Biomass-Balance Table for evaluating bioenergy resources

Bioenergy is expected to become one of the key energy resources to cope with Aglobal warming and exhaustion of fossil fuel resources. Biomass is renewable Aand free from net CO2 emissions as long as it is maintained sustainably. There Aare several studies concerning bioenergy potential, but they are hardly Acomparable because of the complexity of the assumed parameters, which relate to Afood, timber and paper supply, forest management, etc. In this study, bioenergy (Aexpressed in Joules) is divided into plantation bioenergy produced on land and bioenergy recovered from biomass residues in the processes of Aharvest, conversion and consumption for food, timber and paper. We propose a A"Biomass Balance Table", which shows systematically the flows of various Abiomass forms. The scheme of a Biomass-Balance Table is similar to that of an Aenergy-balance table. The steps of the biomass processing (i.e. harvesting, Aconversion and consumption) are expressed in the column, and biomass forms are Aexpressed in the row. Tables have been constructed for 10 regions in the world Ain 1990. The world has an existing energy potential from biomass residues of 88 AEJ (i.e. 26% of 335 EJ of primary energy supply in 1990) and Japan has 2.02 EJ (A10% of 19.52 EJ of primary energy supply in 1990). North America, the former AUSSR and eastern Europe, and Western Europe have large potentials of wood Abiomass residues and other Asian countries and the centrally-planned economies Aof Asia have large potentials food biomass residues. (c) 1999 Elsevier Science ALtd. All rights reserved.