Turning pest into profit: bioenergy from water hyacinth
Water hyacinth (Eichornia crassipes) is a beautiful plant, but is considered to be one of the world's most destructive and unbeatable weeds. It clogs up rivers, hydroelectric plants, waterways and entire lakes, killing aquatic life, hampering river transport and fisheries, endangering the livelihoods of millions of poor people in the tropics.
According to a study produced by the World Conservation Council (IUCN), the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), and the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, the water hyacinth is now the world's most destructive pest, costing billions of dollars in damages each year.
Due to its ferocious biomass growth rate (up to 17 tonnes per hectare per day, doubling its biomass each week!), it colonizes water bodies in a matter of days, laying immense and dense carpets of flowers over the water. One flower produces up to 1000 new plants in under 50 days...
Originating from South America, the water hyacinth is now found in all major tropical rivers and lakes of the world. There's a long history of attempts to control the species, from mechanical destruction over manual harvesting, to, more recently, biological control through a species of beetle which lays its eggs in the plant on which those eggs feed. One colonial administrator working in the Belgian Congo, tasked with coordinating a grand campaign to destroy the hyacinth, even wrote a bizarre autobiographical novel about it (Congo Ya Sika), narrating his encounters with crocodiles, cannibals and Congolese curses while trying to battle the flower (a battle he lost, by the way.)
In short: water hyacinth is a major problem in the tropics, and it produces a lot of nasty biomass.
Could it be used as a bioenergy and biofuels feedstock perhaps? Indeed, it could:
First of all, let's see how creative people are and how they are making the best of the pest that seems to be indestructible.
People have experimented with using the water hyacinth as a substrate for mushroom production. This seems to work for a wide variety of mushrooms (e.g., oyster mushrooms), and the plant offers a high biological conversion efficiency.
Others claim it makes for an excellent bio-fertilizer: water hyacinth biomass accumulates a great amount of inorganic mineral nutrients necessary for other plants. When its biomass is pelleted together with local rock phosphates, it seems like it makes a good fertilizer. Some say its use will reduce over-dependence on imported fertilizers, promote agricultural productivity and profitability, and enhance food security for several regions that suffer under water hyacinth invasion.
More recently, smart small African entrepreneurs have started making beautiful pieces of furniture from it. When compressed and dried, the hyacinth's fibrous stalks generate soft but strong fibres, which can be used for manufacturing paper, mats, and various categories of domestic furniture. Check out these nice examples.
Sewage and biological waste-water treatment: by virtue of its high photosynthetic efficiency, with the associated photosynthetic oxygen production, water hyacinth has great potential for use in sewage treatment. Water hyacinth absorbs nutrients voraciously and enhances evaporation through transpiration. Growing water hyacinth in effluent streams has proved to be a successful treatment technology.
For more on some of these uses, check out the Swedish Development Agency's report [*.pdf] on utilisation and control of Water Hyacinths.
Now let's get to where things interest us. Biogas production. Water hyacinth's abundant biomass can be used to produce renewable energy locally, simply fermenting it in anaerobic digester.
Biogas production from manure and from sewage and agricultural wastestreams has been studied well. For water hyacinth, the literature is scarce, but some (such as this one, this one [*.pdf], and another one by the FAO) exist and they suggest the weed to make for a great biogas feedstock.
Some conclusions:
1. the total amount of gas produced from Water hyacinth is about one and a- half time higher than the Cow dung per gm volatile solid.
2. a blend of Water hyacinth and Cow dung in the ratio of 2:3 by weight is most suitable for biogas production.
3. Addition of very little amount of lower volatile fatty acid particularly acetic acid facilitates the gas production. This finding is very helpful for projects at the village level, where farmers often use biogas plants. In many villages all over the tropics, farmers produce sugar (from many different plants such as palm sugar, coconut, sugar cane or other local plants). If the leftover of the process of making sugar juice is kept for fermentation for a few days the content will be highly rich in acetic acid. The addition of this left over would circumvent the problem of lower gas production during the colder nights and biogas plants could run successfully during all the seasons.
4. The rate of production of biogas from Water hyacinth is higher as compared to Cow dung slurry. However, the fermentation process takes a longer time period in the case of Water hyacinth. The kinetic studies performed with Water hyacinth + inocculum show that gas production rate increases twelve times in a very short period of five days in comparison to Cow dung + Water hyacinth (20 – 40 days) systems.
