Desert ‘carbon Farming’ To Curb CO2

Desert ‘carbon farming’ to suppress CO2

1 August 2013

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By Matt McGrath

Environment reporter, BBC News

Scientists state that planting large numbers of jatropha trees in desert areas might be an efficient method of suppressing emissions of CO2.

Dubbed “carbon farming”, scientists say the idea is financially competitive with high-tech carbon capture and storage jobs.

But critics say the idea might be have unanticipated, unfavorable effects including driving up food rates.

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

Seeds of change

Jatropha curcas is a plant that came from Central America and is really well adjusted to extreme conditions consisting of exceptionally dry 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 research study, German researchers showed that one hectare of jatropha might catch as much as 25 tonnes of co2 from the environment every year. The scientists based their price quotes 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 excellent development, a good action from these plants. I feel there will be no problem attempting it on a much bigger scale, for instance 10 thousand hectares in the beginning,” he said.

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

The scientists say that an important element of the strategy would be the accessibility of desalination facilities. This indicates that at first, any plantations would be restricted to seaside areas.

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

“I believe it is an excellent idea due to the fact that we are really extracting co2 from the environment – and it is entirely different in between extracting and preventing.”

According to the scientist’s calculations the costs of curbing 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 strategies, such as the more high tech carbon capture and storage, external (CCS).

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

Growing jatropha not just takes in CO2 but has other benefits. The plants would assist to make desert areas more habitable, and the plant’s seeds can be gathered for biofuel state the researchers, providing an economic return.

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

But other experts in this location are not persuaded. They point to the reality that in 2007 and 2008 big numbers of jatropha trees were planted for biofuel, specifically in Africa. But much of these ventures ended in tears,, external as the plants were not extremely effective in dealing with dry conditions.

Lucy Hurn is the biofuels project supervisor for the charity, Actionaid. She says that while jatropha was as soon as seen as the terrific, green hope the truth was very different.

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

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

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 enter and grow these huge 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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