BIOMASS RESOURCE AS A SOURCE OF SUSTAINABLE ENERGY PRODUCTION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

Biomass resources and their utilization have generated a keen interest in the world’s energy sector and its importance will increase as the current discussion centers towards renewable energy sources and energy conservation. Resources such as agricultural crops and their waste, municipal solid waste, animal wastes and waste from food processing etc are considered as potential renewable and sustainable energy source with the highest potential to contribute to the energy needs of both the industrialized and developing countries worldwide. The outcome of several studies on getting a sustainable and environmental friendly energy from biomass to replace conventional fossil fuels shows that biomass can be used to meet a variety of energy needs, including generating electricity, heating homes, fuelling vehicles and providing process heat for industrial facilities which can be achieved using a number of different routes. The main objective of this article is to identify some of the major biomass resources and their potentials for a sustainable energy production and utilization in developing countries. It also highlighted some of conversion techniques and routes for the biomass resources as well as provision of some adequate measures for their proper utilization. The use of biomass as energy source will provide an excellent opportunity for mitigation of greenhouse gas emission and reducing global warming through the substitution of conventional fossil-based energy sources.