We are currently facing an energy crisis. In less than 16 years time we will be at the tipping point of global climate change. If we continue to use oil at the rate we do today, we will reach a point where the damage done to the environment cannot be fixed, this will be around 2030. It is essential for us to find other ways to fuel the world that can eventually stop or even reverse climate change. How is this possible? Earth is an amazing planet filled with life, we refer to the living matter on the planet as biomass. Biomass is made from the same stuff that oil is made from, carbon and hydrogen.
The difference between oil and biomass is that biomass is going to decompose and release trapped carbon back into the atmosphere. Oil is a bad fuel because it is made from ancient biomass and the carbon is trapped in it forever until it's burnt. This may sound a bit confusing but what we need to do is burn fresh biomass as a source of fuel so we can trap carbon. When we burn biomass what happens is a certain amount of the fuel becomes charcoal, called biochar. Biochar is pure carbon and it is stable like oil. Unless we burn the biochar the carbon will be trapped forever.
It is important to remember that the biomass we just burnt came from a living organism like a tree or grass. When a tree grows, it takes in carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, carbon dioxide released from burning oil. Once we burn that tree, the carbon it absorbed is released but thanks to biochar there is LESS carbon released than the amount absorbed by the tree when it was alive. This means that when we use a system like a wood gasifier we are reversing the effects of global warming in a small way. I hope you enjoyed this little lesson in environmental science. Stay tuned for more information on the project and wood gas in general (YouTube video coming soon!) Please Leave Comments
The difference between oil and biomass is that biomass is going to decompose and release trapped carbon back into the atmosphere. Oil is a bad fuel because it is made from ancient biomass and the carbon is trapped in it forever until it's burnt. This may sound a bit confusing but what we need to do is burn fresh biomass as a source of fuel so we can trap carbon. When we burn biomass what happens is a certain amount of the fuel becomes charcoal, called biochar. Biochar is pure carbon and it is stable like oil. Unless we burn the biochar the carbon will be trapped forever.
It is important to remember that the biomass we just burnt came from a living organism like a tree or grass. When a tree grows, it takes in carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, carbon dioxide released from burning oil. Once we burn that tree, the carbon it absorbed is released but thanks to biochar there is LESS carbon released than the amount absorbed by the tree when it was alive. This means that when we use a system like a wood gasifier we are reversing the effects of global warming in a small way. I hope you enjoyed this little lesson in environmental science. Stay tuned for more information on the project and wood gas in general (YouTube video coming soon!) Please Leave Comments
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| this diagram is very easy to understand, the only thing it doesn't show is that some carbon is trapped in biochar when the wood is burnt. |
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