5. The digested slurry can be used as useful chemical free eco-friendly fertilizer.
We can imagine many local farmers in the tropics benefiting from using this abundant resource. Harvesting the crop might be labor or energy intensive, but this cost is offset by the fact that a major pest is destroyed while at the same time yielding energy. Most of the poor countries where the hyacinth is a major problem, do not have the funds to launch targetted control campaigns. So it might be crucial to introduce basic biogas technology to places where the weed destroys fish stocks, clogs up water ways or threatens small hydroplants. That way, investments in removing the weed become more economic.
This is just a first exploration of the use of water hyacinth as a bioenergy feedstock. Here at the BioPact we try explore bioenergy in the tropics in all its forms. Access to energy for the poor is one of our priorities. We think this case of turning a pest into profit, is worth looking into further.
Laurens Rademakers
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Sunday, June 18, 2006
Quicknotes on biofuels, from the hispanic world
ARGENTINA. A new and very interesting law stimulating biofuels production will create 25,000 jobs in Argentina, in the sector of biodiesel and ethanol for export alone, says senator Roberto Urquía who introduced the bill, in an interesting interview. The senator notes that Argentina has arrived at a "point of no return" when it comes to biofuels.
Interestingly, the "Ley de Biocombustibles" stresses a "bottom-up" approach for biofuels production, giving small farmers more legal instruments to become fiscal persons (in the form of cooperatives), so that they can more easily access micro-credit and capital. Bioenergy and biofuels production need a "critical mass of capital" in order to be successful, which is what the law tries to promote.
The leftist government currently in power in Argentina, will try to push the creation of biofuel production units by fiscal measures, crucially giving priority to small farmer associations over agro-industrial giants. A tech transfer program aimed at those small cooperatives will be put in place.
Further, the law contains very stringent environmental criteria to ensure that the biofuels are produced in a sustainable way.
We at the BioPact think this is the way forward for countries where huge social inequalities between farmers and the elite exist. June 6, Agrodiario Argentina and Noticias Agropecuarias.
SPAIN. Researchers from the University of Almeria have joined forces to create a "Biotech Lab for the Study of Marine Microalgae". Their aim is to couple CO2 emissions from industrial power plants to (genetically altered) algae systems which produce bioenergy feedstocks (both for ethanol as for biodiesel) by feeding on the CO2. That way, the algae biofuels displace the CO2 that would normally come from the use of petroleum.
Other research is dedicated to using the algae as a "CO2-container" for easy carbon storage underground. It is much easier to pump the captured CO2 underground when it is contained in algae, than to store it as a free gas. May 31, Terra Actualidad.
COLOMBIA. A joint-venture between a Spanish (Ingemas) and a Colombian agro-industrial company has made a major (€ 180 million) investment in producing biodiesel feedstock for export to Europe, on 90,000 hectares of land, using local oil crops, such as Inchi, Jatropha and Sacha-Inchi ('Inca Peanuts'). Sacha-Inchi (see picture) is native to the Amazon, a small hardy bush, the (edible) seeds of which contain up to 55% oil, making it an excellent biodiesel feedstock crop.
The project will produce up to 300,000 tons of oil to be exported to Europe, and a similar amount of protein for animal feed (from the press cake) to be used by local beef producers.
Interestingly, the Colombian government considers Sacha-Inchi to be a "strategic crop" which may provide an alternative source of income for coca-farmers.
Finally, the same companies are negotiating with Manuel Del Lago, another firm, to create a "bio-terminal" on the Río Orinoco in Venezuela, from which the biodiesel feedstock can be shipped to Europe. The project will create some 6000 new jobs. June 12, Finanzas. See also: "Alianza colombo-española en el agro", Portafolio Colombia.
URUGUAY. German and Canadian investors are to invest US$ 45 in a cellulosic ethanol plant in the rice-growing region of Treinta y Tres. The plant will use abundantly available rice hulls and stalks that are considered to be low-value waste products.
The technology in question is that of Iogen Corp, the Canadian pioneer in cellulosic ethanol. The project creates 200 direct jobs. June 15, Espectador.
