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Biomass is energy from living things:

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plants, animals, even our waste.

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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

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supplies today.

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Biomass is renewable organic material from plants and animals.

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The first source is wood and wood waste, like firewood, pellets and sawdust.

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Next come farm crops and residues, such as corn, sugar cane and algae.

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Then there's paper, food and yard waste in our trash.

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Finally, animal manure and human sewage can produce biogas.

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Biomass isn't new.

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Until the mid-1800s, it was the largest source of energy Americans used each year.

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By 2025, it supplied about 5% of U.S.

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primary energy.

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Around the world, it's still an important fuel, especially for cooking and heating in developing countries.

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There are four main ways to turn biomass into energy.

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Direct combustion simply burns it for heat.

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Thermochemical conversion uses high heat to make solid, gas and liquid fuels.

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Chemical conversion makes liquid fuels, and biological conversion uses living processes to make liquid and gaseous fuels.

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Direct combustion is the most common way to get energy from biomass, and any biomass can be burned.

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It heats buildings and water.

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It supplies heat for industrial processes.

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And it can make steam to spin turbines that generate electricity.

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Thermochemical conversion heats biomass in sealed, pressurized vessels, and the two main methods differ in temperature and oxygen.

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Pyrolysis runs at 400 to 500 degrees Celsius with almost no oxygen, yielding charcoal, bio-oil, methane and hydrogen.

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Gasification runs hotter, 800 to 900 degrees, adding controlled oxygen or steam to make syngas, a gas rich in carbon monoxide and hydrogen.

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These products can go further.

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Bio-oil can be treated with hydrogen and a catalyst to make renewable diesel, gasoline and jet fuel.

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Syngas can power diesel engines and gas turbines, feed fuel cells, or be turned into liquid fuels through the Fischer–Tropsch process.

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Chemical conversion uses a process called transesterification to turn vegetable oils, animal fats and greases into biodiesel.

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Biological conversion relies on microbes.

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Fermentation makes ethanol, a vehicle fuel.

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Anaerobic digestion, breaking down waste without oxygen, makes biogas, or renewable natural gas, at sewage plants, farms and landfills.

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So how much biomass does America use?

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In 2025, biomass provided about 5% of U.S.

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energy.

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That's roughly 4,853 trillion British thermal units, a standard measure of energy content.

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Biofuels made up the biggest slice, about 53% of biomass energy.

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Wood and wood waste followed at 39%.

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Trash, manure and sewage together added the last 8%.

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Industry is the biggest user, at 48%, as wood and paper mills burn leftovers for heat and their own power.

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Transportation is next at 35%, mostly as biofuels.

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Homes use 8% for heating with firewood and pellets.

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Power plants use 7%, and commercial buildings use 3%.

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The United States sends more biomass energy abroad than it brings in.

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Compressed wood pellets have become a real export product in recent years.

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In 2025, the country shipped about 9.4 million tons of them.

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Let's recap.

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Biomass is renewable material from plants, animals and waste.

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It's burned for heat or converted into liquid and gas fuels.

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It supplies about 5% of U.S.

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energy, mostly used by industry and transportation.

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And researchers keep working on better ways to use more of it.