Biomass-Balance Table for evaluating bioenergy resources

Bioenergy is expected to become one of the key energy resources to cope wit h global warming and exhaustion of fossil fuel resources. Biomass is renewa ble and free from net CO2 emissions as long as it is maintained sustainably . There are several studies concerning bioenergy potential, but they are ha rdly comparable because of the complexity of the assumed parameters, which relate to food, timber and paper supply, forest management, etc. In this st udy, bioenergy (expressed in Joules) is divided into plantation bioenergy p roduced on land and bioenergy recovered from biomass residues in the proces ses of harvest, conversion and consumption for food, timber and paper. We p ropose a "Biomass Balance Table", which shows systematically the flows of v arious biomass forms. The scheme of a Biomass-Balance Table is similar to t hat of an energy-balance table. The steps of the biomass processing (i.e. h arvesting, conversion and consumption) are expressed in the column, and bio mass forms are expressed in the row. Tables have been constructed for 10 re gions in the world in 1990. The world has an existing energy potential from biomass residues of 88 EJ (i.e. 26% of 335 EJ of primary energy supply in 1990) and Japan has 2.02 EJ (10% of 19.52 EJ of primary energy supply in 19 90). North America, the former USSR and eastern Europe, and Western Europe have large potentials of wood biomass residues and other Asian countries an d the centrally-planned economies of Asia have large potentials food biomas s residues. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.