Biomass
In accordance with the Regulation of the Minister of Economy, Labor and Social Policy of 30 May 2003 on detailed scope of duty to purchase electrical energy and heat produced from renewable sources of energy and electrical energy produced in cogeneration with heat, biomass is defined as biodegradable plant or animal substances originating from the produce, waste and remains of agricultural and forest production, as well as of industry processing the produce and other biodegradable parts of waste.
Biomass can be processed using physical, chemical and biochemical methods.
Potential power resources of biomass can be divided into two groups:
Fields of crops intended for power purposes:
- Annual plants: cereal, hemp, maize, rape, topinambour;
- Arborescent plants of quick rotation: poplar, willow, mallow;
- Graminaceous perennial plants: reed, Miscanthus, Andropogon gerardi.
Organic remains and waste:
- Straw and plant remains from agricultural production;
- Waste from farm and food industry, fruit and vegetable processing industry;
- Liquid manure or dung;
- Organic municipal waste;
- Organic industrial waste;
- Timber waste.
The technical potential of biomass that can be used as solid fuel in Poland is estimated as approx. 407.5 PJ per year. It contains surplus biomass produced in agriculture: approx. 195 PJ, forestry: 101 PJ, fruit farming: 57.6 PJ and surplus from timber industry: 53.9 PJ (data according to EC BREC/IBMER 2000).
The highest growth of energy produced from biomass in industrialized countries has been observed in Sweden. At present, energy originating from biomass constitutes 18% of energy consumed in Sweden. The use of biomass has been noted to increase by 71% since 1991. Sweden is a leader in the world production of heat from biomass (38%), followed by Germany (30%). In industrialized countries biomass provides less than 1% of electricity but, e.g. in Finland constitutes 10% of electrical energy production.