POTENTIAL OF FOREST BIOMASS FOR ENERGY CONVERSION

Forest is one of the important sources of fuelwood and has been meeting energy requirement of most the rural poor. Due to continued depletion of forest cover and density, the sustainability of fuelwood is questioned. The ever increasing demand and poor return of the forest has to be catered with innovative technology and judicious use of fuelwood. Biomass can be converted into useful energy by way of thermal, chemical and biochemical conversion, depending on the composition of the fuel and the desired energy carrier product. However woody biomass is still in the early stages of energy production. The paper is basically discussing the potential of tropical forest in producing biomass and envisaged technological intervention so that the forests can be managed sustainably.