The current use of fossil fuels will decrease over the future years, due to their associated connection with climate change, political and social issues and also the fact that fossil fuels simply can’t last forever. There are so many reasons why a move away from fossil fuels will be better for everyone, except the oil companies. Fossil fuels were formed from decaying animal and plant matter and through time, heat and pressure were formed into oil, gas and coal. Fossil fuels are also a store of carbon, this is the issue with global warming and climate change rises. As this carbon is stored below ground, it is not part of the current carbon cycle as today’s plants and animals are. So by burning fossil fuels we are then placing additional carbon into the atmosphere in the form of carbon dioxide. Increased levels of carbon dioxide are one of the main reasons for global warming. To stop the causes of global warming we need to find another source of energy. There are many different forms of energy available to us in terms of plants for example, which if they can be used for energy are referred to as biomass. The most well know form of biomass is obviously wood, in the form of a log fire for example, however there are so many other forms of biomass that can be used for fuel, including many different types of grasses and energy crops, and waste residues including straws such as barley and wheat straw and corn cobs. The problem with most forms of biomass is in the raw state, it is hard to extract the energy efficiently.
Biomass pellets are a way to efficiently harness the energy contained within biomass. Firstly biomass pellets are a compressed form of the original biomass. This high density has two advantages; firstly density fuels burn far more efficiently, producing more heat and energy with less particulates in the form of less smoke. When a biomass pellet fire is burning efficiently, there is no visible sign of any smoke.. Secondly upgrading biomass into pellets dramatically reduces transportation costs. As the pellets are much denser it is possible to fit far more weight of material on the back of a lorry or boat. This therefore results in less costs and congestion, but also environmental terms. Pellets are also uniform in their shape, size and moisture content. These features mean pellets are more suitable for automatic systems than the raw biomass and temperature can be precisely controlled due to the uniform moisture content.
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