Chemical Processes in Renewable Energy Systems

Chapter 4

Transformations and Chemical Processes in Biomass Energy Systems

As with solar energy, biomass energy has been utilized by humans since the beginning of time for various applications, including heating and cooking. Such traditional use, through direct combustion, continues unabated today over much of the world, particularly in the developing countries. Direct burning of biomass is typically incomplete and inefficient and results in the release of particulates, greenhouse gases, and other pollutants, invariably in confined spaces causing incalculable harm to human health. Indiscriminate harvesting of biomass (firewood) also denudes the soils of nutrients and has other detrimental impacts on ecosystems, including loss of biodiversity, ...