The Benefits of Willow Biomass As
an Alternative Energy Source
For more information: www.esf.edu/willow or www.esf.edu/eo
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The Benefits of Willow Biomass As
An Alternative Energy Source
Willow Biomass Trials at the SUNY ESF Genetics Field Station in Tully, New York
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Scientific work is like building a home. A solid foundation is formed and then one brick is placed on
the next until the building is constructed. The foundation was created by scientists centuries ago.
The bricks represent individual’s thoughts and work contributing to the building of our scientific
knowledge base. As one person’s work interfaces with the next person’s ideas, advances in
knowledge continue to accrue. Together, the whole becomes more than the parts. At times, a
magnificent illuminating brick appears as one individual makes a remarkable discovery. The
individual’s work and discovery build on what we know.
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The questions we ponder today such as, Is our atmosphere warming? How much is it warming? At what
rate is it occurring? What will be the affects of the warming on our world? These are thoughts and
questions considered and discussed by scientists for over 200 years. Svante Arrhennius was a Swedish
chemist who lived in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. He constructed a model to answer his question,” Is
the mean temperature of the ground in any way influenced by the presence of heat absorbing gases in
the atmosphere?” He was one of the first recorded people to investigate the role of atmospheric gases
on temperature. Svante Arrhenius relied on other scientist’s observations and experiments to help build
his ideas. (Josef Stefan, Arvid Gustaf Hogbom, Samuel Langley, Leon Teisserenc de Bort, John Tyndall)
Svante applied his basic knowledge of scientific principles to make sense of existing observations.
The original intent of Arrhennius and his colleagues was to understand how an ice age could take place
on the earth. Today we ponder the same questions as we try to understand what will happen as the
earth’s climate warms. Interestingly, Arrhennius concluded that as industry continued to grow so would
the atmospheric warming trend due to atmospheric gases. He hypothesized that this would have a
positive effect on the world. He thought that the increased temperatures would extend growing seasons
and allow for more food production thus the world would be able to feed a growing population.
Svante Arrhennius made his conclusions about the positive effect of the atmosphere warming
near the beginning of the industrial revolution. While machinery and the use of fossil fuels have
saved a great deal of time and labor, their use has changed the earth’s climate. The extensive
use of coal, natural gas, and oil are rapidly increasing the greenhouse gases in our atmosphere. Today,
we are concerned about what negative effects may occur if atmospheric temperatures continue to
rise.
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Why Worry? The Effects of Global Warming
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The concerns about global warming are continuing to intensify. A summary of the concerns about
the effects of global warming includes changes in, oceans temperatures, glacial ice melting, sea level
rising, coastal environments, global weather patterns, the number and intensity of severe storms, patterns
of El Nino, and climate patterns that will effect food production, etc. The list is extensive and is growing.
The more we understand the problems associated with a warming atmosphere the more alarming the
issues become.
Review of the Concepts Behind Global Warming:
Global warming occurs when greenhouse gases: methane, ozone, carbon dioxide, CFC’s and nitric oxide
absorb the radiated infrared energy given off by the surface of the earth. “A greenhouse
effect is essential to sustaining life on our planet. Did you know that If we did not have any
green house gases in our atmosphere, the temperature on earth would be about 33 degrees
centigrade cooler (or 60 degrees Fahrenheit cooler). Mars, which only has a small amount
of CO2 in its atmosphere, has an average surface temperature of – 60 degrees centigrade.
Too much global warming due to greenhouse gases is also a big concern. Venus with a thick
atmosphere of carbon dioxide has an average surface temperature of 470 degrees centigrade (Alter, L..,
1991).
Inner Planet’s CO2 Atmospheric Levels Vs Average Surface Temperatures
Planet name
Average Temperature
(OK)
Amount CO2 present in the atmosphere
Mercury
440
Trace amounts
Venus
737
96.5%
Earth
288
.035%
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1
Mars
210
.08%
http://pds.jpl.nasa.gov/
Langley Data Center Services Department: N. Silvers
larc@eos.nasa.gov
We can obtain helpful ideas about the earth by observing facts about the neighboring planets in our solar
system. We can use this information to help us solve our current problems.
How to solve the problem:
To help with the global warming issues, we need to concentrate on the factors that can be controlled.
One of the major factors that we can control is the amount of infrared absorbing gases we add to the
atmosphere. If we reduce the use of nonrenewable resources like coal, oil, and natural gas and use more
renewable resources we can slow down the global warming trend.
Bioenergy / Biomass: What is it?
Renewable energy is any energy source that can be either replenished continuously or within a moderate
timeframe, as a result of natural energy flows. The so-called “renewables” include biomass, wind,
hydro, geothermal, and solar thermal power.
