bioenergy include wood, food crops such as corn, energy crops and waste from forests, yards, or farms. Bioenergy can also refer to electricity generated from the photosynthesis of living organisms, typically using microbial fuel cells and biological photovoltaics.
Bioenergy can help with climate change mitigation but in some cases the required biomass production can increase greenhouse gas emissions or lead to local biodiversity loss. The environmental impacts of biomass production can be problematic, depending on how the biomass is produced and harvested. But it still produces CO2; so long as the energy is derived from breaking chemical bonds.