can be about 30% (Balat 2010). Biomass is the plant material produced by the
reaction between sunlight, water, and CO 2 in soil, by photosynthesis for the generation of primarily carbohydrates (CnH 2n On), which create blocks of biomass that
efficiently store chemical energy (Catarina et al. 2018). Biomass is the most commonly used plant material. Even though biomass is sustainable and absorbs atmospheric CO 2 during plant growth, after the biomass treatment for the extraction of the
chemical energy contained in its chemical bonds, the carbon is oxidized to generate
CO 2 and water, releasing the previously “caught” CO 2 that is again available to
create new biomass. Consequently, if biomass has been processed effectively,
hydrogen production may have a limited net CO 2 effect compared with fossil
fuels. Despite biomass flexibility, most of the energy derived from biomass today
comes from agricultural waste (5%), wood waste and wood (64%), municipal solid
waste (MSW) (24%), and landfill gas (5%) (JoDe et al. 2020).
4.2 Money on Biomass
Despite biomass flexibility, biomass energy is generated from timber and timber
waste (64%), followed by municipal solid waste (MSW) (24%), industrial waste
(5%), and landfill gas (5%). Biomass capital may be roughly divided into four
categories:
• Energy crops: herbaceous energy crops, woody energy crops, industrial crops,
farm crops, and aquatic crops.
• Agriculture and waste (AR): crops and livestock residues.
• Waste and forest residues: wood milling waste, logging residues, and plants along
with shrubs.
• Urban and industrial waste: MSW, waste disposal sludge, and industrial waste.
Energy crops are those annual and perennial species specifically grown in the
fabrication of solid, liquid, or gaseous types of energy. High yield (maximum dry
matter output/hectare), low energy consumption to generate biomass, low cost, low
contaminant composition, and low nutrient requirements are the main characteristics
that an energy crop must satisfy. Woody crops and herbaceous plants, sweet
sorghum, starch and sugar crops, as well as oilseeds can be used as hydrogen raw
material (Catarina et al. 2018).
Today, the commercial development of biofuels comes from the conversion of
sugar (sucrose), starch, or oil crops, known as first-generation feedstock (Catarina
et al. 2018). Development processes for such biofuels are technologies developed
mainly for liquid biofuels (Yongcheng et al. 2020). However, the use of food crops
to generate fuels poses a number of problems: their costs can be large, particularly in
Europe, compared to the net energy. Biofuels can also be made from other raw
materials from the so-called second-generation feedstock. Lignocellulosic resources
in particular have potential benefits such as improved environmental efficiency, low
life cycle carbon emissions, no related land-use changes, and tremendous potential.
4 Biohydrogen Production from Biomass
81
reaction between sunlight, water, and CO 2 in soil, by photosynthesis for the generation of primarily carbohydrates (CnH 2n On), which create blocks of biomass that
efficiently store chemical energy (Catarina et al. 2018). Biomass is the most commonly used plant material. Even though biomass is sustainable and absorbs atmospheric CO 2 during plant growth, after the biomass treatment for the extraction of the
chemical energy contained in its chemical bonds, the carbon is oxidized to generate
CO 2 and water, releasing the previously “caught” CO 2 that is again available to
create new biomass. Consequently, if biomass has been processed effectively,
hydrogen production may have a limited net CO 2 effect compared with fossil
fuels. Despite biomass flexibility, most of the energy derived from biomass today
comes from agricultural waste (5%), wood waste and wood (64%), municipal solid
waste (MSW) (24%), and landfill gas (5%) (JoDe et al. 2020).
4.2 Money on Biomass
Despite biomass flexibility, biomass energy is generated from timber and timber
waste (64%), followed by municipal solid waste (MSW) (24%), industrial waste
(5%), and landfill gas (5%). Biomass capital may be roughly divided into four
categories:
• Energy crops: herbaceous energy crops, woody energy crops, industrial crops,
farm crops, and aquatic crops.
• Agriculture and waste (AR): crops and livestock residues.
• Waste and forest residues: wood milling waste, logging residues, and plants along
with shrubs.
• Urban and industrial waste: MSW, waste disposal sludge, and industrial waste.
Energy crops are those annual and perennial species specifically grown in the
fabrication of solid, liquid, or gaseous types of energy. High yield (maximum dry
matter output/hectare), low energy consumption to generate biomass, low cost, low
contaminant composition, and low nutrient requirements are the main characteristics
that an energy crop must satisfy. Woody crops and herbaceous plants, sweet
sorghum, starch and sugar crops, as well as oilseeds can be used as hydrogen raw
material (Catarina et al. 2018).
Today, the commercial development of biofuels comes from the conversion of
sugar (sucrose), starch, or oil crops, known as first-generation feedstock (Catarina
et al. 2018). Development processes for such biofuels are technologies developed
mainly for liquid biofuels (Yongcheng et al. 2020). However, the use of food crops
to generate fuels poses a number of problems: their costs can be large, particularly in
Europe, compared to the net energy. Biofuels can also be made from other raw
materials from the so-called second-generation feedstock. Lignocellulosic resources
in particular have potential benefits such as improved environmental efficiency, low
life cycle carbon emissions, no related land-use changes, and tremendous potential.
4 Biohydrogen Production from Biomass
81