Desert ‘carbon farming’ to curb CO2

1 August 2013

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By Matt McGrath

Environment correspondent, BBC News

Scientists state that planting big numbers of jatropha trees in desert locations could be an efficient way of suppressing emissions of CO2.

Dubbed “carbon farming”, scientists say the concept is economically competitive with high-tech carbon capture and storage tasks.

But critics say the concept could be have unexpected, unfavorable effects including increasing food rates.

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

Seeds of modification

Jatropha curcas is a plant that came from Central America and is very well adapted to harsh conditions consisting of very arid deserts.

It is already 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 scientists revealed that one hectare of jatropha might record approximately 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 outcomes are overwhelming,” said Prof Klaus Becker, from the University of Hohenheim in Stuttgart.

“There was excellent growth, an excellent reaction from these plants. I feel there will be no issue trying it on a much bigger scale, for example ten thousand hectares in the start,” he said.

According to the researchers a plantation that would cover three percent of the Arabian desert would soak up all the CO2 produced by automobiles and trucks in Germany over a twenty years duration.

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

They are hoping to develop larger trials in desert areas of Oman or Qatar. Prof Becker states that unlike other schemes that simply balance out 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 concept due to the fact that we are actually drawing out co2 from the environment - and it is totally different between drawing out and preventing.”

According to the researcher’s estimations the costs of curbing carbon dioxide through 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 countries are presently trialling this innovation, external but it has yet to be released commercially.

Growing jatropha not only takes in 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, supplying a financial return.

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

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

Lucy Hurn is the biofuels campaign manager for the charity, Actionaid. She states that while jatropha was as soon as viewed as the excellent, the reality was very various.

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

“But there are frequently individuals who require marginal land to graze their animals, they are getting food from that area - we would not class the land as minimal.”

She explained that jatropha is extremely harmful and can contaminate 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 go in and grow these huge plantations to handle an issue these people didn’t actually trigger?”

Follow Matt on Twitter, external.

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Related web links

Universität Hohenheim

European Geosciences Union

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