Biomass Report: Direct and Indirect Use (Ed 2 - 2007)

Abstract

Introduction

• Biomass is a major source of energy supply and it is used at different levels of technology
• Biomass is the largest form of primary renewable energy
• It can be used "directly", as in household fires or wood burning cookers, or "indirectly" after conversion into a secondary form of energy, such as biopower, biodiesel or biogas. It is the only renewable that can easily be processed into these three forms of secondary energy
• The greatest use of direct or "traditional" biomass is in the developing countries, while the developed countries lead in biomass conversion
• Biomass is the second largest energy source for electricity generation, after hydro power
• This report is concerned with the technologies, markets and development of biomass energy, both used directly and converted from primary energy to a secondary fuel
• Indirect use is the focus of much technological development both in the industrialised and the developing countries
• Resources are enormous and constantly being renewed, either as forest or crop residue, the commercial cultivation of energy crops, and through the wastes generated from organic and industrial sources

Report Scope

• This report is greatly expanded in coverage with much deeper and more comprehensive statistical analysis than in the 1st edition
• The report is rich with data, with detailed new country analysis of biomass use contained in 150 charts and tables
• The report analyses and identifies biomass supply and use by type and process
• The biomass technologies are outlined, for direct consumption and transformation into secondary energy - electricity, gas, fuel. These technologies include gasification, pyrolysis, biofuel production, MSW treatment, landfill gas, power generation
• Each of the 29 major biomass using countries is analysed by energy and biomass usage, measuring consumption, the size of different biomass sources identifying how it is used, in he following analyses;
• Fossil fuel & nuclear/renewable non-biomass/biomass
• Biomass supply by type - solid biomass/MWS/biofuel/biogad/industrial waste
• Biomass use analysed by direct/transformation/heal/electricity/other fuel
• Electricity generation from biomass historically from 1980
• The report outlines the many government initiatives to support the biomass industry and R&D

Key Research Findings

• Biomass supplies 10.1% of the world' s total primary, more than nuclear power (5.6%) or hydro power (2.3%)
• 70% of all biomass in the world is used in the residential sector, while 14% is used in industry and 11% is transformed into electricity, heat, or another energy carrier such as liquid fuel or biogas
• Biomass is the second largest renewable energy source for power generation, providing 9.3% of generation from renewables
• Although biomass consumption far exceeds that of the "new" renewables - wind, solar PV and thermal, ocean and tidal - it is not growing as fast as the new technologies
• The biofuel market, primarily ethanol and biodiesel is growing rapidly. In 2005 the US overtook Brazil as the largest ethanol producer in the world, and the EU leads in biodiesel production
• 87% of the global supply of biomass is produced and consumed in non-OECD regions as a "traditional" fuel. Modern biomass now represents only 3% of primary energy consumption in industrialised countries compared with 35% in developing countries
• Wood is the dominant biomass category. It is generally accepted that for wood to increase significantly as a resource for power generation more commercial "designer" energy crops must be developed