Soil, biomass and clean energy
One of my favorite authors, H.H. Janzen (10.1111/ejss.12194) pointed out the dilemma behind diverting solar energy stored in biomass to "sustainably" fuel our society. By burning biomass, the solar energy does not nourish the soil ecosystem which provides the basis for our nutrition.
It seems more and more obvious to me that biomass is only a transitional source of energy, which will gradually lose its significance as other forms of renewable energies will take over.
We all know solar (thermal & photovoltaic) and wind energy, which together could meet most of our future requirements. And more importantly, nuclear fusion which has been forecast to "30 years from now" since the 50's could really be around the corner this time (yes, really). A multitude of public and private fusion research initiatives exist (https://www.pppl.gov/news/fusionworld) and could make this technology available soon, offering another long-term, clean solution to the energy and climate crisis.
Will we be able to sustain our energy-hungry society without diverting biomass from the ecosystems? I bet yes!
Nevertheless, I see one exception where the use of biomass for energy production could remain beneficial: with pyrolysis, which produces biochar. Biochar can be used in various applications in a cascading scheme, progressively loaded with nutrients (think about activated carbon for water purification), and ultimately be added to the soil as a conditioner/fertilizer and to sequester carbon.
(Last Update: Feb. 2021)
It seems more and more obvious to me that biomass is only a transitional source of energy, which will gradually lose its significance as other forms of renewable energies will take over.
We all know solar (thermal & photovoltaic) and wind energy, which together could meet most of our future requirements. And more importantly, nuclear fusion which has been forecast to "30 years from now" since the 50's could really be around the corner this time (yes, really). A multitude of public and private fusion research initiatives exist (https://www.pppl.gov/news/fusionworld) and could make this technology available soon, offering another long-term, clean solution to the energy and climate crisis.
Will we be able to sustain our energy-hungry society without diverting biomass from the ecosystems? I bet yes!
Nevertheless, I see one exception where the use of biomass for energy production could remain beneficial: with pyrolysis, which produces biochar. Biochar can be used in various applications in a cascading scheme, progressively loaded with nutrients (think about activated carbon for water purification), and ultimately be added to the soil as a conditioner/fertilizer and to sequester carbon.
(Last Update: Feb. 2021)