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Biomass includes all organic materials originating from plants and trees and entails the use and storage of the sun's energy by photosynthesis. Biomass energy (bioenergy) is the transformation of biomass into practical forms of energy including heat, electricity, and liquid fuels (biofuels). Biomass for bioenergy can originate from lands, for example, from dedicated energy crops and from residues produced in the processing of crops for food or different products [13–15].

Biomass energy is renewable and sustainable, but is comparable to fossil fuels. Even although biomass can be burned to acquire energy, it may additionally come as a feedstock to be transformed to numerous liquids or gas fuels (biofuels). Biofuels can be transported and stored, and permit heat and power production when needed, which is crucial in an energy mix with a high dependence on intermittent sources such as wind. These similarities are responsible for the essential contribution biomass is projected to offer in future energy usage [16]. Consequently, a plan to enhance biorefinery and biotransformation technologies to transform biomass feedstock into clean energy fuels is presently being developed. Interconversion of many biomass and energy forms in the carbon cycle is shown in Figure 2.4, [17]. Biomass feedstock can be transformed into bioenergy by thermo‐chemical and bio‐chemical transformation processes. These processes entail combustion, pyrolysis, gasification, and anaerobic digestion, as illustrated in Figure 2.5. Furthermore, the use of biomass‐derived fuels is to substantially counteract current energy security and trade balance problems, and adopt new socio‐economic improvements for many nations, as shown in Table 2.1 [18].

Biomass has the ability to reliably deliver baseload power, making it more favorable than other RES including wind and solar, however, the big disadvantage of biomass fuel is the lack of efficiency it possesses. Even although biomass could be utilized to generate energy to meet customer demand, biomass has huge amounts of water per unit of weight, which implies that it lacks energy potential as fossil fuels. Furthermore, transportation costs for biomass are greater per unit of energy than fossil fuels due to its small energy density.

The supply of biomass for energy has been growing at around 2.5% per year since 2010. The global Installed cumulative biopower capacity increased significantly from 39 GW in 2004 to 112.6 GW in 2016, Figure 2.6 shows the global biomass cumulative installed capacity from 2000 to 2013, [19]. Future projections suggest that biomass and waste energy production may rise from 62 GW in 2010 to 270 GW in 2030, as shown by Figure 2.7 [20].

Figure 2.4 Main features of the bioenergy energy technology. Adapted from [17].

Figure 2.5 Bioenergy conversion processes for different end products.

Table 2.1 Potential benefits and technical limitations of biomass energy. Adapted from Ref [18].

Potential benefits

Technical limitations

Environmental benefitsReduced reliance on ecologically harming fossil fuelsA decline in greenhouse gas emissionsReduced brown haze and poisonous chemical emissions;Use of squander materials diminishing the requirement for landfill sites Economic gainsRelatively reasonable resourcesLocally disseminated vitality sources give consistency and reliabilityMore broadly disseminated which helps achieve energy securityGeneration of work openings in country communitiesBiomass and bioenergy innovation send out opportunitiesUtilizing the full potential of biomass as a renewable and boundless fuel source

Environmental threats Use of protected soil for the production of biomassDrainage of municipal sources of waterStrong demand for fertilizer, herbicides and pesticides, resulting in increasing emissions of air and soilPotential climate change globally by increased CO2 production in the atmosphereThe use of GM crops and microorganisms could theoretically impact ecosystemsDecreased biodiversity from soil contamination and/or preferred crop agricultural agricultureIncreased emissions of wood‐burning particulate carbon Associated technologiesCollection capacity of feedstockPre‐treatment of biomassEnzyme generationCost of innovation technology and maintenance

Figure 2.6 Global biomass cumulative installed capacity, 2000–2013. Ref Num [19].