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Desert ‘carbon Farming’ To Curb CO2

Desert ‘carbon farming’ to curb CO2

1 August 2013

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By Matt McGrath

Environment reporter, BBC News

Scientists state that planting big numbers of jatropha trees in desert locations 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 jobs.

But critics say the concept might be have unforeseen, unfavorable effects consisting of 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 adapted to extreme conditions including incredibly dry deserts.

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

In this research study, German researchers showed that a person hectare of jatropha could catch up to 25 tonnes of carbon dioxide from the environment every year. The scientists based their estimates on trees currently 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 good growth, an excellent reaction from these plants. I feel there will be no problem trying it on a much bigger scale, for example ten thousand hectares in the start,” he said.

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

The researchers state that a critical component of the plan would be the accessibility of desalination facilities. This means 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 schemes that simply balance out the carbon that people produce, the planting of jatropha might be a good, short-term service to climate modification.

“I think it is a great concept since we are actually drawing out co2 from the atmosphere – and it is entirely various between drawing out and avoiding.”

According to the scientist’s estimations the expenses of curbing co2 via 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 technology, external however it has yet to be released commercially.

Growing jatropha not only soaks up CO2 however has other . The plants would help to make desert areas more habitable, and the plant’s seeds can be harvested for biofuel state the researchers, offering a financial return.

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

But other experts in this location are not encouraged. They indicate the reality that in 2007 and 2008 great deals of jatropha trees were planted for biofuel, specifically in Africa. But much of these ventures ended in tears,, external as the plants were not really successful in handling dry conditions.

Lucy Hurn is the biofuels project manager for the charity, Actionaid. She states that while jatropha was as soon as viewed as the fantastic, green hope the reality was extremely different.

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

“But there are frequently people who require limited land to graze their animals, they are getting food from that location – we wouldn’t class the land as marginal.”

She mentioned that jatropha is extremely hazardous and can pollute the land it is grown on, even in a desert. And she likewise had concerns about the fairness of the idea.

“It is still somebody else’s land. Why go in and grow these massive plantations to handle an issue these people didn’t really cause?”

Follow Matt on Twitter, external.

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Related internet links

Universität Hohenheim

European Geosciences Union

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