What is biomass?

Every living things that happens to perform its metabolism apparently produces excess materials that are disposed from such processes. Development in biotechnology now provide mechanisms that make people able to convert material compounds that derived from living organism or recently living organisms into things that are much more valuable. These natural compound is called biomass. Biomass is mainly composed of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. Nitrogen and small quantities of other atoms, including alkali, alkaline earth and heavy metals can also be found there. Biomass residues contain energy that are obtained by direct exposure to sunlight. These energy can be emitted through combustion to produce biomass energy. Comparison between Biomass and Other alternative energy resources Compared to other alternative energy sources that have commonly been used in Indonesia, such as wind, solar, geothermal, and hydroelectric, biomass potential of being the main resource of renewable energy placed third, with value of 49807 MWe (DGEEU, 1997)1. This is caused by the fact that materials needed to compose biomass can easily be found in Indonesia, with report of estimated production of biomass up to 46,7 million tons per year, equivalent to about 470 Gj/y. The best thing about biomass compared to other leading alternative sources of energy is that biomass posses lower capital costs but also have higher utilization rate2 than others. This means that biomass is so much more practical, because the initial production of biomass does not require the construction of a power plant and there is no limiting condition in producing biomass, unlike solar which only produces energy when the weather is sunny and windy. Furthermore, as viewed in terms of its role in conserving the environment, combustion of biomass produce significantly less CO2. It is because biofuel, as it is a biomass matter, takes part in the natural cycle of CO2 assimilation which could result in a zero net gain in oxides of carbon emissions. However, as every other options of alternative energy, biomass also has its drawbacks. Conversing biomass to produce biomass fuel is expensive. The production cost of biofuel is substantially higher than the cost needed to produce fossil fuel. It can costs up to $545 per acre in its establishment year3. Biofuel will not also be totally carbon neutral, since fossil fuels still plays a key role in the production stage of biomass such as in shipping and processing stage. Nonetheless, the idea of making biomass an alternative fuel to reduce the uses of fossil fuel is not highly unlikely, but there is still so much more research needed to be conducted to fully develop a system in biofuel production that is more ergonomic and ecofriendly. Daftar Pustaka http://www.biomass-asia-workshop.jp/biomassws/01workshop/material/Petrus-Panaka.pdf http://www.iea.org/media/workshops/2012/bioenergyccsandbeccs/3Indonesian_Center_Crop_Res earch.pdf http://stoves.bioenergylists.org/stovesdoc/Fuels/msoB2D82.pdf http://www.seco.cpa.state.tx.us/energy-sources/biomass/ http://www.viaspace.com/biomass_versus_alternatives.php

http://www.planetseed.com/relatedarticle/alternative-energy-sources-biomass http://www.amazine.co/27018/6-kelebihan-kekurangan-energi-biomassa/ http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_PLANTMATERIALS/publications/mspmctn7268.pdf http://www.bioenergyconsult.com/biomass-energy-resources-in-indonesia/ http://www.eia.gov/kids/energy.cfm?page=biomass_home-basics-k.cfm http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQ-cIVJuDks

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