QUICK NOTESMongabay, a leading resource for news and perspectives on environmental and conservation issues related to the tropics, has launched Tropical Conservation Science - a new, open access academic e-journal. It will cover a wide variety of scientific and social studies on tropical ecosystems, their biodiversity and the threats posed to them. Tropical Conservation Science - March 8, 2008.At the 148th Meeting of the OPEC Conference, the oil exporting cartel decided to leave its production level unchanged, sending crude prices spiralling to new records (above $104). OPEC "observed that the market is well-supplied, with current commercial oil stocks standing above their five-year average. The Conference further noted, with concern, that the current price environment does not reflect market fundamentals, as crude oil prices are being strongly influenced by the weakness in the US dollar, rising inflation and significant flow of funds into the commodities market." OPEC - March 5, 2008. Kyushu University (Japan) is establishing what it says will be the world’s first graduate program in hydrogen energy technologies. The new master’s program for hydrogen engineering is to be offered at the university’s new Ito campus in Fukuoka Prefecture. Lectures will cover such topics as hydrogen energy and developing the fuel cells needed to convert hydrogen into heat or electricity. Of all the renewable pathways to produce hydrogen, bio-hydrogen based on the gasification of biomass is by far both the most efficient, cost-effective and cleanest. Fuel Cell Works - March 3, 2008. An entrepreneur in Ivory Coast has developed a project to establish a network of Miscanthus giganteus farms aimed at producing biomass for use in power generation. In a first phase, the goal is to grow the crop on 200 hectares, after which expansion will start. The project is in an advanced stage, but the entrepreneur still seeks partners and investors. The plantation is to be located in an agro-ecological zone qualified as highly suitable for the grass species. Contact us - March 3, 2008. A 7.1MW biomass power plant to be built on the Haiwaiian island of Kaua‘i has received approval from the local Planning Commission. The plant, owned and operated by Green Energy Hawaii, will use albizia trees, a hardy species that grows in poor soil on rainfall alone. The renewable power plant will meet 10 percent of the island's energy needs. Kauai World - February 27, 2008. |
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- Researchers at the Taiwan Forestry Research Institute (TFRI) and North Carolina State University in the U.S. have developed genetically modified Eucalyptus trees that store far more carbon dioxide and contain less lignin. - Biopact Sept. 17, 2007
- The International Eucalyptus Genome Consortium's sequencing effort has been taken up as a project under the U.S. Dept. of Energy's Joint Genome Project for the year 2008. - Biopact June 12, 2007
- Brazilian state of Acre intends to make cattle ranchers reforest land which they have cleared for grazing. The sustainable forestry policy is based on replanting economic tree crops such as mahogany, acai, Brazil nut and palms - BBCNews Sept. 27, 2006
- Illegal deforestation of acacia for charcoal is becoming a serious problem in Kenya's Naivasha area. Nobel Peace Prize laureate Wangari Maathai's Green Belt Movement re-afforests with acacia but needs more support to win fight against illegal loggers - Kenya Times Sept. 5, 2006
- Australian scientists are conducting a 'time-machine' experiment to see how eucalyptus trees cope with increased levels of CO2 and global warming. - University of Western Sydney Aug. 28, 2006
- International research effort underway to sequence cassava genome, which may result in increased starch yields - USDA Agricultural Research Service - Aug. 30, 2006
- Cassava has one of the highest rates of CO2 fixation and sucrose synthesis for any C3 plant. With this in mind, researchers from Ohio State University develop transgenic cassava with starch yields up 2.6 times higher than normal plants by increasing the sink strength for carbohydrate in the crop. This means cassava makes for a 'super crop' when it comes to both CO2 fixation and carbohydrate production, i.e. sugars, the feedstock for ethanol - Plant Biotechnology Journal - Volume 4/Issue 4 - July 2006
- Vietnam's Institute of Tropical Biology to invest in Jatropha research - Le courrier du Vietnam - Sept. 6, 2006
- Genetic study proves humans have pushed orangutans to the brink of extinction; genetic decline coincides with establishment of oil palm plantations in Malaysia/Indonesia since the 1950/60s- Public Library of Science / Biology, Volume 4/Issue 2 - February, 2006
