Dubai: Dates could hold the answer to creating a cheap and readily accessible biofuel in the UAE thanks to their high sugar levels which can be turned into ethanol fuel.
The technology exists, however the concept lacks investors despite the enormous amount of dates which go to waste every year in the Arab world.
In the UAE alone, from 50,000 to 80,000 metric tonnes of dates are grown in excess, which could fuel the production of 17,000 to 26,000 tonnes of bio-ethanol - enough to meet the needs of UAE taxis, trucks or buses, or corporate fleets, according to Dr Abdul Ouahhab Zaid, professor and chief technical adviser and director of the Date Palm Research and Development Programme from the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) based at the UAE University (UAEU) in Al Ain.
Biofuels can be used as alternatives to petrol to power cars and trucks and are easy to manufacture from common crops such as sugar cane, potato, corn or sugar beet. Dates however, have not been exploited in this field until now despite the fact they can produce more biofuel per hectare than sugar cane or sugar beet.
"The use of five per cent of bio-ethanol into fossil fuels will reduce the emission of carbon monoxide into the atmosphere by 25 to 30 per cent. But, more importantly, creating such an industry will call for more palm tree plantations that will act as a true carbon sync to offset carbon dioxide that is released in the atmosphere," Zaid said.
Covering desert areas with palm trees would diminish the reflection of the solar rays from the soil to the higher layers of the atmosphere which would reduce heat and combat the greenhouse effect currently heating up the planet, he said.
Planting more date palms would serve to combat desertification, offset carbon emissions from the hydrocarbon industries, and create jobs. However the transformation of date to fuel has to be profitable to date growers.
"Palm growers will see their whole production sold, not only the [dates] fit for human consumption - but farmers must have added benefits and be associated to the benefits of the decrease of carbon dioxide they are contributing to by expanding palm trees plantation. The stream of their revenue must be constituted not only by the sale of the dates but also by the part they are taking in combating pollution," said Professor Zaid.
The feasibility of creating Nakhoil - from the Arabic word Nakheel meaning palm, and oil - has been studied by Brahim Zitouni, President of Oasis Ltd.
Zitouni's company, headquartered in Algeria, has a developmental approach to creating clean fuel, byproducts such as flour or coffee from the date stone and - more importantly - create jobs with added value for date palm farmers.
"We are trying to promote this business in the region not by asking governments if they want to turn dates into biofuel, but by asking them if they want to make $200 [Dh735] per tonne of dates," said Zitouni.
Extending palm gardens also provide more agricultural land in the shade of trees by incorporating best practices for farming and irrigation. The byproducts are also widespread. The stone and fibres of the date can be made into breakfast cereals as well as coffee or integrated into plastics.
One tonne of dates contains 160 kilogrammes of stones, 135 kilogrammes of fibre, 100 kilogrammes of protein and 180 kilogrammes of carbon dioxide absorbed from the atmosphere, which can be used to carbonate drinks. It can yield 280 litres of ethanol, compared to 75 litres from one tonne of sugar cane and 116 litres from a tonne of sugar beet.
Date palms are the fastest growing herb [the date palm is not classed as a tree] sprouting one metre every year.
"It is the fastest growing in the world and most underused in the Arab world because we have too much reliance on fossil fuels and biomass from date palms can help food security and will be renewed every year," said Zitouni.
On average, a date palm produces 50 kilogrammes of dates, but with adequate care can actually yield up to 200 kilogrammes of dates annually. However, despite the numerous varieties of dates grown, only a few are actually sold.
What do you think of this report? Do you think such a process would be feasible? How do you see this impact date palm growers?
Your comments
this subject may look very attractive but it has to take it up with governments alternative energy preferences, cost, agricultural subsidy policies, feasibility of the large scale agriculture etc. the scarcity of water would be more prominent than the scarcity of clear energy in the long run.
judy thomas
Dubai,UAE
Posted: October 03, 2009, 17:09
A superb idea. An idea which has all the possibilities of being mass produced. There are lots of plus points. I can visualise a petrol filling station, with the date palm as its logo, filling cars with ethanol produced from dates, dates flavoured milk, dates dry fruits, dates chocolates, dates baskets, etc.... Only question is why has someone not thought of this wonderfull idea before?
Alcuino Gracias
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: October 03, 2009, 14:29
Mr. Brahim Zitoni's research can open up a new avenue in the production of Biofuel from Dates. Dates are a high sugar containing fruits and the date palms can grow in a desert condition, where you do not require large quantities of water like sugarcane. It is quite astonishing to note that 50k - 80k tonnes of dates go waste just in the U.A.E! Whatever research or project or investment useful to protect the environment will eventually benefit all. Palm growers are not an exception from this.
David Sandri
Dubai,U.A.E
Posted: October 03, 2009, 14:07
With dates turning, the highly rich, energy food accessible to every common man in the world would definitely turn into a luxurious item or would be placed in museum.
Fayyaz A. Chaudhry
Karachi,Pakistan
Posted: October 03, 2009, 11:31
Idea is great but what will be the carbon cost of using gas generated electricity to produce desalinated water to grow this crop on such a large scale?
Chris
Dubai,UAE
Posted: October 03, 2009, 10:22
You can do the same with Cannabis. It grows faster than dates. Plus you can make plastics, clothes, furniture and anything imaginable with it. We can save the world with one plant. Yet we stick t our retarded backward mentalities.
Mike
Cannes,France
Posted: October 03, 2009, 10:19
It is better to make sugar from dates instead of making fuel because here in UAE fuel is available cheaply and it has to be seen the cost of technology for making sugar is cheaper than making fuel. From making sugar also we can have some fuel also.
Mohammad Akbar
Dubai,UAE
Posted: October 03, 2009, 09:55
yes this will be a very positive step because it has so many positive things as mention in the report the thing which struck to me is this that we can prevent the wastage of dates that is very large amount which is happening every year
Sohail
Dubai,UAE
Posted: October 03, 2009, 09:26
The idea seems to be more than excellent as it would be a great asset to the Arab world. Generating fuel out of dates is the best of ideas. Increment and date production will not only give fuel but enhance job opportunities and green house effect in a big way.
according to me this should be initiated at the earliest.
Deepak Sharma
Dubai,UAE
Posted: October 03, 2009, 09:25
Despite the benefits, it needs lot of water to grow the date palms in large scale. It is not worth doing such projects in desert where the underground water is vanishing day by day at an alarming rate.
Shanavas Mohammad
Dubai,UAE
Posted: October 03, 2009, 08:37