PANAMÁ. Panamá and Brazil are combining their strengths to create a centre for the global distribution of biofuels. Panamá has no petroleum reserves of its own and is looking to Brazilian expertise for a technology transfer program that should introduce local biofuels production. But more importantly, Panamá of course has its intercontinental Canal, facing both the Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean. And that's a great asset, especially for Brazil. Panamá would become a bioenergy hub, processing and distributing biofuels from Brazil for export to both the Far East, Europe and the United States's West Coast.
As we have reported before (in the context of Brazil's 1000km dedicated ethanol pipeline), for a global biofuels trade to come into existence, a lot of infrastructural barriers still exist. The fact that Brazil is eyeing Panamá for the creation of a 'Biohub' does not come as a surprize though. June 6, El Mercurio Online.
PARAGUAY. The country's Ethanol 85 programme is a huge success, with a record demand for the fuel, now standing at 465,000 litres a day. Distilleries cannot keep up with demand and are enjoying record revenues. It now becomes crucial to increase sugar production, but through productivity increases and not so much through expansion of the growing area. For this purpose, Paraguay is looking to Brazilian expertise (with its long experience and knowledge about sugar cane agronomy. Brazil also has a vast collection of special sugar cane varieties). Jun 15, Portal Paraguayo de Noticias.
SPAIN. Spain is Europe's biggest corn producer and exporter so it looks to the global market and notes China’s record harvest this year. China's National Food Import & Export Corporation announced that the maize growing area in China has increased by 1.9%, total production is up by 1.6% and the use of the grain for the production of ethanol is up by 27%, now standing at 1.22 million tons. June 14, Terra Actualidad.
ARGENTINA. An Argentinian daughter of Japanese giant Mitsui has decided to invest US$ 300 million in an ethanol plant to be constructed in Rosario (Cordoba Province). This was announced right after the new and controversial "Ley de Biocombustibles" was passed, which focuses strongly on the social opportunities coming with biofuels. It will be interesting to see how an industrial giant cooperates with the small cooperatively owned farmers' associations that the law aims to support.
Mitsui's investment follows that of many other companies, including Repsol (US$ 30 million; 100,000 ton ethanol production plant), Vincentín (US$ 40 million, 200,000 ton biodiesel plant) and Oil Fox (US$ 80 million in both biodiesel and ethanol).
The investments keep coming, despite disgruntled agro-industrial giants like Cargill and Oil Fox, who have been critical of the socially responsible biofuels law. May 17, La Capital.
SPAIN. Between 19 and 22 October 2006, the city of Valladolid will host ExpoBioenergia 2006, a major bioenergy fair in Europe. More at: ExpoBioenergia.
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC. Milton Olive, director of the Dominican Chamber for Biofuels and Bioenergy urges Parliament to speed up legislative work on biofuels, saying the country has great potential for the production of home-grown fuel, and that such a law and program will attract major investments and create thousands of jobs. Olive wants mandatory targets and incentives to investments in infrastructure and agriculture, comparable to those implemented in the European Union.
Given the Dominican Republic's exemplary governance of its natural resources, Olive also wants a major program for the production of bio-fertilizers and for recycling agricultural waste streams. June 17, El Nuevo Diario.
ECUADOR. Malaysia and Brazil are interested in Ecuador's potential for the cultivation of Elaeis Guineensis, the African oil palm, as a biofuels feedstock. A Brazilian company is eyeing investments in 100,000 hectares of land whereas Malaysian investors have filed for the acquisition of 50,000 hectares. Ecuador currently produces 340,000 tonnes of palm oil, which it exports to Venezuela. June 12, CRE Satelital Equador.
CUBA. We end with an op-ed piece from Cuba, where Arnaldo Coro writes about the "ethics" of biofuels, a topic of interest to the BioPact. Notwithstanding the environmental and energy security benefits of ethanol and biodiesel, the question of food security must be addressed on a global scale. The reality of our consumer society is such that millions of tons of food are turned into fuel for wealthy consumers who drive inefficient cars, while at the same time 800 million people are facing food shortages and hunger. The global push towards biofuels will put pressure on grain and sugar prices, affecting these poor most.
Further, Coro notes that an opportunity exists for farmers in the South, though, to export their own energy crops. These crops enjoy the climatic advantages of the tropics, making them the most competitive. But such a scenario first requires wealthy markets such as those of the U.S. and the E.U. to lift their "criminal" subsidies, so that access to these markets indeed becomes a reality. June 15, Cuba Ahora.
[Entry ends here.]
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