“Biomass is biological material derived from living, or recently living organisms. . . . This is often used to mean plant based material, but biomass can equally apply to both animal and vegetable derived material.”

 

Biomass is a carbon-based compound that includes hydrogen and oxygen. It also contains traces of alkali, alkaline and heavy metals. Plants absorb the carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Once the biomass is burned, it returns the carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. This follows the natural process of the carbon cycle, as it has always existed. Thus, unlike fossil fuels, the burning of biomass does not add additional amounts of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.

Biomass is a sustainable resource; it is harvested as part of a replenishable crop, or through forest or agricultural management. Biomass is often made up of residues, co-products or waste of these systems.
The net energy ratio of biomass is 1.9.