- Synthetic Genomics and the Asiatic Centre for Genome Technology Sdn Bhd (ACGT) have created a multi-year research and development joint venture to sequence and analyze the oil palm genome. In-depth genomic analyses will be followed by subsequent studies that will analyze the oil palm’s root and leaf microbial communities, to identify biomarkers and metabolic pathways that affect the plant's growth and viability. Biopact - July, 2007
- Researchers at the International Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics have developed a sweet sorghum for the production of ethanol. The new variety has a very high sugar content in its root. Average yields in trial fields in the Philippines were between 95 to 125 tons, considerably higher than those of sugarcane - ICRISAT - Feb. 28, 2007
- Sokoine University of Agriculture, Tanzania, develops sorghum and millet processing technologies suitable for local conditions in effort to empower small farmers - IPP Media - Sept. 6, 2006
- South Africa blocks GM Sorghum project for fears over contamination of local wild sorghums - Kruger Park - Aug. 26, 2006
- Brazilian authorities have given their fiat for field trials with genetically modified sugar cane plants. The Centro de Tecnologia Canavieira (Cane Technology Center - CTC) will test three genetically modified varieties that are expected to yield 15% more sugar - GMO Compass
- Bamboo planting can slow deforestation, scientists from the International Center for Research in Agroforestry in Nairobi, Kenya, say. Bamboo rapidly becoming economically beneficial crop with large potential for energy, bioremediation, and afforestation - Chosun (S.Korea) Aug. 30, 2006
- "The beauty of miscanthus is that you only have to sow it once...Because of the way it grows, there is no need for fertilisers or chemicals", an English entrepreneur talks about his experience with Miscanthus as an energy crop - Grantham Today Aug. 8, 2006
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Friday, June 06, 2008
Carbon-negative bioenergy making headway, at last
Biopact has always been surprised to see that other organisations, claiming to take the climate fight serious, have not heard of the concept or haven't been willing to take it serious. This is now changing, at last.
The reason for this change is a recent paper [*.pdf] by NASA's James Hansen, who is perhaps the most authoritative voice on where humanity should aim with its GHG reduction efforts. In the paper, Hansen says we do not merely need to 'reduce' our emissions (which we can do with improving energy efficiency, conservation, investments in wind, solar, etc). No, we have to go much further and actively withdraw CO2 from the atmosphere to achieve levels of 350ppm. Currently, atmospheric CO2 levels stand at 387ppm and if we merely invest in classic renewables, we will only keep adding CO2 to the atmosphere. This is not an option.
Geo-engineering techniques to capture atmospheric CO2 are not feasible because too risky or too costly. Hansen therefor lists four broad alternative priorities that should be implemented simultaneously to achieve the 350ppm target. Two of those are the production of 'negative emissions energy': (1) a moratorium on coal without CCS, (2) reforestation in the tropics and avoiding new deforestation, (3) coupling biomass to CCS (something Biopact has been advocating for a long time), and (4) initiating biochar projects on a large scale, possibly beginning with a transition from slash-and-burn to slash-and-char.
In short, Hansen has given Biopact's advocacy on carbon-negative energy strong backing. The effect is obvious: other climate organisations are now beginning to take note of the concept.
Norway's Bellona Foundation today released a report titled "How to combat global warming: the Bellona scenario," in which it gives carbon-negative bioenergy a central place. It seems the organisation has not yet heard of the relatively new concept of biochar and soil carbon sequestration, so it limits itself to analysing the idea of coupling bioenergy to CCS, describing the effect of this technology as follows:
The Bellona Foundation refers to our 'strange world of carbon-negative energy', especially the example of the electric car powered by carbon-negative bioenergy. The more you were to drive such a car, the more you would be cleaning up the atmosphere and fighting climate change.
The organisation sees biomass coupled to CCS as the single most important technology to reduce emissions in the most drastic way. Its (conservative) estimate is that it can contribute 18 per cent to a scenario that consists of reducing emissions by 85 per cent by 2050. All other renewables (wind, solar, etc) combined can only contribute 13 per cent, CCS coupled to coal 13 per cent, non-CO2 reductions of GHGs 11 per cent, management of land-use changes 11 per cent, and lifestyle changes 10 per cent (graph, clik to enlarge).
