What is bioenergy?
Bioenergy is the use of energy from renewable biological sources. This energy can then be used to accomplish certain tasks such as managing waste, releasing thermal energy in order to provide heat or work for a particular system, or simply to convert one form of energy into another form.
Thrust areas in bioenergy research
- Feedstock enhancement
- Harvest and Conversion
- Utilization
- Socioeconomic and environmental impacts
There are four important areas of research in the field of bioenergy. Feedstock enhancement focuses on the improvement of the biological sources of energy. Harvest and Conversion concern the transformation processes (harvesting, chemical reactions, etc.) prior to the final use of the feedstock. The feedstock utilization is the final step, when biological sources are used to do work. Bioenergy can have complex consequences that can result in beneficial or negative environmental, social and economic impacts. By carefully analyzing their process, it is possible to enable the necessary policies that would limit the adverse effects of the use of bioenergy and increase its beneficial impacts.