What’s Algae Biomass ?
Biomass (bio + mass) originally means “mass of living organisms” in ecology, but after the oil crisis it is also used as “biological resource for energy.”
Fuel made from biomass is called “biofuel” and energy obtained from biomass is called “bioenergy” or “biomass energy.” Biomass is the energy resource, which plant and algae accumulate by converting solar energy to chemical energy. As carbon dioxide discharged by burning biomass originates in the absorption of atmosphere in photosynthesis, biomass energy theoretically does not emit carbon dioxide. The application of “algae biomass” is being paid attention to as a new renewable energy because of the steep rise in petroleum price, awareness to global warming, and movement to abandon nuclear power generation, which arose because of the nuclear power plant accident.
Types of Biomass Resource
| Wood Biomass | Firewood, forestry waste (e.g., branch), thinning lumber, etc. |
|---|---|
| Biomass from Agricultural Waste | Straw, chaff, sugarcane waste (bagasse), etc. |
| Energy Crop | Rapeseed, soybean, coconut, oil palm, fast-growing tree (poplar, eucalyptus, etc.), herbaceous plant (sweet sorghum, napier grass, etc.), microalgae (Chlorella, Euglena, Botryococcus, Aurantiochytrium, etc.) |
| Livestock Waste | Livestock excreta, etc. |
| Waste from Bio-Resources | Garbage, sewage sludge, pulp spent liquor, scrap wood, waste-cooking oil, combustible waste from bio-resources, etc. |
| Others | Bamboo, dietary fiber, crab shell, etc. |
Characteristics of Algae Biomass