Other organisations taking carbon-negative bioenergy serious are 'Beyond Zero Emissions', an Australian non-profit climate organisation, and 350.org, which was created recently around Hansen's priorities:
energy :: sustainability biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: soil :: biochar :: terra preta :: agrichar :: carbon capture and storage :: bioenergy with carbon storage :: carbon-negative :: negative emissions :: climate change
As the name implies, 'Beyond Zero Emissions' aims not merely to reduce emissions from energy use to zero, it wants us to achieve 'negative emissions' - going way below zero. Therefor the organisation has been focusing heavily on carbon-negative bioenergy, more in particular on the concept of soil carbon sequestration via biochar (also known as agrichar or 'terra preta') and the pyrolysis and gasification technologies needed to make this work (schematic, click to enlarge).
'Beyond Zero Emissions' recently produced highly informative interviews (podcasts) with the leading researchers in this field: Cornell University's Professor Johannes Lehmann, who has studied terra preta soils and has been analysing biochar in all its aspects, especially its effects on soil biology, physics and chemistry.
Professor Tim Flannery, green icon and 'Australian of the Year 2007', discusses why biochar can become perhaps the most interesting concept in the climate fight, because of its multiple simultaneous benefits - restoring soils and making them fertile again, sequestering carbon permanently and in a safe and easy manner, and reducing important non-CO2 emissions from agriculture, such as methane and nitrous oxide.
In another highly interesting interview, Dr Lucas Van Zwieten discusses results from extensive field experiments. One type of trials, with biochar in pasture, showed very strong reductions of N2O emissions and a doubling of biomass yield. Nitrous oxide is an extremely potent greenhouse gas. The trials showed five- to ten-fold reductions of emissions of this gas from the soil. In short, biochar additions can alter agriculture radically by reducing its heavy N2O footprint. Another trial, with maize and biochar, showed a doubling of biomass production.
The organisation also interviewed Adrianna Downie from Best Energies, a highly innovative green tech company developing a slow pyrolysis technology capable of generating biochar and electricity simultaneously in a highly optimal way. Downie describes the process and refers to biochar trials in soils.
Last but not least, 'Beyond Zero Emissions' succeeded in talking with Dr James Hansen himself. Hansen describes the reasons why we must absolutely aim for 350ppm.
Recently a new organisation was created around Hansen's scenario and his description of carbon-negative bioenergy technologies. 350.org hopes to become a widely recognised climate 'logo'. The organisation wants to spread Hansen's message in all possible manners, and hopes ordinary citizens help in doing so:
Now it is time for larger organisations to wake up and take carbon-negative energy serious. The reason why Greenpeace, WWF, the WorldWatch Institute or Friends of the Earth haven't catched up with the latest climate technologies, concepts and science yet, is perhaps due to their large bureaucratic structures, which make these organisations slow to take up new views.
We are confident however, that small organisations like Beyond Zero Emissions, 350.org or Biopact are capable of creating a 'bottom up' movement to get the message across. The fact that a large and important NGO like the Bellona Foundation has now taken up carbon-negative energy as the key technology in its view of the climate fight, proves this.
References:
James Hansen, Makiko Sato, Pushker Kharecha, David Beerling, Valerie Masson-Delmotte, Mark Pagani, Maureen Raymo, Dana L. Royer, James C. Zachos, "Target Atmospheric CO2: Where Should Humanity Aim?", March 2008, in press [but widely distributed on the net].
Bellona Foundation: It is fully possible to reduce emissions by 85 percent - June 5, 2008.
On bioenergy with carbon storage:
H. Audus and P. Freund, "Climate Change Mitigation by Biomass Gasificiation Combined with CO2 Capture and Storage", IEA Greenhouse Gas R&D Programme.
James S. Rhodesa and David W. Keithb, "Engineering economic analysis of biomass IGCC with carbon capture and storage", Biomass and Bioenergy, Volume 29, Issue 6, December 2005, Pages 440-450.
