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Chapter One BIOMASS

O f the five major renewable is defined as any plant or plant-derived material that can be used to supply energy. Burning wood to cook food and supply warmth is civilization’s earliest experiment with biomass. In addition to wood, biomass sources include agricultural residue, algae, cornstalks, and perennial grasses such as switchgrass. While wind and solar power are perhaps more well known, biomass generates 50 percent of the renewable energy produced in the United States. Biomass can be used directly, or it can be treated as the raw material that is converted into biofuel . resources, biomass has the longest history of human use. Biomass

briquette: a compacted mass of material, often shaped like a brick. emission: a substance released into the air. import: to bring a product from one country into another country. leachate: water or other liquid that has seeped through a substance such as soil; in landfills, the liquid runoff from accumulated garbage. perennial: a plant that lives through several growing seasons. Words to Understand

provision: the act of supplying a good or service.

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