Syngas is an artificially produced energy from substances containing carbon, like biomass, by breaking the bonds of atoms through physical pressures. It consists of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen gas and can be used as fuel for power plants or feedstock for industries.
Syngas, an acronym for synthesis gas, is a form of energy not present in nature, but which can be artificially produced from substances that contain carbon, such as agricultural waste or by-products from the forestry industry. The term syngas does not refer to the treatment with microbes, but rather to the gas produced through the application of stresses such as temperature or pressure. Carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen gas make up syngas, although other gases may also be present.
Biomass is the scientific term for substances that were once alive. All cellular organisms use carbon atom as the main component of their composition and hydrogen is another common part of living things. Since living organisms absorb energy to perform essential metabolic functions and store energy within the structure of the plant or animal, they leave behind a dead object that contains locked energy when they die. When organisms die, other organisms usually eat them, in order to recover the energy locked inside. Common examples of organisms that decompose and ingest dead things are bacteria and fungi.
Normally, dead things are quickly eaten by microbes and gas is a byproduct. The alternative energy market can use microbial degradation to produce gas, which in turn can be used by people to produce energy. Syngas is not produced by this method, but by an alternative method. This involves the alteration of the physical environment of the biomass and not of the microbial environment. In addition to fresh biomass, ancient versions of biomass such as coal can also be used.
Within the biomass molecules, energy holds the atoms of the molecules together. Breaking the bonds of atoms releases energy, and breaking the bonds of biomass allows the carbon and hydrogen within to combine with oxygen in the environment to form commercially useful gases. One such gas is carbon monoxide (CO), which contains a carbon and an oxygen. Another is carbon dioxide (CO2), which has another oxygen atom. The last useful gas is hydrogen, which contains only hydrogen atoms.
To obtain the release of energy the biomass must be subjected to physical pressures which help to break the bonds of the atoms. Increasing the temperature or applying high pressure to the biomass are ways syngas producers produce the desired gas. This process is also known as gasification. Potential uses for syngas include fuel for power plants or as feedstock for industries such as the petrochemical sector.
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