How is Biomass Harnessed?
Biomass can be harnessed most usefully to create heat and electricity, and there are several very different technologies that make the production of heat and electricity possible. One form of electricity generation being explored and even used for several different applications is to burn biomass directly in a similar way to how coal plants work. In fact, one of the benefits to this form is that old coal plants can be converted to burn biomass without too much trouble. The biomass is burned to create heat energy, which produces steam, which drives the turbine, which turns the generator, which creates electricity. The combustion of waste is not the only technology. Other technologies have been adapted to make use of the methane emissions that result from the decay of biomass, for example, from municipal waste and manure. Methane is also a greenhouse gas and by reducing and using it to generate electricity, we can limit its release into the atmosphere. The methane in landfills can be cap
