# Biomass combustion and CHP

Burning wood, residues and pellets for heat and power.

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_bio_combustion/

Capture · Bioenergy · No. 37

- Capture
- Output: Heat and electricity
 Capture · Bioenergy · Foundation · Energy

Smoke from cooking fires and stoves causes about 3.2 million early deaths a year, mostly through heart disease and stroke.

Chart: Illustration: Biomass combustion and CHP

##### Where it comes from

Chart: Map of where it comes from

Plants store sunlight as wood, straw and dung. Burnt on an open fire, only 10-20% of the heat reaches the pot; a well-matched CHP plant puts 70-90% to use.

##### Three things to know

1. Bone-dry wood holds 18-20 MJ per kg, but at 50% moisture only about 8.5 MJ, because the water must first be boiled off.
2. Traditional earth mound kilns burn about 6-8 t of wood to make a single tonne of charcoal.
3. A small 2 MWe biomass plant turns about a sixth of its fuel into electricity, while a 350 MWe plant manages 36%.

##### The journey

1. 1 **Sunlight**Photosynthesis stores energy in plants
2. 2 **Fuel**Firewood, dung, chips, pellets or charcoal
3. 3 **Burning**Stove, boiler or power plant furnace
4. 4 **Steam**Drives a turbine in power plants
5. 5 **Heat and power**Cooking, buildings, factories and the grid

##### Go deeper pick a tab to open it in full

## Other sections

- [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_bio_combustion/overview/index.md)
- [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_bio_combustion/correlation/index.md)
- [Efficiency](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_bio_combustion/efficiency/index.md)
- [Techniques](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_bio_combustion/techniques/index.md)
- [Resources and labour](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_bio_combustion/resources/index.md)
- [Impact on the biosphere](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_bio_combustion/biosphere/index.md)
- [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_bio_combustion/links/index.md)