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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 say that planting big numbers of jatropha trees in desert areas might be an effective method of suppressing emissions of CO2.
Dubbed “carbon farming”, scientists say the concept is financially competitive with state-of-the-art carbon capture and storage projects.
But critics say the concept might be have unexpected, negative impacts consisting of increasing food prices.
The research study has been released, external in the journal Earth System Dynamics.
Seeds of change
Jatropha curcas is a plant that originated in Central America and is effectively adjusted to harsh conditions consisting of extremely arid deserts.
It is currently grown as a biofuel, external in some parts of the world due to the fact that its seeds can produce oil.
In this study, German researchers showed that one hectare of jatropha might record approximately 25 tonnes of co2 from the environment every year. The researchers based their estimates on trees presently growing in trial plots in Egypt and in the Negev desert.
“The outcomes are frustrating,” said Prof Klaus Becker, from the University of Hohenheim in Stuttgart.
“There was good development, a great action from these plants. I feel there will be no issue trying it on a much larger scale, for example ten 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 vehicles and trucks in Germany over a twenty years duration.
The researchers state that a critical element of the strategy would be the schedule of desalination centers. This implies that initially, any plantations would be confined to coastal areas.
They are wanting to develop larger trials in desert areas of Oman or Qatar. Prof Becker states that unlike other plans that simply offset the carbon that individuals produce, the planting of jatropha might be an excellent, short-term option to climate modification.
“I believe it is a great idea because we are truly extracting carbon dioxide from the environment – and it is totally various in between extracting and avoiding.”
According to the researcher’s estimations the costs of suppressing co2 by means of the planting of trees would be 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 presently trialling this innovation, external however it has yet to be released commercially.
Growing jatropha not only soaks up CO2 but has other benefits. The plants would assist to make desert locations more habitable, and the plant’s seeds can be harvested for biofuel say the scientists, providing a financial return.
“Jatropha is perfect to be turned into biokerosene – it is even better than biodiesel,” said Prof Becker.
But other experts in this location are not persuaded. They point to the truth that in 2007 and 2008 large numbers of jatropha trees were planted for biofuel, specifically in Africa. But a number of these endeavors ended in tears,, external as the plants were not extremely effective in coping with dry conditions.
Lucy Hurn is the biofuels project manager for the charity, Actionaid. She says that while jatropha was once seen as the great, green hope the truth was really different.
“When jatropha was presented it was seen as a wonder crop, it would grow on scrubland or minimal land,” she said.
“But there are typically people who require minimal land to graze their animals, they are getting food from that area – we would not class the land as limited.”
She explained that jatropha is extremely harmful and can contaminate the land it is grown on, even in a desert. And she also had issues about the fairness of the concept.
“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 web links
Universität Hohenheim
European Geosciences Union
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