What are some disadvantages of biomass the energy source?

Answer 1

Burning biomass creates polluting gases and liquid wastes. At large plants it's economically possible to install technology to recycle and process the wastes, but there are still doubts about impact of smaller biomass plants. Collectiong,transporting, and storing biomass is very expensive.

Answer 2

Agricultural wastes will not be available if the basic crop is no longer grown. In areas such as harvesting there will be additional work required. It is a major cause of pollution in some cases.

Answer 3

Despite the many positive characteristics of biofuels, there are also many disadvantages to these energy sources. The main issue is producing biofuels in a sustainable way. This means an emphasis on agricultural practices that do not use rainforests / other endangered habitats or food crop producing land or extensive irrigation or fertilization. Some Biofuels are more harmful than others.

Rainforest and natural habitat destruction: Palm oil can be especially damaging but is cheaper than other alternatives. Most palm oil is produced on destroyed rainforest habitat.) Unilever is the world's biggest purchaser of palm oil. The Center for Orangutan Protection concluded orangutans there could be extinct in Borneo by 2011. Greenhouse gas reduction: Rapeseed may produce more CO2 than fossil fuels - http://tinyurl.com/2gecg2. Shell is working to develop the fuel ethanol from wheat straw to reduce waste and emissions - http://tinyurl.com/d62wws. It takes 840 years for a palm oil plantation to soak up the carbon emitted when rainforest is burnt to plant the crop. Modern agriculture uses a lot of farm machinery and a lot of petroleum-based fuel to run that machinery, so that the fuel invested to create biofuel can offset any possible savings from using biofuel as a substitute for petroleum-based fuels. Several studies have been conducted to analyze the carbon footprint of biofuels, and while they may be cleaner to burn, there are strong indications that the process to produce the fuel - including the machinery necessary to cultivate the crops and the plants to produce the fuel - has hefty carbon emissions. Biofuels have a lower energy output than traditional fuels and therefore require greater quantities to be consumed in order to produce the same energy level. Affect on existing agriculture and water supplies: Biofuel production can adversely affect food and water supplies to poorer communities and income from agriculture for those communities. It can contribute to deforestation and soil erosion. Also, because land ownership is so important to survival, human rights are often very sensitive to any change in land use. As demand for food crops such as corn grows it could also raise prices for necessary staple food crops. Malaysia & Indonesia currently meet about 87% of global palm oil demand. China is currently the world's largest importer of palm oil, accounting for one third of all global trade. Biofuel is made from things such as corn, which may be more needed in the form of food than they are as fuel.

Answer 4

• The plants and vegetable matter burnt might better have been used as food.
• The land used to grow it might have better been used to grow food.
• The burning releases carbon dioxide (CO2), which, even though strictly it is part of the carbon cycle, still put extra pressure on the cycle to remove it.

Answer 5

As with anything in life there are drawbacks. The biomass may consist of fermented animal waste,

agricultural crops, grains and other natural products. However, using the resulting fuel still produces greenhouse gases; however biomass energy is CO2 neutral, which means the CO2 produced is the amount ingested during the plants life time. http://www.techstore.ie/Renewable-Energy/Biomass-Energy/Biomass-Energy-Pros-and-Cons.htm

Answer 6

It can still produce some (though not very hamrful, and it is in small amouns) of waste or emissions when used as a fuel. If there is a problem with the crops (since it is usually grown from corn, sugarcane, or grasses), then there can be a shortage of fuel. And as of right now, it can be expensive in some areas where it is not readily produced or is not easy access.

Answer 7

The production of biomass involves the combustion of a feedstock to generate electricity. Thus, the plants raise similar, but not identical, concerns about air emissions and water use as fossil fuel plants. Both the type of feedstock and the manner in which it is developed and harvested significantly affect land use and life-cycle global warming emissions impacts of producing power from biomass. They also require approximately the same amount of water for cooling as coal power plants.