This is our concept paper - put in here just to see the scroll bar in work... it works!! Our team has selected the National Critical Technology Category of Energy in the technological area of "improved generation," the sub-area of "renewable energy," and specifically Biomass Fuels. By utilizing animal or human waste on a large scale, it can become economically feasible to produce gas or liquids used in energy generation. Our team selected this technology standard because of our concerns regarding regional water and air quality. Biomass offers solutions for each. It represents a closed end carbon cycle; all carbon is recycled through the system of atmosphere and animals, thereby maintaining current levels of certain green house gasses. Another benefit is the improvement of water quality through reduction of waste runoff, which often causes harmful algal blooms. This process presents a significantly different paradigm - one in which all wastes are thought of as potential resources. We intend to evaluate current biomass experiments and determine how a system can be implemented in local cattle operations or municipal waste treatment centers. The study will primarily focus on the economic and environmental factors of such a biomass fuel facility. Our team will learn about such topics as current waste treatment techniques, combustion byproducts of fossil and biomass fuels, environmental impacts of current energy production, and the process by which biomass can be converted into either gaseous or liquid energy sources. In the future, biomass fuel will prove to be a key area in science education. Knowledge of chemistry, biology, and physics are all requirements for maintaining a biomass facility. Engineering such facilities will also provide a field of scientific study, since each system must be scaled to the specific location for maximum efficiency. Each of these spheres of knowledge offers career possibilities. Within 5-10 years, scientific development of biomass fuel will put it on an economically equal footing with other energy sources. In response to a growing use of biomass fuel, power plants and miners of fossil fuels will likely shift resources to embrace the movement in an effort to retain their retain their share of the global marketplace. Our team has selected the National Critical Technology Category of Energy in the technological area of "improved generation," the sub-area of "renewable energy," and specifically Biomass Fuels. By utilizing animal or human waste on a large scale, it can become economically feasible to produce gas or liquids used in energy generation. Our team selected this technology standard because of our concerns regarding regional water and air quality. Biomass offers solutions for each. It represents a closed end carbon cycle; all carbon is recycled through the system of atmosphere and animals, thereby maintaining current levels of certain green house gasses. Another benefit is the improvement of water quality through reduction of waste runoff, which often causes harmful algal blooms. This process presents a significantly different paradigm - one in which all wastes are thought of as potential resources. We intend to evaluate current biomass experiments and determine how a system can be implemented in local cattle operations or municipal waste treatment centers. The study will primarily focus on the economic and environmental factors of such a biomass fuel facility. Our team will learn about such topics as current waste treatment techniques, combustion byproducts of fossil and biomass fuels, environmental impacts of current energy production, and the process by which biomass can be converted into either gaseous or liquid energy sources. In the future, biomass fuel will prove to be a key area in science education. Knowledge of chemistry, biology, and physics are all requirements for maintaining a biomass facility. Engineering such facilities will also provide a field of scientific study, since each system must be scaled to the specific location for maximum efficiency. Each of these spheres of knowledge offers career possibilities. Within 5-10 years, scientific development of biomass fuel will put it on an economically equal footing with other energy sources. In response to a growing use of biomass fuel, power plants and miners of fossil fuels will likely shift resources to embrace the movement in an effort to retain their retain their share of the global marketplace. |