BIOFUELS-THE DARK SIDE!

Fossil fuels appear to be entering its last phase if the current pace of its exploitation continues unabated to satisfy the energy needs of wealthy countries as well emerging economies. With no satisfactory alternate options available to replace non-renewable resources of energy so far, world is heading for an uncertain future. Of course there are many renewable sources being tried out including solar, wave, windmill, geothermal etc  with none of them coming any where near the petroleum fuels in terms of cost and performance. The Biofuels with so much promise till recently, might not be a solution as most sources from which they are derived also happen to be food resources consumed by millions of people and large diversion of these food materials tend to distort the food situation adversely affecting food security in the world. One of the food materials now being used as biodiesel, especially in Europe is based on spent vegetable oils coming from industry engaged in frying of foods. If recent reports are to be believed the demand for used palm oil is so high, the price commanded by this product is higher than that of virgin oil! What a paradox! Here is a expose on this ironical situation that is prevalent in countries like the UK.    

"But research carried out for Chatham House says that reaching the 5% level means that UK motorists will have to pay an extra £460m a year because of the higher cost of fuel at the pump and from filling up more often as biofuels have a lower energy content.The report say that if the UK is to meet its obligations to EU energy targets the cost to motorists is likely to rise to £1.3bn per annum by 2020. "It is hard to find any good news," Rob Bailey, senior research fellow at Chatham House, told BBC News. "Biofuels increase costs and they are a very expensive way to reduce carbon emissions," he said. The EU biofuel mandates are also having hugely distorting effects in the marketplace. Because used cooking oil is regarded as one of the most sustainable types of biodiesel, the price for it has risen rapidly. Rob Bailey says that towards the end of 2012 it was more expensive than refined palm oil. "It creates a financial incentive to buy refined palm oil, cook a chip in it to turn it into used cooking oil and then sell it at profit," "It is crazy but the incentives are there." 

What a ridiculous situation where biofuels are becoming more expensive than fossil fuels! Whatever advantage biofuels have, the ground reality does not give any optimism that they will become an effective substitute to the fossil fuels in future. Another worrying factor is whether use of biofuels will have any impact on the carbon emission which is being blamed for global warming. Probably world will realize sooner than later that biofuels from plant sources may never be feasible and man will have to fall back on microrganisms for production of fuels of future with low cost and practically no adverse effect on the food front. Research has already achieved adequate breakthrough in this area and it is a question of time before giant vertical bioreactors start producing single cell biomass from which fuel oil can be extracted using known processes.       

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

SECOND GENERATION BIO-FUELS-SPARING FOOD CROPS AS FEED STOCK

While relentlessly pursuing efforts to find suitable alternative options in meeting the contingency arising out of the impending drying of world's oil wells that supply the current energy needs, bio-fuels lend themselves as a viable replacement source. How ever diversion of food crops like corn and sugar cane for production of alcohol is putting pressure on food availability especially in third world countries where majority of the poor live and eke out an existence. Alcohol which is admixed with gasoline at varying proportions has been found to be compatible with modern designs of automobiles and a country like Brazil has even automobiles running on 100% ethanol. In the US mandatory use of alcohol, programmed over several years, depends heavily on corn grains which are under a subsidy regime making the corn derived alcohol cheaper. Corn is also a major source of HFCS, the fructose containing sweeteners which find applications in thousands of processed foods. Is it not a pity that Corn, the much valued food providing energy and nutrition for millions of Africans is diverted for non-food use depriving the human beings of the daily food? If future EU plans for producing ethanol from agricultural wastes in the farms materialize, food crops may not be needed to produce Bio-fuels any more.

Biofuels made from plant waste and municipal trash rather than food crops could replace more than half of gasoline used in the European Union by 2020, industry analyst Bloomberg New Energy Finance said today. The 27-nation bloc could make 90 billion liters (24 billion gallons) of so-called next-generation ethanol in 2020, about 65 percent of predicted fossil gasoline use, the London-based group said in a study. At least 100 refineries a year could be built in the bloc from 2013, it said. The EU currently has no commercial factories that refine biofuels from plant waste. European agriculture "can benefit from a new bioenergy industry as farmers will have an extra revenue source, increasing the euros-per-hectare ratio for every piece of land," said Roberto Rodriguez Labastida, a co-author of the study. While the EU industry may be worth an annual 31 billion euros ($40 billion) by 2020, the bloc has no target for making next-generation biofuels, and a business-as-usual approach would see revenue of 522 million euros, 1.7 percent of the potential, Rodriguez said. European companies making ethanol include Spain's Abengoa SA and CropEnergies AG of Germany.

Once energy generation becomes a standard feature of agricultural farm activities, there could be substantial net reduction in energy consumption for agricultural operations, considered substantial compared to food processing activities in the organized sector of industry. It is also touted that farmers will have additional sources of income by trading the farm generated energy though what consequences such a change will have on traditional composting and soil repletion practices is a Grey area requiring the attention of the planners. An integrated approach can only bring about harmonious changes in the farm sector that will serve the interests of both the basic farming and the energy sector.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

FOOD OR BIOFUEL-FARMERS' DILEMMA

The raging controversy regarding diversion of farm lands which produce valuable staple food crops for biofuel yielding plants like Jatropa does not seem to be fading away as many multinational and large players in this field are eying fertile lands in African continent for cultivation of such plants. This raises the pertinent question as to what will happen to the food security in these countries since food production is bound to suffer in the long run. No doubt fuel supply for running the modern industrial society is crucial but it cannot get precedence over food that is critical for very survival. If the recent reports are to be believed, many countries in Africa and other regions of the world are increasingly diverting their food farm lands for biofuel production.

"Over 20 companies from around the world, including from Brazil, China, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands and Norway, are acquiring land in Ghana to produce biofuels, according to the Ministry of Agriculture. Between 15 million and 20 million hectares of farmland around the world have been subject to biofuels negotiations since 2006, according to the Washington-based International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)".

Past experience of Palm oil diversion for biofuel use clearly showed how such changes can affect the global prices of a commodity, which cannot be considered as absolutely essential though nutritionally it is required at certain levels. Already most of the African countries are net importers of food commodities and biofuel 'invasion' will reduce food production significantly making the matter worse for the poor citizens of the countries involved in such activities.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com