Bioenergy is the oldest form of renewable energy and is still the biggest renewable contributor to the world’s energy mix. Bioenergy dominated the energy scene before the industrial revolution and the main sources of biofuel, in the form of logs and residues, were the world’s forests. However, the industrial revolution took advantage of the high energy density of fossil fuels, firstly coal and later oil and natural gas. For most of the 19th and 20th centuries the use of bioenergy and the biomass from which it is produced slipped down the list of priorities in industrialised countries. In the particular case of biodegradable waste, also a form of biomass, little was used for energy production until the last 30 years or so. The realisation that fossil resources are not infinite, and indeed peaks in production might already have passed, and the acceptance that carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from fossil fuels are leading to climate change has given a renewed impetus to bioenergy. The steadily improving understanding of factors affecting environmental sustainability has highlighted the particular benefits of using waste biomass as a fuel for bioenergy and biofuel production.

BAXTER David; 

2013-01-14

MULTI-SCIENCE PUBLISHING CO LTD.

JRC73171

0958-305X,   

www.eaem.co.uk,    https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC73171,