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Biomass
Biomass is a renewable energy source. Biomass is a collective term for all plant and animal material such as wood, crops, manure, and some garbage. The biomass renewable energy can be used as fuel to generate electricity by burning in solid, gaseous or liquid form. Biomass energy resources reduce our dependence on fossil fuels such as oil, gas and coal. Biomass energy resource also reduces emissions generated from the burning of fossil fuels and creates price stability in the electricity market. It is presumably most underutilized renewable resource which has many environmental and economical benefits. Crops that are presently being used for biomass are switch-grass, eucalyptus, hemp, corn, coppice, willow, sugarcane and E-grass.
About E-grass. A powerful alliance of science and nature
E-grass is a dedicated crop grown specifically for conversion into power. The combination of nature and technology, it produces environmentally friendly and commercially viable electricity.
For years, financially viable alternate and renewable fuels have been researched for use in power projects. Wood pulp, vegetable oil, ethanol, bio-diesel and bagasse are just some of those identified. However, none of these was found to be truly commercially effective.
Our plant species produces more biomass per hectare and higher BTU`s than any other known plant. From the Poacea grass family, E-grass is the most efficient and financially viable fuel for the generation of `green and clean` electricity. The best technology. The best results.
E-Grass Facts
How it starts:
- Taken as plantlets, grown through tissue culture in the lab.
- Plantlets are shifted to the nursery and grown to 8-10 inches in height
- Mechanically planted in fields and grown to a height of 12-15 feet
 
It Needs:
- The ideal soil - sandy/muck (as for sugar cane)
- The ideal soil temperature - above 60F
- Water equivalent to 25 inches of rain per annum
It`s also:
- Perennial (no re-planting each year)
- Strong against disease and insect attack
- Harvested twice each year
- Very low maintenance
It works!:
- When used as a fuel, it has the highest BTU value of any plant known to man-approx. 8000 BTU per pound
- For a 10MW, approx. 1500 acres (600 hectares) of land is required
- Yields are high, making it commercially viable for use as an alternate power plant fuel (at competitive prices)
What happens next
The E-grass harvest is taken to a processing unit where it`s put through the fast pyrolysis process. In a specially-designed gasifier, the yield is converted into either SYNGAS or BIO-OIL (liquid E-Grass). These products can then be burned in a gas turbine in a combined cycle process to generate renewable electricity.
Economic and Social Benefits
1. Clean and green electricity at a competitive price
2. Long-term electricity and fuel contracts at stable prices
3. Energy security - `home-grown` energy reduces the use of high-cost, imported oil
4. Money stays in the country
5. Local, rural jobs are created
6. Bio-diesel is supplied as a by-product
7. Steam from the process can be used for other nearby industries
8. `Multiplier` effect results in economic benefits
Environmental Benefits
1. Reduces the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions produced by burning coal and oil as fuel for electricity production
2. E-Grass requires very few fertilizers or pesticides, reducing the amount of herbicides and pesticides used in farming
3. The E-grass plants actually remove excess nutrients from the soil that could currently be polluting local streams
4. It`s perennial - it only needs planting once In addition, there are benefits to wildlife too, as the tall E-grass crop provides cover for birds and other wildlife.
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