Chapter 1

How can modern biomass-to-energy conversion technologies mitigate poverty as compared to traditional biomass processing (heating/cooking)?

The current primary energy use is approximately 12 GTOE (Gigatonnes of oil equivalent); what is this expressed in EJ?

Which factors limit the RP ratio as a factor to predict how long a fossil energy will be available?

Explain in your own words the greenhouse effect and the human contribution to it.

Why is \(\mathrm{CO}_{2}\) the most important anthropogenic source of all greenhouse gases?

Explain why naturally occurring fires to some extent contribute to carbon sequestration.

In 1977, Marchetti (1977) introduced a type of analysis of fuel source market penetration for the global energy market, characterized by the following equation (with \(F\) being the fraction of the market penetrated): $$ \frac{1}{F} \cdot \frac{d F}{d t}=\alpha \cdot(1-F) $$ a. What is \(F\) as a function of \(t\) ? b. Comment on the predictions made by this researcher concerning the current global energy source mix.

What are the main sources of methane emissions? What can be done to reduce these?

What are the main sources of \(\mathrm{N}_{2} \mathrm{O}\) emissions? What can be done to reduce these?

In which ways can mankind adapt to climate change impacts, and which roles can biomass play in such adaptations?

Particulate matter (PM) emitted by combustion processes is of concern to both health and climate. Explain why.

Explain the effects of direct land use change (dLUC) and indirect land use change (iLUC) on the emission of GHG compounds. Give an example of a GHG emission increase scenario for both forms of LUC.

Would the use of biomass residues that otherwise would be considered as waste lead to LUC or changes in GHG emissions?

What are the differences between two policy strategies to mitigate \(\mathrm{CO}_{2}\) emissions, Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and Joint Implementation (JI)?

In literature, biomass is often referred to as first-, second-, and third- generation biomass. What is meant by these terms? Can you identify some biomass types for each of these generations?

What is the phenomenon of eutrophication; is there a risk of this when growing biomass for energy supply?

Why is maintaining biodiversity so important when planning crop implementation for bioenergy production?

There are multiple ways to classify biomass into different categories; compare some of these and mention pros and cons of such approaches.

There are multiple ways to classify biomass into different categories; compare some of these and mention pros and cons of such approaches.

Miscanthus is a fast-growing energy crop species; it is characterized as a " \(\mathrm{C} 4\) plant"; what is meant by this term and what distinguishes it from " \(\mathrm{C} 3\) plants?"

Would it be possible to realize a net removal of \(\mathrm{CO}_{2}\) from the atmosphere using biomass conversion processes?