Biomass supply, current sources

According to Blix (1997), so-called renewable sources total a little more than 2% of world commercial energy. The bulk of that total comes from geothermal installations, new wind and solar technologies, and biomass plantations. This share could increase, but only to a limited extent. The estimate made by the World Energy Council for new renewable supplies in the medium term is that with adequate support, the share of new renewable energy supplies, currently only 2%, could reach 5% to 8% of increased world energy supply by 2020. 

The water in rivers and streams can be captured and turned into hydropower (HP), also called hydroelectric power. HP currently provides about 17% of the world s electricity supply, virtually all of Norway s electricity and more than 40% of the electricity nsed in developing countries. However, there is great potential in hydropower worldwide. Norway produces more than 99% of its electricity with hydropower. New Zealand nses hydropower for 75% of its electricity. HP provides more than 97% of all electricity generated by renewable sources. Other sources, biomass, geothermal, solar and wind account for less than 3% of renewable electricity production. When the electricity share of total energy consumption is considered, the increase becomes even more dramatic. 

The digestor is mainly restricted to the treatment of municipal and industrial wastes. Substantial research has been done on using anaerobic digestion of biomass for the production of methane gas. These systems are limited to small-scale applications where alternative energy sources are inadequate. Some current anaerobic digestors use the methane produced as a by-product to supply heat for operation of the digestor. 

With ever increasing requirements for clean transportation fuels and liquid hydrocarbon supplies, there is an opportunity to produce significant quantities of synthetic ultra-clean fuels that are essentially sulfur-free. These synthetic fuels can be produced from natural gas, coal, petroleum coke, biomass, and other non-traditional hydrocarbon sources. Most of these products are fungible and compatible with current products and distribution infrastructure and can be produced at costs competitive with conventional crude oil-derived products under certain market conditions. 

With the appropriate conversion technology, plant-derived biomass could become the primary source of energy, chemicals and materials over the next century. It is estimated that by dedicating a third of current forest and marginally arable land to production of short-rotation hybrid species or grassy energy crops it would be feasible to supply all transportation needs and a large fraction of petrochemical needs from biomass sources (2,7). 

---