Forbes Ranks Mississippi in Top Five for Biomass
The July 2008 web edition of Forbes ranked Mississippi among the top five states in the nation for potential biomass energy. (Read the entire Forbes article and view how Mississippi ranks at the following links: America’s Best Places for Alternative Energy, Mississippi's ranking.) What is biomass? According to an online encyclopedia, biomass refers to living and recently dead biological material that can be used as fuel or for industrial production. Most commonly, biomass refers to plant matter grown to generate electricity or produce biofuel, but it also includes plant or animal matter used for production of fibers, chemicals or heat.
“Biomass offers significant opportunities for Mississippi’s future,” said Motice Bruce, director of MDA’s Energy Division. “The state is rich in resources or feedstock which can be converted into fuels, power and other products. Now we simply need to tap into those resources.”
The wood products industry is Mississippi’s principal source of biomass. Currently timber is being used to make paper, wood products, mulch, and as a fuel to generate steam and electricity. Research is ongoing to determine the most efficient use for biomass produced from municipal solid waste systems, corn grain, soybeans, poultry litter and used grease.
In fact, one of Mississippi’s largest agricultural industries, broiler chickens, produces a bi-product (chicken manure), which can become a valuable source of energy after anaerobic conversion. That means an engineered methanogic decomposition of organic matter under oxygen-free conditions involving a mixed consortium of different species of micro-organisms that transform organic matter into biogas. Or in less technical terms, it is a chemical or biological reaction that produces a gas that can generate steam and electricity.
MDA partners with groups that provide research and help to local stakeholders who want to utilize biomass feed stocks. More information is available at the following websites: Mississippi Biomass Council – http://ms-biomass.org; Mississippi State University’s Sustainable Research Energy Center – www.serc.msstate.edu; 25 x ‘25 – www.25x25.org; and Mississippi Technology Alliance – www.technologyalliance.ms.
For more information about the biomass industry in Mississippi or MDA’s energy-related programs, contact the Energy Division at 601.359.6600.
Eyes on Energy
Ranked in the top five nationwide by Forbes magazine, Mississippi is poised to lead in the biomass sector.
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