balance of payments

essentially a country’s bank statement, which shows all transactions with other countries throughout the world.

biodiesel

a diesel-equivalent, processed fuel made from the esterification (a chemical process that removes glycerine from oil) of both vegetable oils and animal fats.

biofuels

fuels derived from biomass or waste feedstocks; includes ethanol and biodiesel.

biogas

a mixture of methane and CO2 produced by bacterial degradation of organic matter and used as a fuel.

biomass

renewable energy from living (or recently living) plants and animals; e.g. wood chippings, crops and manure. Plants store energy from the sun while animals get their energy from the plants they eat.

biomass-to-liquids

a process featuring biomass gasification into syngas (using Fischer-Tropsch catalytic synthesis or a methanol-to-gasoline reaction path) followed by synthesis of liquid products (such as diesel, naphtha or gasoline). The process is similar to those used in coal-to-liquids or gas-to-liquids.

black liquor

a by-product from chemical pulping processes that consists of lignin residue combined with water and the chemicals used for extracting lignin.

bond

a formal contract to repay borrowed money with interest at fixed intervals.

brown coal

includes lignite and sub-bituminous coal where lignite is defined as non-agglomerating coal with a gross calorific value less than 4 165 kilocalories per kilogramme (kcal/kg) and sub-bituminous coal is defined as non-agglomerating coal with a gross calorific value between 4 165 kcal/kg and 5 700 kcal/kg.

bunkers

includes both international marine bunkers and international aviation bunkers (see respective category definitions).