Small biomass is not necessarily beautiful

Sustainable Futures: EnvironmentalResearchWeb (UK)
by: Liz Kalaugher, editor of environmentalresearchweb
Mar 27, 2008

Burning biomass to produce electricity creates airborne pollutants not just as a result of the combustion but also during the growth, transport and processing of the biomass. With that in mind, UK researcher Patricia Thornley from the University of Manchester has carried out a whole-system modelling study of emissions from power generation systems based on burning willow and the perennial grass miscanthus.

"Bioenergy has huge potential to reduce carbon emissions but this can be at the expense of increasing other environmental impacts," Thornley told environmentalresearchweb. "In particular, many facilities in the UK have struggled with objections related to traffic and transport of biomass material."

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