Eighty percent of the nation s biomass comes from wood, with more than half of that total generated from black liquor, a by-product of paper pulp manufacturing. Reduces the landfilling of wood material. Reduces the quantity of biomass material on the forest floor thereby reducing the risk of destructive wildfires and the gradual degradation of the forest ecosystem. An alternative to open burning of biomass. Co-firing biomass with coal mixtures in existing utility boilers is an attractive near term method to reduce carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides and sulfur oxides.
Gasification of biomass produces fewer emissions than direct combustion.
Biomass is a feedstock for the manufacture of ethanol and methanol, two renewable non-fossil transportation fuels that can be easily integrated into existing fuel distribution networks. Ethyl and methyl alcohol derived from biomass can power vehicles by direct combustion or by operating a fuel cell. Both methods significantly reduce harmful emissions when compared with fossil fuels. Reduces the practice of open burning of biomass residues that leads to poor air quality in many areas. Many successful and viable biomass technologies are employed today.