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“Biomass is all plant and animal matter on the Earth’s surface. Harvesting biomass such as
crops, trees or dung and using it to generate energy, that is heat, electricity or motion, is
Bioenergy.
Biomass can be split into two categories, those coming from animals and those starting from plants. The
most commonly used biomass sources are those starting from the plants. Some of the more common
sources are listed in the chart below. Additional reference sites are listed below each category
Major types of Biomass
Fast-growing trees and
grasses
Ex. 1) Willow
2) Poplars
3) Switch grass
Agricultural residues
Ex. 1) Corn Stover
2) Rice straw
3) Wheat straw
4) Vegetable oils
Wood waste
Ex. 1) Sawdust
2) Tree pruning
3) Paper trash
4) Yard clippings
Animal
Waste
Ex. 1) Dung/
manure
http://www.esf.edu/willow
www.soton.ac.uk/~engenvir/environment Verified August 2002.
http://bioenergy.ornl.gov/faqs/
http://bioenergy.ornl.gov/bfdpmain.html
Biofuels and Biopower
Biomass from plants can be used to make a liquid fuel source similar to the gas or diesel fuel
we use in our vehicles. This form of liquid bioenergy is termed biofuels.
Biopower is the term used for biomass material used to replace fossil fuels like natural gas or
coal to produce electricity
Biomass was the first fuel that humans learned to use. (Consider the first fires of people created
by burning wood for warmth and cooking.) Modern bioenergy is clean, efficient and sustainable.
Bioenergy is quietly becoming more important all the time. In choosing a renewable energy
source to benefit our atmosphere, Biomass buoys itself towards the top of the list. Some of the
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reasons are:
a) It maintains a CO2 closed loop cycle (it does not add any more greenhouse gases to the
atmosphere, see diagram below)
b) It has a very high energy input to energy output ratio (see graph below)
c) It is relatively easy to reconfigure current coal burning facilities to handle burning biomass
fuels.
d) Low technological development costs: The technologies needed are mostly in place and only
fine-tuning is needed.
e) The production of biomass crops benefits the rural economy by creating another farm crop.
CO2 Cycle
Atmospheric carbon dioxide, water and sunlight
Converted into
new plant
material through
photosynthesis
Carbon dioxide
released back into
atmosphere
Harvested biomass is burnt to produce energy
Adapted from: British BioGen “Bioenergy 21st century fuel, power for the land”
http://www.britishbiogen.co.uk/
When willow is used as a biomass fuel source it is planted like a crop, grown for three years and then is
harvested. The mass of wood harvested is chipped or processed for burning systems and used instead of coal to
produce electricity, heat or both. The following year the willow sprouts again and begins a new three year growth
cycle. The process is described as being 100% efficient at recycling the CO2 back into the cycle. The diagram
above illustrates this process.
How does growing willow help supply fuel for our energy needs?
Biomass crops can be viewed as a large battery that collects and stores solar energy. In a battery, chemical
energy is stored and is used to generate electricity at necessary times and intervals. Plants absorb their energy
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from the sun; convert it into chemically stored energy in the form of bonds within the sugars, carbohydrates, and
lignin structures in the wood. These bonds are broken, releasing the stored energy during the burning process.
During this cyclical energy process, CO2 is taken up during photosynthesis, bonded and stored during growth.
When it is used for a fuel source it is released back into the environment. We call the complete cycle of growing,
harvesting and use of the biomass a CO2 neutral process because all the CO2 that goes into growing the crop is
the amount of C02 that comes out. It is also referred to as the CO2 closed loop cycle. For every 100g units of
CO2 put into the willow biomass cycle, 5g of CO2 are released into the atmosphere. When the Willow biomass is
burned for a fuel source 95g of the CO2 are taken up by the next generation of willow biomass crops growing in
the field.
The use of Willow for energy has a fairly high efficiency rate as well. For every 1-joule of energy used in the
process 16 joules of energy are released. The system will always create more useable energy than it consumes
because it is collecting and converting solar energy into biomass. When this ratio is compared to the energy in vs.
energy out ratio for fossil fuels, willow biomass is way ahead. Willow biomass gets out about sixteen times more
energy than fossil fuels. The question may come to mind,
If energy is neither created nor destroyed then where is all of the extra energy coming from? The answer is the
sun! The willows collect solar energy and store it as wood as they are growing.
