Using biomass as a source of energy contributes towards reaching net zero. Fossil fuels are a one-way street in terms of carbon production. They release carbon into the atmosphere without absorbing any. They also take millions of years to form. Biomass, on the other hand, when burnt, releases heat and carbon dioxide but recaptures the carbon during its growing phase and only takes months or years until it can be used. Biomass therefore has the potential to be carbon neutral.
Of course, this depends on the amount of fossil fuels used to grow, harvest and process the biomass.
So, what is biomass?
Biomass includes many different sources such as animal fats, manure, vegetable oils, agricultural residues, sewerage, wood chip and crops.
Crops aren’t commonly used for biomass, but they include maize, alfalfa and sugar cane. Whilst these can be useful forms of biomass, it is important not to take crops out of food production.
Other things to consider are:
Growth rate – how quickly it can produce the biomass, how regularly and its quality as a biomass source
Ability to capture carbon – above and below ground sequestration
Their environmental impact - such as disturbance to the soil or lack of suitable habitat for native species
Geographic range – the climate in which the crop can thrive
Nutrient efficiency - how much nutrition the crop takes from the soil and how much it needs to grow
Aberystwyth University uses miscanthus as its crop of choice for its extensive research into the area of biomass. The reasons for using miscanthus include:
It grows up to 10 metres tall, using little surface area to grow big amounts of biomass
It has a high lignin content meaning that it can capture large amounts of carbon
It is fast growing so it can be harvested in one year and for every subsequent year until year 20
It has C4 photosynthesis architecture which means it captures more carbon
It is associated with reduced soil disturbance
It transports carbon from the above ground biomass into the roots and rhizomes, withdrawing it from the air
The leaf litter created contributes to the soil carbon
Miscanthus can be used to create heat, electricity or liquid fuel. It also has the ability to grow well on marginal land. You don’t want to replace land grown for food crops with energy crops. So, using marginal land in which food crops cannot grow or be harvested effectively, is preferential.
One project being conducted between Aberystwyth, Lincoln and Southampton universities is called Miscanthus AI. Split into three work packages, the project aims to:
1. Use robots and drones to automatically analyse plant phenotype traits
2. Improve plant genomic selection
3. Determine the decision-making process of plant breeders
Work package 1 is concerned with measuring data using non-destructive imaging techniques.
Work package 2 looks at combining environmental data, early growth properties, near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) data and genomic data. This means you can predict the outcome of the plant before it matures and allows you to determine whether to use that specific plant as a parent plant for the next generation or not. This speeds up that decision making compared to the traditional methods used in plant breeding.
Work package 3 aims to create a digital breeder by interviewing and studying plant breeders to understand how Artificial Intelligence could be used in addition to their expertise.