Desert carbon Farming To Curb CO2
Desert 'carbon farming' to curb CO2
1 August 2013
Share
close panel
Share page
Copy link
About sharing
By Matt McGrath
Environment reporter, BBC News
Scientists say that planting big numbers of jatropha trees in desert locations could be an effective method of suppressing emissions of CO2.
Dubbed "carbon farming", scientists state the concept is financially competitive with high-tech carbon capture and storage jobs.
But critics say the concept might be have unforeseen, negative effects including increasing food prices.
The research study has actually been released, external in the journal Earth System Dynamics.
Seeds of modification
Jatropha curcas is a plant that came from Central America and is effectively adapted to severe conditions including incredibly dry deserts.
It is already grown as a biofuel, external in some parts of the world since its seeds can produce oil.
In this research study, German scientists showed that a person hectare of jatropha might catch approximately 25 tonnes of co2 from the environment every year. The scientists based their estimates on trees presently growing in trial plots in Egypt and in the Negev desert.
"The outcomes are overwhelming," stated Prof Klaus Becker, from the University of Hohenheim in Stuttgart.
"There was great development, a great reaction from these plants. I feel there will be no problem attempting it on a much larger scale, for example 10 thousand hectares in the beginning," he said.
According to the scientists a plantation that would cover three percent of the Arabian desert would take in all the CO2 produced by cars and trucks and trucks in Germany over a twenty years duration.
The scientists say that a critical component of the plan would be the accessibility of desalination facilities. This indicates that at first, any plantations would be confined to coastal locations.
They are wishing to develop larger trials in desert areas of Oman or Qatar. Prof Becker says that unlike other schemes that simply offset the carbon that individuals produce, the planting of jatropha could be a great, short-term service to climate change.
"I believe it is an excellent idea since we are actually drawing out co2 from the environment - and it is completely different in between extracting and avoiding."
According to the researcher's estimations the costs of suppressing carbon dioxide through the planting of trees would be in between 42 and 63 euros per tonne. This makes it competitive with other methods, such as the more high tech carbon capture and storage, external (CCS).
A variety of nations are presently trialling this technology, external however it has yet to be deployed commercially.
Growing jatropha not only takes in CO2 however has other advantages. The plants would assist to make desert locations more habitable, and the plant's seeds can be gathered for biofuel say the researchers, providing an economic return.
"Jatropha is ideal to be developed into biokerosene - it is even much better than biodiesel," stated Prof Becker.
But other professionals in this area are not persuaded. They indicate the fact that in 2007 and 2008 large numbers of jatropha trees were planted for biofuel, specifically in Africa. But much of these endeavors ended in tears,, external as the plants were not very effective in managing dry conditions.
Lucy Hurn is the biofuels project manager for the charity, Actionaid. She says that while jatropha was once viewed as the terrific, green hope the reality was extremely different.
"When jatropha was presented it was viewed as a wonder crop, it would grow on scrubland or minimal land," she stated.
"But there are frequently individuals who require marginal land to graze their animals, they are getting food from that location - we would not class the land as limited."
She explained that jatropha is extremely poisonous and can pollute the land it is grown on, even in a desert. And she also had issues about the fairness of the idea.
"It is still somebody else's land. Why enter and grow these enormous plantations to handle an issue these individuals didn't really cause?"
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 strategy'
Published
15 April 2013
Related internet links
Universität Hohenheim
European Geosciences Union
The BBC is not responsible for the material of external websites.
