What is it?
Biomass is the general name given to organic material from plants and animals. The agricultural industry produces biomass in forms such as animal feed, crop residues, straw and manure. Nature produces biomass as well, in the form of wood and plants, for example. Biomass may be in an unprocessed form (e.g. tree trunks), or a processed form (furniture or paper).
Biomass can be used for a variety of purposes, including agricultural fertilisation, manufacturing and energy generation. The energy extracted from biomass is known as bio-energy, and it may be used as electricity, heat or gas. Biomass-based energy is obtained by combustion, gasification or fermentation of the biomass. Biomass that people eat is not referred to within the ecosystem service classification system as biomass, but as food.
Sustainability
In 2013, roughly 3 per cent of our energy was generated from biomass. Biomass is therefore the main source of renewable energy in the Netherlands. However, it is not always appropriate to use biomass to generate energy. When considering the best way to use biomass, the sustainability principle is very important: priority should always be given to the highest-grade possible application. That might mean use in a biobased product (i.e. a product made from biomass), for example. Biomass should be used for energy production only when there is no scope for a higher-grade application. Consideration also needs to be given to the risk of bio-energy crops displacing food crops. Forms of biomass that cannot be used for anything else (residues) are the forms best suited to energy generation.
NK-model
Van alle kaarten over biomassa voor energie op Atlas Natuurlijk Kapitaal zijn er vijf gebaseerd op het Natuurlijk Kapitaal model (NK-model).
Een aantal kaarten binnen de ecosysteemdienst biomassa voor energie zijn ontwikkeld op basis van het Natuurlijk Kapitaal Model (NK-model). Het startpunt voor de modellering van deze kaarten is de methode van het Belgische natuurrapport 2014. Vervolgens is het model aangepast aan de Nederlandse situatie.
De technische documentatie kunt u hier downloaden.