Hundreds of thousands of years ago, when man first gained mastery over fire, wood was his primary fuel; the first biofuel of them all!!! Wood was used until the discovery and exploration of fossil fuels, which in turn powered the Industrial Revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries that began in the UK. The discovery of fossil fuels revolutionised the globe, improving industry, transportation, heating etc.
Present:
In turn, this had a colossal impact on the environment, with the globes inhabitants experiencing serious changes in climate and global warming today. There is a large need to find alternative sources of energy in an attempt to mitigate climate change and ensure a sustainable energy resource as the finite fossil fuels are severely depleted. To exacerbate the situation the world's population is expected to increase to 8 billion in 2028!!!
We have once again turned to biofuels in our hour of need, as a source of alternative energy. Although, can they actually act as our saviour or are they just a scape goat for civilisations that do not want to change their ways? The success of biofuels have varied across the globe, particularly due to difference successes of the feedstocks used to produce the biofuel. Brazil has achieved great success in reducing its reliance on biofuel with the achievements of its sugarcane-ethanol industry. In spite of this, it has been reviled that many biofuels are not 'green' energy resources and require huge fossil fuel input during production and transportation around the globe.
I touched upon the complexities of clearing forests for biofuel production and the 'biofuel carbon debt' in a previous post back in November. If you have forgotten the issues raised, please refer back to the post of read the full article of the literature I reviewed written by Fargione et al. (2008), Gibbs et al. (2008) and Danielsen et al. (2008).
Future??
Future:
I touched upon the complexities of clearing forests for biofuel production and the 'biofuel carbon debt' in a previous post back in November. If you have forgotten the issues raised, please refer back to the post of read the full article of the literature I reviewed written by Fargione et al. (2008), Gibbs et al. (2008) and Danielsen et al. (2008).
Future:
So I ask now what does the future hold for the possibility of palm oil becoming a sustainable feedstock in the production of biodiesel?
Currently the majority of biodiesel produced worldwide is from rapeseed oil, which cover 84% of total production. However as previous mentioned palm oil is relatively cheap, yields are high, far greater than all other agricultural crops and additionally it requires substantially less land to produce. Despite the environmental problems that Fargione et al. (2008) highlighted on paper palm oil looks good.
Furthermore the production cost of palm oil is relatively cheap in comparison to other agricultural crops and is seemingly more sustainable and self-sufficient than other crops. This is highlighted in an article written by Tan et al. (2009) that draws attention to the fact that palm oil mills require little or no fossil fuel as palm biomass and its shell can be utilised as a source of energy during the processing of the fruits into palm oil.
An addition quality of palm oil that may favour an increase reliance on the crop as a source of biodiesel is its low need for fertilisers and pesticides that are essential to other nitrogen-demanding crops such as sugarcane and soybean, particularly if they are to be grown on nutrient poor. degraded land.
It is a given that the globe cannot function without channeling an energy resource be that crude oil, coal or gas or more sustainably solar, wind, hydro, biofuels. Because of this I feel our reliance on biofuels will certainly increase and biodiesel could be favoured, especially given the increasing demand for land to satisfy the growing global population. Biofuels are far from flawless but with extensive monitoring and further commitment at all levels from the individual to governments to multinational organisations, they do stand as an attractive option and I believe that growth in the biofuel industry will inevitably grow. Its impact on the environment will depend on its regulation.
Currently the majority of biodiesel produced worldwide is from rapeseed oil, which cover 84% of total production. However as previous mentioned palm oil is relatively cheap, yields are high, far greater than all other agricultural crops and additionally it requires substantially less land to produce. Despite the environmental problems that Fargione et al. (2008) highlighted on paper palm oil looks good.
Furthermore the production cost of palm oil is relatively cheap in comparison to other agricultural crops and is seemingly more sustainable and self-sufficient than other crops. This is highlighted in an article written by Tan et al. (2009) that draws attention to the fact that palm oil mills require little or no fossil fuel as palm biomass and its shell can be utilised as a source of energy during the processing of the fruits into palm oil.
An addition quality of palm oil that may favour an increase reliance on the crop as a source of biodiesel is its low need for fertilisers and pesticides that are essential to other nitrogen-demanding crops such as sugarcane and soybean, particularly if they are to be grown on nutrient poor. degraded land.
It is a given that the globe cannot function without channeling an energy resource be that crude oil, coal or gas or more sustainably solar, wind, hydro, biofuels. Because of this I feel our reliance on biofuels will certainly increase and biodiesel could be favoured, especially given the increasing demand for land to satisfy the growing global population. Biofuels are far from flawless but with extensive monitoring and further commitment at all levels from the individual to governments to multinational organisations, they do stand as an attractive option and I believe that growth in the biofuel industry will inevitably grow. Its impact on the environment will depend on its regulation.
No comments:
Post a Comment