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 say that planting great deals of jatropha trees in desert areas could be an effective method of suppressing emissions of CO2.

Dubbed “carbon farming”, researchers state the concept is financially competitive with high-tech carbon capture and storage projects.

But critics say the idea could be have unpredicted, unfavorable effects including increasing food rates.

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

Seeds of change

Jatropha curcas is a plant that came from in Central America and is effectively adapted to harsh conditions including exceptionally 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 revealed that a person hectare of jatropha might record approximately 25 tonnes of co2 from the atmosphere every year. The researchers based their quotes 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 good 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 start,” he stated.

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 in Germany over a twenty years period.

The researchers say that a critical element of the strategy would be the availability of desalination facilities. This implies that at first, any plantations would be restricted to coastal locations.

They are wishing to establish 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 might be a good, short-term option to climate modification.

“I believe it is a good idea since we are truly drawing out co2 from the environment – and it is entirely different between drawing out and preventing.”

According to the scientist’s computations the expenses of curbing carbon dioxide by means of the planting of trees would be 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 released commercially.

Growing jatropha not only absorbs CO2 but has other benefits. The plants would assist to make desert areas more habitable, and the plant’s seeds can be harvested for biofuel state the researchers, supplying a financial return.

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

But other experts in this area are not persuaded. They point to the truth that in 2007 and 2008 great deals of jatropha trees were planted for biofuel, particularly in Africa. But a number of these endeavors ended in tears,, external as the plants were not really effective in coping with dry conditions.

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

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

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

She pointed out that jatropha is highly hazardous and can contaminate the land it is grown on, even in a desert. And she likewise had issues about the fairness of the concept.

“It is still somebody else’s land. Why go in and grow these massive plantations to deal with a problem these individuals didn’t in fact cause?”

Follow Matt on Twitter, external.

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Related web links

Hohenheim

European Geosciences Union

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