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 locations might be an efficient method of suppressing emissions of CO2.

Dubbed “carbon farming”, researchers say the idea is economically competitive with modern carbon capture and storage projects.

But critics state the concept could be have unpredicted, negative effects including driving up food costs.

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 Central America and is effectively adjusted to extreme conditions consisting of incredibly arid 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 scientists showed that a person hectare of jatropha might catch as much as 25 tonnes of co2 from the atmosphere every year. The scientists based their quotes on trees currently growing in trial plots in Egypt and in the Negev desert.

“The results are overwhelming,” said Prof Klaus Becker, from the University of Hohenheim in Stuttgart.

“There was great growth, a good 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 said.

According to the researchers a plantation that would cover three percent of the Arabian desert would absorb all the CO2 produced by vehicles and trucks in Germany over a twenty years period.

The scientists state that an important aspect of the plan would be the schedule of desalination centers. This means that initially, any plantations would be confined to seaside areas.

They are wishing to establish bigger trials in desert areas of Oman or Qatar. states that unlike other plans that just offset the carbon that individuals produce, the planting of jatropha could be a good, short term solution to environment modification.

“I think it is an excellent idea due to the fact that we are actually drawing out carbon dioxide from the environment – and it is entirely various between extracting and preventing.”

According to the researcher’s computations the expenses of curbing co2 via 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 innovation, external however it has yet to be deployed commercially.

Growing jatropha not only soaks up CO2 however has other advantages. The plants would assist to make desert locations more habitable, and the plant’s seeds can be gathered for biofuel state the researchers, offering an economic return.

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

But other specialists in this location are not encouraged. They point to the truth that in 2007 and 2008 large numbers of jatropha trees were planted for biofuel, specifically in Africa. But much of these endeavors ended in tears,, external as the plants were not really successful in dealing with dry conditions.

Lucy Hurn is the biofuels project supervisor for the charity, Actionaid. She says that while jatropha was once seen as the great, green hope the reality was really 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 typically individuals who need marginal land to graze their animals, they are getting food from that area – we wouldn’t class the land as limited.”

She explained that jatropha is highly toxic and can contaminate the land it is grown on, even in a desert. And she likewise had concerns about the fairness of the concept.

“It is still somebody else’s land. Why enter and grow these enormous plantations to handle an issue these individuals didn’t actually cause?”

Follow Matt on Twitter, external.

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Related internet links

Universität Hohenheim

European Geosciences Union

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