Mission Biotechnologies Sdn. Bhd

Follow

This company has no active jobs

0 Review

Rate This Company ( No reviews yet )

Work/Life Balance
Comp & Benefits
Senior Management
Culture & Value

Mission Biotechnologies Sdn. Bhd

(0)

About Us

Desert ‘carbon Farming’ To Curb CO2

Desert ‘carbon farming’ to suppress CO2

1 August 2013

Share

close panel

Share page

Copy link

About sharing

By Matt McGrath

Environment reporter, BBC News

Scientists say that planting great deals of jatropha trees in desert areas could be a reliable method of curbing emissions of CO2.

Dubbed “carbon farming”, scientists say the idea is financially competitive with state-of-the-art carbon capture and storage projects.

But critics state the idea might be have unexpected, unfavorable impacts including driving up food rates.

The research study has been published, external in the journal Earth System Dynamics.

Seeds of modification

Jatropha curcas is a plant that stemmed in Central America and is very well adapted to severe conditions including extremely dry deserts.

It is currently grown as a biofuel, external in some parts of the world since its seeds can produce oil.

In this research study, German researchers revealed that one hectare of jatropha might capture approximately 25 tonnes of co2 from the environment every year. The researchers based their estimates on trees currently growing in trial plots in Egypt and in the Negev desert.

“The results are overwhelming,” stated Prof Klaus Becker, from the University of Hohenheim in Stuttgart.

“There was great growth, a great action from these plants. I feel there will be no problem trying it on a much larger scale, for example 10 thousand hectares in the beginning,” he stated.

According to the researchers a plantation that would cover 3 percent of the Arabian desert would soak up all the CO2 produced by cars and trucks and trucks in Germany over a 20 year period.

The researchers say that an important aspect of the strategy would be the schedule of desalination centers. This suggests that at first, any plantations would be confined to seaside areas.

They are wishing to establish bigger trials in desert areas of Oman or Qatar. Prof Becker states that unlike other plans that just balance out the carbon that individuals produce, the planting of jatropha might be an excellent, short term service to environment change.

“I think it is a great idea because we are truly drawing out co2 from the environment – and it is entirely various in between extracting and preventing.”

According to the researcher’s computations the costs of suppressing carbon dioxide by means of the planting of trees would be in between 42 and 63 euros per tonne. This makes it competitive with other techniques, such as the more high tech carbon capture and storage, external (CCS).

A number of nations are currently trialling this innovation, external however it has yet to be deployed commercially.

Growing jatropha not only soaks up CO2 however has other benefits. The plants would help to make desert locations more habitable, and the plant’s seeds can be collected for biofuel state the scientists, providing a financial return.

“Jatropha is perfect to be developed into biokerosene – it is even better than biodiesel,” stated Prof Becker.

But other specialists in this location are not persuaded. They indicate the reality that in 2007 and 2008 big numbers of jatropha trees were planted for biofuel, particularly in Africa. But a number of these ventures ended in tears,, external as the plants were not very successful in coping with dry conditions.

Lucy Hurn is the biofuels campaign supervisor for the charity, Actionaid. She says that while jatropha was when seen as the terrific, green hope the reality was really various.

“When jatropha was introduced it was viewed as a wonder crop, it would grow on scrubland or minimal land,” she said.

“But there are frequently individuals who require minimal land to graze their animals, they are getting food from that area – we would not class the land as minimal.”

She pointed out that jatropha is extremely poisonous and can contaminate the land it is grown on, even in a desert. And she likewise had issues about the fairness of the idea.

“It is still someone else’s land. Why enter and grow these huge plantations to handle an issue these individuals didn’t actually trigger?”

Follow Matt on Twitter, external.

More on this story

‘Carpets of seaweed’ grown for fuel. Video, 00:03:05’Carpets of seaweed’ grown for fuel

1 July 2013

Biofuels are ‘unreasonable strategy’

Published

15 April 2013

Related internet links

Universität Hohenheim

Union

The BBC is not accountable for the content of external sites.