The Chemical Industry Places Its Primary Focus On Fossil Resources For The Manufacturing Of Carbon-Based Compounds: Pharmaceutical Analysis Thesis, QUB, Ireland

Biomass

1.1. What is Biomass?

The chemical industry places its primary focus on fossil resources for the manufacturing of carbon-based compounds. However, as the development of the economy and society progresses problems with these resources and the environment increases causing a decline in the supply of conventional fuels. Therefore, the search for alternative raw materials for chemical production has made biomass a more plausible resource that has considerable potential to produce chemicals and biofuels, paving the way for a sustainable future.

Biomass refers to any type of organic matter derived from plants and animals (fossil) to generate energy1, it can be obtained from sugars, fats, cellulose, proteins and lignin and has been it’s been used as fuel since humans learnt how to make a fire to cook and keep warm until fossil fuels became more widely used in the 1900s. 2 These sugars are carbohydrates and supply plants and the animals that eat this plant with energy, hence why food abundant in carbohydrates are good sources of energy for the human body3.

Fig 1. Sources of Biomass-based on feedstock origin4.

Biomass has been found to be prevalent in renewable green energy more recently, it had a prominent role before fossil fuels took over in the twentieth century and now its share in the energy mix is rising. The status of biomass as a primary source of renewable energy depends largely on geographical and socio-economical conditions for instance90% of the primary energy source in Nepal is derived from biomass but it constitutes less than 0.1% in most middle eastern countries5.

Biomass can be converted to substitute liquid fuels by a number of processes; biomass to Liquids (BtL) refers to a thermochemical process currently transitioning from pilot scale to demonstration scale that essentially converts a variety of biomass types to a variety of fuels and chemicals6, Presently, biomass to ethanol is produced on a large scale to provide a gasoline additive in the United States and Brazil, among other places.

The market for ethanol derived from biomass is influenced by government requirements and facilitated by generous tax subsidies. Research holds the promise of more economical ethanol production from cellulosic, or woody, biomass, but related processes are far from economic as reducing the cost of growing, harvesting, and converting biomass crops will be necessary to pull this off7