Origin of Biomass

The bonded chemical energy contained in biomass is in fact, conserved solar energy stored during the process of photosynthesis in the green parts of plants that contain chlorophyll. It is this carbon bond energy that can be used in power production.

In the process of photosynthesis, simple sugars are assembled from water, nutrients from the soil and airborne carbon dioxide. These are further processed into more complex sugars and finally proteins; the basic building blocks of living organisms. Since carbon, with its chemical bonds, is the basic building block of all living tissue, the energy stored in carbon compounds can later be utilized to generate power.