Greenhouse Gas Emissions

• The process of burning the biodegradable waste of biomass to obtain fuel produces carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases. Burning biomass also emits chemically active gases, such as carbon monoxide and nitric oxide, into the atmosphere, facilitating the production of tropospheric ozone -- also a greenhouse gas. For biomass fuel to be environmentally friendly, a technology called exhaust gas cleaning has to be implemented before burning to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
  
  

Cost of Materials and Production

• Biomass comes from trees, plants, animals, paper and wood, so it needs to be collected, stored and processed, unlike fossil fuels, which are almost ready to use when extracted. The process of producing biomass is expensive because of the huge volume of biomass that is needed. The effort in producing biomass is avoided by using specially-designed equipment to generate the fuels, but purchasing this equipment incurs an additional production cost.
  
  

Additional Use of Land, Water and Energy

• Growing crops is a major source of biomass, and plenty of land must be available to grow those crops. This may lead to deforestation of land if there not enough to use. Making the fertilizers and fuels needed to plant and grow the crops requires water and the use of additional fossil fuels. Growing and harvesting the crops also requires time and energy that could be invested into other, more environmentally friendly endeavors.
  
  

Crops Not Always Available

• Many crops used to produce biomass, like wheat and corn, are seasonal crops that are not available at all times during the year. Other crops, like cotton, dry out when the temperature gets warmer, and cannot be used for a significant time during the year. Trees, while available all year long, grow slowly and change from season to season. While there are many sources of biomass, collecting biomass is difficult at certain times in the year.