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 correspondent, BBC News

Scientists state that planting great deals of jatropha trees in desert locations might be a reliable method of curbing emissions of CO2.

Dubbed “carbon farming”, scientists say the concept is economically competitive with high-tech carbon capture and storage projects.

But critics say the idea might be have unpredicted, unfavorable 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 in Central America and is extremely well adjusted to severe conditions consisting of incredibly arid 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 scientists showed that one hectare of jatropha could record approximately 25 tonnes of co2 from the atmosphere every year. The scientists based their quotes on trees presently growing in trial plots in Egypt and in the Negev desert.

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

“There was excellent growth, a great reaction from these plants. I feel there will be no issue trying it on a much larger scale, for example 10 thousand hectares in the start,” he said.

According to the researchers a plantation that would cover three percent of the Arabian desert would soak up all the CO2 produced by automobiles and trucks in Germany over a twenty years duration.

The researchers say that a critical component of the strategy would be the schedule of desalination facilities. This means that at first, any plantations would be restricted to seaside locations.

They are intending to develop bigger trials in desert locations 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 a good, short-term option to climate change.

“I believe it is a good idea because we are truly extracting carbon dioxide from the environment – and it is totally various in between extracting and preventing.”

According to the researcher’s calculations the costs of suppressing co2 via 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 innovation, external but it has yet to be deployed commercially.

Growing jatropha not only takes in CO2 but has other benefits. The plants would help to make desert locations more habitable, and the plant’s seeds can be harvested for biofuel state the researchers, offering an .

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

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

Lucy Hurn is the biofuels campaign supervisor for the charity, Actionaid. She states that while jatropha was once seen as the fantastic, green hope the truth was extremely different.

“When jatropha was presented it was seen as a miracle crop, it would grow on scrubland or limited land,” she stated.

“But there are often individuals who need minimal land to graze their animals, they are getting food from that area – we wouldn’t class the land as minimal.”

She mentioned that jatropha is extremely toxic and can pollute 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 go in and grow these massive plantations to handle a problem 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 ‘illogical strategy’

Published

15 April 2013

Related internet links

Universität Hohenheim

European Geosciences Union

The BBC is not responsible for the material of external sites.