Biomass is a term that is easy to understand if you break it down into its parts. ”Bio” refers to living things, and ”mass” refers to matter, so biomass is matter that comes from living or recently living things like plants and animals.

Biomass is full of energy, which it gets from the sun. Plants capture sunlight and convert it into energy-rich carbohydrates. That energy can be passed on to an animal when it eats the plants. Humans can then use things from these organisms, like logs, harvested corn, and animal waste to make heat, electricity, or liquid fuel