Energy In to Energy Out Ratios for
Fossil Fuels vs. Willow Biomass
Type of
Energy in
Energy out
Fuel source MJ
MJ
Willow
Biomass
1
15.60
Coal
1
0.30
Fuel Oil
1
0.89
Natural Gas
1
0.40
(Mann and Spath 2000)
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Willow
Biomass
A
Renewable
source
Of
Energy
Stored Solar
Energy
The two factors, having a CO2 closed loop cycle, and having a high-energy efficiency make willow
biomass a viable and promising source of renewable energy. Moving from a fossil fuel based economy to
a more carbohydrate-based economy has many benefits for our world; the levels of greenhouse gases in
our atmosphere will be stabilized, marginal farm lands can produce a market crop which helps local
economies, toxic emissions are reduced. The principles associated with willow biomass crops can be
applied all around the world using different crops.
Closing Comments
The students of today become the decision makers of our society tomorrow. Developing ideas and
concepts now will help to build well-informed decision makers in the years to come.
Learning about your own personal benefits and those that will affect generations of people
to come will help to make the world a better place. We challenge you to learn, grow, be
curious and most of all get involved in your world. People who care are the happiest people
around. Make a difference by making great choices in your life.
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There is a slide presentation provided that shows the process of growing Willow
as Biomass from planting through to harvesting at the following location:
______________________________________________________________________
(not available at this time)
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WEBLINKS
State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry
1 www.esf/willow and www.esf.edu/eo
Life of Arrhennius the scientist
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Library/Giants/Arrhenius/
Verified August 2002 hess@climate.gsfs.nasa.gov Webmaster
Global Warming
Davies, Terry. (1990, March/April) An Introduction EPA Journal 16. p. 2-3 An introduction
to Global Warming
2 Global
Warming background information
http:// www.cis.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1993/5/ Verified August 2002
Scientific American Article “Is Global Warming Harmful To Health”
www.sciam.com/2000/0800issue/0800epstein.html. Verified August 2002.
www.sciam.com/explorations/2002/010702aerosols/index.html
Verified August 2002.
Set of ten short articles about the Warning Signs of Global Warming
www.ucsusa.org title: Global Warming: Early Warning Signs
Two Graphs: Fluctuations in CO2 and Temperature levels for the world
over time
www.earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Library/Giants/Arrhenius/
Page 2 Verified August 2002.
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Teacher information: This is a great place to work on the activity “Climate Change
in My City”
Other optional lessons include:
Lesson2: Oral History Project: Climate then and now
Lesson 3: Climate Change and Disease
Lesson 4: Climate Change and Ecosystems
See the teacher notes for the correlated NYS Standards to all of the above
lessons
Teacher Information: Have the students calculate the O C for the charts. (OK –
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273oC), another option would be to have the students graph the OC on the x axis to
the % of CO2 in the planets atmosphere.
Bioenergy Information Site
www.britishbiogen.co.uk/ Verified August 2002.
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Biomass Energy/Alternative Energy Sources
www.soton.ac.uk/~engenvir/environment Verified August 2002.
www.green-e.org/media_ed/teacher.html Verified August 2002.
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International Energy Agency
www.iea.org/pubs/studies/files/benign/index.htm Verified August 2002.
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Biofuel Information
www.ott.doe.gov/biofuels/ Verified August 2002.
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Bioenergy Fact Sheet
http://bioenergy.ornl.gov/faqs/
This is a great place to insert the lab on the CO2 closed loop cycle
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Other Helpful Links
(All verified August 2002)
American Biomass Association Fact Sheet on Bioenergy
www.biomass.org/fact_sheet_1.htm
National Renewable energy Laboratory
www.nrel.gov/clean_energy/
Biomass Chemical and Photosynthesis process in the plants/trees
www.science.org.au/nova
www.epa.gov/globalwarming
www.geo.mtu.edu/rs/back/spectrum
www.smgaels.org/physics/home.htm
www.climatehotmap.org
www.green-e.org/media_ed/teacher.html
www.peacecorps.gov/wws/lessons/earthday.html
www.bioenergy.ornl.gov/bfdpmain.html
www.science.org.au/nova/039/039box02.htm
www.epa.gov/globalwarming/
http://starfire.ne.uiuc.edu/~ne201/1996/panetton/index.html
www.green-e.org/media_ed/teacher.html
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Library/Giants/Arrhenius/arrhenius.html
www.biomass.org/fact_sheet_1.htm
www.peacecorps.gov/wws/lessons/earthday.html
www.sciam.com/2000/0800issue/0800epstein.html
www.green-e.org/media_ed/teacher.html
www.iea.org/pubs/studies/files/benign/index.htm
www.esf.edu/willow
http://bioenergy.ornl.gov/bfdpmain.html
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