Role of Biomass and Components

Biomass is often defined as a renewable energy source, living or recently living biological material such as wood, waste, and alcohol fuels [2]. Biomass is often associated with plant-based material but it also applies to both animal- and vegetable-derived material. 

The chemical structure of biomass is comprised of a mixture of elements found in organic molecules, including carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, and nitrogen atoms, as well as other atoms such as alkali, alkaline earth, and heavy metals. But in general, biomass is a polymeric material without a regular structure, and thus there is no such 

Fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and gas are also derived from biological materials. However, the biological materials from which fossil fuels derive absorbed carbon dioxide from the attnosphere many milhons of years ago. When their combustion products are released into the atmosphere, there is no process occurring at a comparable rate that consumes this additional CO. Unless they are captured aud stored, the combustion of fossil resources contributes to increased levels of CO in the atmosphere. 

Biomass is a complex substance made up of many organic species combined into a heterogeneous polymeric material. Although the actual structure of biomass cannot be defined, portions of it can be related to the structure of known organic compounds. These structures include carbohydrates (cellulose andhemicelluloses, approximately 

dry weight) followed by lignin, then fats and proteins, and small amonnts of minerals, snch as sodium, phosphorus, calcium, and iron. 

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