Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Renewable
Solar
Hydro
Wind
Tide
Biomass
Non-renewable
Coal
Gas
Oil
Figure 1.1
Different types of renewable and non-renewable resources.
Sun
CO
2
H
2
O
Crops/plants
Wood
Pulp/paper mill
residue
Agricultural
residues
Forest residues
Industrial waste
Animal waste
Municipal waste
Figure 1.2
Different types of biomass.
By definition, biomass corresponds to any organic matter available on a recur-
ring basis (see Figure 1.2). The two most obvious types of biomass are wood and
crops (e.g. wheat, maize and rice). Another very important type of biomass we
tend to forget about is waste (e.g. food waste, manure, etc.), which is the focus of
Section 1.3. These resources are generally considered to be renewable as they can
be continually re-grown/regenerated. They take up carbon dioxide from the air
while they are growing (through photosynthesis) and then return it to the air at the
end of life, thereby creating a closed loop [2].
