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What type of renewable energy comes from burning plants?
Biomass
Biomass is an incredibly versatile substance, able to produce energy through being burned directly, converted into liquid biofuels or harvested as a gas from landfills or anaerobic digesters. Its own source of energy comes from the sun, and as plant matter can be regrown relatively quickly, it is classed as renewable.
What in a plant is burnt to produce energy?
That’s because plants absorb energy from the sun through the process of photosynthesis. When biomass is burned, this stored energy is released as heat. Burning biomass releases carbon dioxide. However, plants also take carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and use it to grow their leaves, flowers, branches, and stems.
How is biomass renewable?
Biomass is considered a renewable energy source because its inherent energy comes from the sun and because it can regrow in a relatively short time. Trees take in carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and convert it into biomass and when they die, it is released back into the atmosphere.
Is burning biomass bad for the environment?
Burning either fossil fuels or biomass releases carbon dioxide (CO2), a greenhouse gas. However, the plants that are the source of biomass for energy capture almost the same amount of CO2 through photosynthesis while growing as is released when biomass is burned, which can make biomass a carbon-neutral energy source.
How does biomass produce energy?
Most electricity generated from biomass is produced by direct combustion. Biomass is burned in a boiler to produce high-pressure steam. This steam flows over a series of turbine blades, causing them to rotate. The rotation of the turbine drives a generator, producing electricity.
What kind of biomass energy resource is?
Biomass is plant or animal material used as fuel to produce electricity or heat. Examples are wood, energy crops, and waste from forests, yards, or farms. Since biomass technically can be used as a fuel directly (e.g. wood logs), some people use the terms biomass and biofuel interchangeably.