1 00:00:00,350 --> 00:00:02,896 Biomass is energy from living things: 2 00:00:02,896 --> 00:00:05,098 plants, animals, even our waste. 3 00:00:05,098 --> 00:00:14,800 By the end of this video, you'll know where biomass comes from, how it becomes heat, electricity and fuel, and how much of America's energy it 4 00:00:14,800 --> 00:00:16,032 supplies today. 5 00:00:16,382 --> 00:00:20,687 Biomass is renewable organic material from plants and animals. 6 00:00:20,687 --> 00:00:26,634 The first source is wood and wood waste, like firewood, pellets and sawdust. 7 00:00:26,634 --> 00:00:32,504 Next come farm crops and residues, such as corn, sugar cane and algae. 8 00:00:32,504 --> 00:00:36,215 Then there's paper, food and yard waste in our trash. 9 00:00:36,215 --> 00:00:40,954 Finally, animal manure and human sewage can produce biogas. 10 00:00:41,304 --> 00:00:42,505 Biomass isn't new. 11 00:00:42,505 --> 00:00:48,370 Until the mid-1800s, it was the largest source of energy Americans used each year. 12 00:00:48,370 --> 00:00:52,094 By 2025, it supplied about 5% of U.S. 13 00:00:52,094 --> 00:00:53,604 primary energy. 14 00:00:53,604 --> 00:00:59,634 Around the world, it's still an important fuel, especially for cooking and heating in developing countries. 15 00:00:59,984 --> 00:01:03,462 There are four main ways to turn biomass into energy. 16 00:01:03,462 --> 00:01:06,101 Direct combustion simply burns it for heat. 17 00:01:06,101 --> 00:01:11,367 Thermochemical conversion uses high heat to make solid, gas and liquid fuels. 18 00:01:11,367 --> 00:01:18,840 Chemical conversion makes liquid fuels, and biological conversion uses living processes to make liquid and gaseous fuels. 19 00:01:19,190 --> 00:01:25,199 Direct combustion is the most common way to get energy from biomass, and any biomass can be burned. 20 00:01:25,199 --> 00:01:27,217 It heats buildings and water. 21 00:01:27,217 --> 00:01:29,824 It supplies heat for industrial processes. 22 00:01:29,824 --> 00:01:33,742 And it can make steam to spin turbines that generate electricity. 23 00:01:34,092 --> 00:01:42,310 Thermochemical conversion heats biomass in sealed, pressurized vessels, and the two main methods differ in temperature and oxygen. 24 00:01:42,310 --> 00:01:51,918 Pyrolysis runs at 400 to 500 degrees Celsius with almost no oxygen, yielding charcoal, bio-oil, methane and hydrogen. 25 00:01:51,918 --> 00:02:03,083 Gasification runs hotter, 800 to 900 degrees, adding controlled oxygen or steam to make syngas, a gas rich in carbon monoxide and hydrogen. 26 00:02:03,433 --> 00:02:04,847 These products can go further. 27 00:02:04,847 --> 00:02:11,263 Bio-oil can be treated with hydrogen and a catalyst to make renewable diesel, gasoline and jet fuel. 28 00:02:11,263 --> 00:02:19,792 Syngas can power diesel engines and gas turbines, feed fuel cells, or be turned into liquid fuels through the Fischer–Tropsch process. 29 00:02:20,142 --> 00:02:26,125 Chemical conversion uses a process called transesterification to turn vegetable oils, animal fats and greases into biodiesel. 30 00:02:26,125 --> 00:02:28,103 Biological conversion relies on microbes. 31 00:02:28,103 --> 00:02:34,695 Fermentation makes ethanol, a vehicle fuel. 32 00:02:34,695 --> 00:02:44,177 Anaerobic digestion, breaking down waste without oxygen, makes biogas, or renewable natural gas, at sewage plants, farms and landfills. 33 00:02:44,527 --> 00:02:47,379 So how much biomass does America use? 34 00:02:47,379 --> 00:02:51,982 In 2025, biomass provided about 5% of U.S. 35 00:02:51,982 --> 00:02:52,749 energy. 36 00:02:52,749 --> 00:03:00,647 That's roughly 4,853 trillion British thermal units, a standard measure of energy content. 37 00:03:00,997 --> 00:03:06,122 Biofuels made up the biggest slice, about 53% of biomass energy. 38 00:03:06,122 --> 00:03:09,308 Wood and wood waste followed at 39%. 39 00:03:09,308 --> 00:03:13,996 Trash, manure and sewage together added the last 8%. 40 00:03:14,346 --> 00:03:21,868 Industry is the biggest user, at 48%, as wood and paper mills burn leftovers for heat and their own power. 41 00:03:21,868 --> 00:03:26,849 Transportation is next at 35%, mostly as biofuels. 42 00:03:26,849 --> 00:03:30,842 Homes use 8% for heating with firewood and pellets. 43 00:03:30,842 --> 00:03:35,057 Power plants use 7%, and commercial buildings use 3%. 44 00:03:35,407 --> 00:03:37,338 The United States sends more biomass energy abroad than it brings in. 45 00:03:37,338 --> 00:03:39,409 Compressed wood pellets have become a real export product in recent years. 46 00:03:39,409 --> 00:03:48,921 In 2025, the country shipped about 9.4 million tons of them. 47 00:03:49,187 --> 00:03:49,986 Let's recap. 48 00:03:49,986 --> 00:03:54,873 Biomass is renewable material from plants, animals and waste. 49 00:03:54,873 --> 00:03:58,747 It's burned for heat or converted into liquid and gas fuels. 50 00:03:58,747 --> 00:04:00,872 It supplies about 5% of U.S. 51 00:04:00,872 --> 00:04:04,742 energy, mostly used by industry and transportation. 52 00:04:04,742 --> 00:04:07,978 And researchers keep working on better ways to use more of it.