Biomass: Definition and Potential

Definition

Biomass is a sustainable resource that it is constantly being formed by the interaction of air, water, soil and sunlight.
If biomass is not used for chemical or energy purposes, it is broken down again by microorganisms into its elementary constituent parts: water, CO₂ and energy in the form of heat.

So when people use biomass as an energy source – regardless of whether it is as a foodstuff, a source of heat, for generating electricity or in the preparation of automotive fuels – they are simply mimicking nature’s perpetual biomass cycle.

Potential

There are almost no limits on how much biomass can be grown. The continuous growth of plants on our planet exceeds our primary energy requirements many times over.
The net primary production (NPP), i.e. the radiation energy emanating from the sun that is biologically absorbed in biomass amounts to approximately 50 billion t of crude oil equivalent units every year. Compare this with mankind’s current primary energy requirements of approximately 9.7 billion t of crude oil equivalent units every year. Of course, only part of the biomass that grows can actually be supplied for energy use, both for ecological, technical and economic reasons. Yet there remains a huge amount of biomass that is very suitable for exploitation.

It will also be possible to make more biomass available around the globe in future. Certain varieties of trees and bushes, which have been adapted to local surroundings, could be planted on waste land and grazing land that makes up approximately one quarter of the earth’s total land surface.

More than half of the 40 million t of straw harvested each year on German farms is simply ploughed back into the soil, as there is currently no alternative commercial use for this material.
This would be enough to produce 4 million t of SunFuel or meet approx. 14% of diesel consumption levels in Germany. If only 10% of agricultural land in Germany were used – roughly the areas left presently as ‘fallow land’ – a further 3 – 6 million t of SunFuel could be produced from the additional biomass – depending on whether traditional or specially adapted varieties are planted.

Prof. Scheffer at the University of Kassel/Witzenhausen says that the total bioenergy potential in Germany is the equivalent of 56 million t of crude oil units¹. In theory this amount could be used to produce 30 million t of SunFuel. This would be enough to meet 50% of the total automotive fuel consumption needs in Germany – including air traffic. And there would be no restrictions on the supply of foodstuffs either.

Prof Kaltschmitt at the Institute for Energetics and the Environment in Leipzig has calculated that there is enough biomass in the EU-25 to produce up to 115 million t of synthetic automotive fuels every year².

The potential for bioenergy will increase even further in future. Food yields per unit of land will continue to rise through progress made in cultivation techniques and improved production processes. The areas that are freed up can then be used for growing energy plants.

You can obtain further information on developing the potential of biomass in the ENERGY FOR ALL section under Biomass.

Note on Sources

¹Scheffer, K.: Biomasse – gespeicherte Sonnenenergie aus der Vielfalt der Pflanzenarten – Potentiale, Bereitstellung, Konversion, in: ForschungsVerbund Sonnenenergie Themenheft 2000, S. 34 – 39.

²Kaltschmitt, M; Vogel, A.: Alternative Biofuels in Europe – Status and Prospects, Vortrag: Berg- und Hüttenmänischer Tag 2004, Freiberg.