Desert ‘carbon Farming’ To Curb CO2

Desert ‘carbon farming’ to suppress CO2

1 August 2013

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By Matt McGrath

Environment correspondent, BBC News

Scientists state that planting great deals of jatropha trees in desert areas could be a of suppressing emissions of CO2.

Dubbed « carbon farming », scientists say the idea is economically competitive with high-tech carbon capture and storage projects.

But critics say the idea could be have unpredicted, negative impacts including increasing food prices.

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

Seeds of modification

Jatropha curcas is a plant that came from Central America and is effectively adapted to severe conditions including extremely dry 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 researchers revealed that one hectare of jatropha might capture up to 25 tonnes of carbon dioxide 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 overwhelming, » stated Prof Klaus Becker, from the University of Hohenheim in Stuttgart.

« There was excellent development, a great reaction from these plants. I feel there will be no problem attempting it on a much bigger scale, for example 10 thousand hectares in the beginning, » he said.

According to the researchers a plantation that would cover 3 percent of the Arabian desert would soak up all the CO2 produced by vehicles and trucks in Germany over a 20 year duration.

The researchers say that an important component of the strategy would be the schedule of desalination facilities. This implies that at first, any plantations would be confined to seaside areas.

They are wanting to establish bigger trials in desert locations of Oman or Qatar. Prof Becker says that unlike other schemes that just balance out the carbon that people produce, the planting of jatropha might be a great, brief term solution to environment modification.

« I believe it is an excellent idea because we are truly extracting co2 from the atmosphere – and it is entirely various between extracting and preventing. »

According to the scientist’s estimations 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 methods, such as the more high tech carbon capture and storage, external (CCS).

A variety of nations are currently trialling this innovation, external but it has yet to be released commercially.

Growing jatropha not just soaks up CO2 however has other advantages. The plants would assist to make desert areas more habitable, and the plant’s seeds can be gathered for biofuel state the scientists, supplying a financial return.

« Jatropha is perfect to be become biokerosene – it is even better than biodiesel, » said Prof Becker.

But other specialists in this area are not convinced. They point to the reality that in 2007 and 2008 great deals of jatropha trees were planted for biofuel, particularly in Africa. But much of these ventures ended in tears,, external as the plants were not really effective in coping with dry conditions.

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

« When jatropha was presented it was seen as a miracle crop, it would grow on scrubland or limited land, » she said.

« But there are typically individuals who need marginal land to graze their animals, they are getting food from that location – we would not class the land as limited. »

She pointed out that jatropha is highly poisonous and can pollute the land it is grown on, even in a desert. And she also had concerns about the fairness of the idea.

« It is still someone else’s land. Why go in and grow these huge plantations to deal with a problem these individuals didn’t really trigger? »

Follow Matt on Twitter, external.

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Related internet links

Universität Hohenheim

European Geosciences Union

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