Renewable Energy from Biomass: an Overview of the Amazon Region

Economic and social development around the world has contributed to increased energy demands, which have strained the energy supply chain. The global energy matrix depends on the exploitation of fossil fuels, which are responsible for disastrous social, political, and environmental impacts. This situation has led to the need for technological advances in the development of new sources of safe, renewable, and sustainable energy production. In recent years, biomass has gained importance among emerging sources of energy production due to its abundance and renewable nature. Therefore, this study reviews the availability and physicochemical properties of unexplored Amazonian biomass sources, which, in principle, neither compete with food production nor have disastrous environmental impacts on the Amazon forest. This review also focuses on thermochemical conversion methods for possible application of the biomasses under study to produce electricity for geographically isolated communities in the Amazon, whose electricity comes from generators powered by diesel oil, a nonrenewable and relatively expensive resource. The information provided in this article is important for the formulation of alternative and renewable energy government policies for the Amazon region, in addition to presenting a scientific study of the main biomass available in the region, including thermochemical characteristics for energy conversion.