Energy, environment: biomass and biofuels, part1

Self-tutoring about biological energy sources: the tutor mentions biomass and biofuels.

Biomass is the raw organic matter, produced by plants or animals, that can be burned directly or else processed to fuel. When biomass is processed into fuel, the biomass itself is referred to as the feedstock, while the fuel produced is called biofuel.

Biomass includes food crops, wood, grass, leavings from crops (such as the stems from corn), and such. In the US, corn is used to make ethanol, while soybeans are used to make biodiesel.

While biomass and biofuels, when burned, produce CO₂ emissions, they can be seen as carbon neutral since, if used sustainably, the next crop of biomass will re-absorb said CO₂, and so on. Therefore, the carbon is simply recycled between the atmosphere and the biomass, with no net carbon being added to the atmosphere.

Source:

eia.gov

eia.gov

eia.gov

ieabioenergy.com