KALWA Biogenics - Renewable Energy from Wood

About Wood Combustion being CO2 Neutral

Admittedly, the Wood for Energy Process is not really entirely CO2 neutral, as additional CO 2 emissions are created as part of the fuel supply chain when the wood is harvested/collected, processed and hauled to the biomass system. Furthermore there is the consideration, that wood which is harvested for energy needs to be reforested sustainably in order to balance the carbon capture and release ratio.
Nevertheless a decisive argument supporting wood-biomass energy development is the significant
reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. The following table indicates the differences in CO 2 emissions between fossil and renewable energy sources.

The environmental impact of Wood for Energy is even more significant, when using Waste Wood for the process.

The amount of carbon captured in the wood is determined. During combustion the same amount of carbon is released, as would be during the decomposition of a dead tree or rotting processed lumber, if not used for energy purposes.

BUT...

It is very important to understand, that in the efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, decomposition of wood (on forest floors, in landfills, or anywhere else for that matter) is an undesirable alternative.
During decomposition, wood, like other organic materials containing carbon, can release the carbon in the form of Methane Gas (CH 4 ). Once in the atmosphere, methane absorbs terrestrial infrared radiation that would otherwise escape to space. This property can contribute to the warming of the atmosphere, which is why methane is a greenhouse gas.

Methane is about 21 times more powerful at warming the atmosphere than carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) by weight. Methane's chemical lifetime in the atmosphere is approximately 12 years, which is a relatively short atmospheric lifetime. The short lifespan, coupled with its potency as a greenhouse gas, makes it a candidate for mitigating global warming over the near-term - if emission is reduced (i.e., the next 25 years).

So, even if Wood Combustion is not entirely "CO 2 neutral",
it is recognized to be one of the most promising steps towards a significant

Carbon Emmission Reduction !

The emission of CO 2 to the atmosphere is problematic, since CO 2 is considered a major cause of the greenhouse effect.The use of wood-biomass in efficient combustion systems is allegedly defined to be a "CO 2 neutral" energy source. The naturalgrowth cycle of all plants, including trees,fixes environmentally available CO 2 within
their cellular structure. When woody plantsare burned, the recently stored carbon isreleased back into the "active" environment, meaning that during the combustion ofwoodchips and other wood fuels , no moreCO 2 is released than was bound-up during the growth of the tree. This recycles the environmentally "active" carbon, as opposed to burning fossil fuels that release carbon that has been fixed for hundreds of centuries.