Biomass

Biomass is a renewable energy because it

contains the energy which comes from the
sun. Biomass is basically an organic material
made from plants and animals. Through the
process of photosynthesis, chlorophyll
present in plants absorbs the energy from
the sun by converting the carbon-dioxide
present in air and water from the ground in
carbohydrates. The chemical energy that is
present in plants is passed onto the animals
and people that eat them.
So, when these plants and animals are
burned they turn back into carbon dioxide
and water and release the suns energy they
contain. In this way, we can say that biomass
is renewable source of energy because we
can always produce more crops and plants
and waste will always exist. As long as
biomass is produced this source of renewable
energy will last for ever. Examples of
biomass include: plants, crops, trees and
garbage.
Biomass in itself contains chemical energy.
So, when you burn wood which is a biomass
fuel, the chemical energy inside releases as
heat. It can also be used to produce steam
which can further be used to generate
electricity. Using biomass for energy can cut
back on waste and can also help in reducing
the landfill. With the increase in costs people
are trying to turn to more biomass and less
fossil fuels
It may looks like that biomass helps in
increasing global warming. But, in fact it is
other way round. Plants use carbon di-oxide
and release oxygen. When these plants
decay, they are burnt and carbon di-oxide is
released into the atmosphere. When these
crops are again replanted, the new plants
use the same CO2 and which was produced
by the burned plants. This way biomass does
not contribute towards global warming.
However, if the the plants are not replanted,
then biomass may release carbon dioxide(CO2) which will in turn increase global
warming.

So, crux of the point is biomass energy is

renewable as the stored energy i.e. CO2 is
release, recycled and reused. It is
environment friendly as doesnt contribute to
global warming and can be produced over
and over again.
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Advantages:
Less dependence on fossil fuels
Reduction in landfill disposal
Easily available and inexhaustible fuel
source
Has the potential to reduce
greenhouse gases. Though it also emit
carbon-dioxide, but carbon-dioxide released
by it is largely balanced by the carbon
dioxide captured in its own growth. Where as
carbon-dioxide released by fossil fuels was
captured by photosynthesis millions of years
ago.Disadvantages:
Could contribute a great deal to global
warming and particulate pollution if directly
burned.
An expensive source and research is
needed to reduce the cost of production of
biomass based fuels.
Biomass conversion projects are
limited and therefore on a smaller scale
there is more likely a net loss of energy.
Land needed to produce biomass may
be in demand for other purposes such as
conservation or housing or agriculture us
Geothermal Energy
Geothermal Energy Geothermal comes from
the greek word Geo which means earth and
thermal which means heat. So,Geothermal
energy means energy or power extracted
from beneath the earth. The energy inside
the earth was formed by the decay of
minerals and forests several years ago.
Traditionally, it was used for bathing and
heating purposes but today it is also used for
generating electricity. Geothermal energy is
called renewable source of energy because
heat is continuously produced inside the
earth. This heat is brought to the nearsurface by thermal conduction and by
intrusion into the earths crust of molten
magma originating from great depth. As
groundwater is heated, geothermal energy is
produced in the form of hot water and steam.
Geothermal energy is produced inside the

earths surface. The earths layer consists of

innermost layer called Iron Core which itself
has two layers: solid iron core and an outer
core made of hard rock, called magma,
mantle which surrounds the core and the
outermost layer called crust which forms
oceans and continents. When magma comes
close to the earths surface i.e. crust it heats
up the ground water which gets trapped in
porous rocks. They may also flow along faults
and fractured rock surfaces. Now these
hydrothermal resources have 2 ingredients:
water (Hydro) and heat (thermal).
Advantage
1. Significant Cost Saving : Geothermal
energy generally involves low running costs
since it saves 80% costs over fossil fuels and
no fuel is used to generate the power. Since,
no fuel is require so costs for purchasing,
transporting and cleaning up plants is quite
low. 2. Reduce Reliance on Fossil Fuels :
Dependence on fossil fuels decreases with
the increase in the use of geothermal energy.
With the sky-rocketing prices of oil, many
countries are pushing companies to adopt
these clean sources of energy. Burning of
fossil fuels releases greenhouse gases which
are responsible for global warming 3. No
Pollution : This is one of the main advantage
of using geothermal energy since it does not
create any pollution and help in creating
clean environment. Being the renewable
source of energy, geothermal energy has
helped in reducing global warming and
pollution. Moreover, Geothermal systems
does not create any pollution as it releases
some gases from deep within the earth
which are not very harmful to the
environment 4. Direct Use : Since ancient
times, people having been using this source
of energy for taking.
Disadvantage
1. Not Widespread Source of Energy : Since
this type of energy is not widely used
therefore the unavailability of equipment,
staff, infrastructure, training pose hindrance
to the installation of geothermal plants
across the globe. Not enough skilled
manpower and availability of suitable build
location pose serious problem in adopting
geothermal energy globally. 2. High
Installation Costs : To get geothermal energy,
requires installation of power plants, to get
steam from deep within the earth and this

require huge one time investment and

require to hire a certified installer and skilled
staff needs to be recruited and relocated to
plant location. Moreover, electricity towers,
stations need to set up to move the power
from geothermal plant to consumer. 3. Can
Run Out Of Steam : Geothermal sites can run
out of steam over a period of time due to
drop in temperature or if too much water is
injected to cool the rocks and this may result
huge loss for the companies which have
invested heavily in these plants. Due to this
factor, companies have to do extensive initial
research before setting up the plant. 4.
Suited To Particular Region : It is only suitable
for regions which have hot rocks below the
earth and can produce steam over a long
period of time. For this great research is
required which is done by the companies.
Geothermal Heat Pumps
Below 10 meters from the Earth the
temperature remains nearly constant
between 50 and 60F (10-16C). Like the
cave, this ground is warmer than the air
above it during the winter and cooler air in
summer. Geothermal heat pumps harness
this energy from beneath the earth and take
advantage of this resource for heating and
cooling of buildings. Geothermal Heat pumps
(sometimes referred to as Geoexchange,
water source heat pumps), have been in use
since 1940s. Geothermal Heat pumps use
the heat below the earths crust to heat
homes and offices during winter rather, than
the outdoor air temperature. As a result, the
system can achieve a relatively high yield
(300%-600%) during the coldest winter
nights, compared with 175%-250% for airsource heat pump to cool days. During
winter, the heat below the earth is used as
the medium to heat homes, as heat is
removed from the heat exchanger by the
heat pump system and it is pumped into the
indoor air delivery system. During summer,
the process is reversed as heat pump moves
heat into the heat exchanger from the indoor
air. Heat extracted by the heat pump can
also be used to heat water, providing a
source of hot water during summer.
Geothermal Power Plant
Geothermal power comes from the slow
decay of radioactive minerals such as
uranium, which causes the rocks to become
magma. Tectonic plate movement causes the

movement of magma up from the edges,

forming a reservoir in which geothermal
steam and hot water can be recovered
through wells. Geothermal energy uses heat
to produce steam, which in turn powers a
generator to produce electricity. Geothermal
energy is generated deep in the ground, in
the form of hot molten rock, or a Magma

formed from the collapse of radioactive

materials like uranium. This energy becomes
available to us at the borders of tectonic
plates, when rubbing together and sliding
under the another, causing the magma to
break from the edges and pushed to the
Earths surface forming a geothermal
reservoir.