Noim Uddin and Leonardo Barreto, "Biomass-fired cogeneration systems with CO2 capture and storage", Renewable Energy, Volume 32, Issue 6, May 2007, Pages 1006-1019, doi:10.1016/j.renene.2006.04.009
Christian Azar, Kristian Lindgren, Eric Larson and Kenneth Möllersten, "Carbon Capture and Storage From Fossil Fuels and Biomass – Costs and Potential Role in Stabilizing the Atmosphere", Climatic Change, Volume 74, Numbers 1-3 / January, 2006, DOI 10.1007/s10584-005-3484-7
Peter Read and Jonathan Lermit, "Bio-Energy with Carbon Storage (BECS): a Sequential Decision Approach to the threat of Abrupt Climate Change", Energy, Volume 30, Issue 14, November 2005, Pages 2654-2671.
Stefan Grönkvist, Kenneth Möllersten, Kim Pingoud, "Equal Opportunity for Biomass in Greenhouse Gas Accounting of CO2 Capture and Storage: A Step Towards More Cost-Effective Climate Change Mitigation Regimes", Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Volume 11, Numbers 5-6 / September, 2006, DOI 10.1007/s11027-006-9034-9
Biopact: The strange world of carbon-negative bioenergy: the more you drive your car, the more you tackle climate change - October 29, 2007
Biopact: Researchers find geosequestration of CO2 much safer than thought - February 18, 2008
On biochar:
Amonette, J.; Lehmann, J.; Joseph, S., "Terrestrial Carbon Sequestration with Biochar: A Preliminary Assessment of its Global Potential", American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2007, abstract, December 2007.
Johannes Lehman, John Gaunt, Marco Rondon, "Bio-char sequestration in terrestrial ecosystems - A review" [*.pdf], Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change (2006) 11: 403–427
Prof. Johannes Lehman's site: Bio-char or Agri-char: the new frontier, Cornell University.
Dr. Christoph Steiner's website: Biochar.org.
Terra Preta Bioenergy List.
Biopact: Biochar and carbon-negative bioenergy: boosts crop yields, fights climate change and reduces deforestation - January 28, 2008
Biopact: Research confirms biochar in soils boosts crop yields - June 01, 2007
Biopact: Towards carbon-negative bioenergy: U.S. Senator introduces biochar legislation - October 07, 2007
Biopact: Terra preta: how biofuels can become carbon-negative and save the planet - August 18, 2006
Biopact: Terra preta and the future of energy: the Secret of El Dorado - August 19, 2007
Biopact: Biochar soil sequestration and pyrolysis most climate-friendly way to use biomass for energy - April 26, 2007
On carbon-negative bioenergy compared with geo-engineering:
Biopact: Simulation shows geoengineering is very risky - June 05, 2007
Biopact: Climate change and geoengineering: emulating volcanic eruption too risky - August 15, 2007
Biopact: Capturing carbon with "synthetic trees" or with the real thing? - February 20, 2007
Biopact: New study shows stabilizing climate requires near-zero carbon emissions now - boosts case for carbon-negative bioenergy - February 15, 2008
Selected list of Biopact articles on negative emissions bioenergy and biofuels, and carbon capture techniques:
Biopact: Commission supports carbon capture & storage - negative emissions from bioenergy on the horizon - January 23, 2008
Biopact: "A closer look at the revolutionary coal+biomass-to-liquids with carbon storage project" - September 13, 2007
Biopact: New plastic-based, nano-engineered CO2 capturing membrane developed - September 19, 2007
Biopact: Plastic membrane to bring down cost of carbon capture - August 15, 2007
Biopact: Pre-combustion CO2 capture from biogas - the way forward? - March 31, 2007
Biopact: Towards carbon-negative biofuels: US DOE awards $66.7 million for large-scale CO2 capture and storage from ethanol plant - December 19, 2007
Biopact: Biochar and carbon-negative bioenergy: boosts crop yields, fights climate change and reduces deforestation - January 28, 2008
Biopact: Why Lester Brown strongly supports biofuels - February 26, 2008
Biopact: The strange world of carbon-negative bioenergy: the more you drive your car, the more you tackle climate change - October 29, 2007
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