01 How It Works
Biomass is burned directly or converted to biogas or liquid biofuels. Direct combustion in power plants works similarly to coal. Anaerobic digestion of organic waste produces biogas (mainly methane) for electricity and heat. BECCS (Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage) is considered the only proven method of negative emissions at scale - growing biomass absorbs COโ, burning it releases it, but CCS re-sequesters it underground.
02 Pros & Cons
โ Advantages
- Dispatchable and storable
- Can use waste streams
- Carbon-neutral if managed
- Biofuels for transport
โ ๏ธ Disadvantages
- Land use competition with food
- Deforestation risk
- Air quality concerns
- Carbon debt period
03 Future Outlook
Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from biomass/waste is growing rapidly for hard-to-electrify sectors. BECCS features in virtually all 1.5ยฐC climate scenarios. However, its scalability is limited by land availability and sustainability concerns. Algae-based biofuels could eventually sidestep land use issues.
04 Fun Fact
Brazil runs much of its transport fleet on sugarcane ethanol - a biofuel program that started in 1975.