Title: Biomass Energy Data Book

Industry sector: Biofuels

The Biomass Energy Data Book is a statistical compendium prepared and published by Oak Ridge
National Laboratory (ORNL) under contract with the Office of Planning, Budget, and Analysis in the
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) program of the Department of Energy (DOE). Designed
for use as a convenient reference, the book represents an assembly and display of statistics and
information that characterize the biomass industry, from the production of biomass feedstocks to their end
use.
This is the first edition of the Biomass Energy Data Book and is currently only available online in
electronic format. There are five main sections to this book. The first section is an introduction which
provides an overview of biomass resources and consumption. Following the introduction to biomass, is a
section on biofuels which covers ethanol, biodiesel and BioOil. The biopower section focuses on the use
of biomass for electrical power generation and heating. The fourth section is on the developing area of
biorefineries, and the fifth section covers feedstocks that are produced and used in the biomass industry.
The sources used represent the latest available data. There are also three appendices which include
measures of conversions, biomass characteristics and assumptions for selected tables and figures. A
glossary of terms and a list of acronyms are also included for the reader’s convenience.
BIOMASS OVERVIEW
Biomass is material that comes from plants. Plants use the light energy from the sun to convert water and
carbon dioxide to sugars that can be stored, through a process called photosynthesis. Some plants, like
sugar cane and sugar beets, store the energy as simple sugars. These are mostly used for food. Other
plants store the energy as more complex sugars, called starches. These plants include grains like corn
and are also used for food.
Another type of plant matter, called cellulosic biomass, is made up of very complex sugar polymers
(complex polysaccharides), and is not generally used as a food source. This type of biomass will be the
future feedstock for bioethanol production. Specific feedstocks being tested include agricultural and
forestry residues, organic urban wastes, food processing and other industrial wastes, and energy crops.
For more detailed information on current and future biomass resources in the United States see the
feedstock section.
In 2005, biomass production contributed 2.7 quadrillion Btu of energy to the 69.1 quadrillion Btu of energy
produced in the United States or about 4% of total energy production. Since a substantial portion of U.S.
energy is imported, the more commonly quoted figure is that biomass contributed 2.7 quadrillion Btu of
energy to the 99.8 quadrillion Btu of energy consumed in the United States or about 3%. At present, wood
resources contribute most to the biomass resources consumed in the United States and most of that is
used in the generation of electricity and industrial process heat and steam. The industrial sector (primarily
the wood products industry) used about 1.4 quadrillion Btu in 2005. The residential and commercial
sectors consume .04 quadrillion Btu of biomass; however, this figure may understate consumption in
these sectors due to unreported consumption, such as home heating by wood collected on private
property. The use of biomass fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel by the transportation sector is small but
rising rapidly.
There are many types of biomass resources currently used and potentially available. This includes
everything from primary sources of crops and residues harvested/collected directly from the land, to
secondary sources such as sawmill residuals, to tertiary sources of post-consumer residuals that often
end up in landfills. Biomass resources also include the gases that result from anaerobic digestion of
animal manures or organic materials in landfills. The estimated availability of agricultural and forestry
biomass in 2001 was recently reported in a document entitled “Biomass as Feedstock For a Bioenergy
and Bioproducts Industry: The Technical Feasibility of a Billion-Ton Annual Supply;” prepared by Oak
Ridge National Laboratory staff (for the Department of Energy) together with scientists from the U.S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Research Service and USDA Forest Service. The ultimate
limit for the amount of biomass that can be sustainably produced on agricultural land in the United States
depends on land availability. The areas of the country with adequate rainfall and soil quality for production
and harvest of energy crops are roughly the same areas where major crops are currently produced in the
United States. Changes in the way that land is managed will be necessary for increasing biomass
resource availability in the U.S.
For additional overview information, visit the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and
Renewable Energy's Biomass Program at: http://www1.eere.energy.gov/biomass/index.html.