Abu Dhabi: Sweet potatoes can provide clean energy for transportation and scientists have developed new efficient methods to produce bio ethanol from sweet potatoes, according to two new studies.
The studies conducted by Taiwanese experts were presented at the 11th World Renewable Energy Congress which was concluded in Abu Dhabi Thursday.
At the same time a debate on whether bio fuels pose a threat to food security is going on across the globe , with Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) of the UN taking several initiatives to address this issue.
In most developing countries, energy is highly dependent on imports and more than 90 per cent of total energy is non-renewable fuel resources, said the study conducted by two experts, Shang-Shyng Yang of the Department of Food Science, China University of Science and Technology, Taipei, and Wen-Shiang Lee of the Institute of Microbiology and Biochemistry, National Taiwan University, Taipei.
The dependence on imports increases the oil price, emits more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, inducing climate change, and causes environmental pollution.
Therefore, bio energy (eg, bio ethanol) is considered one of the key renewable energy resources of the future owing to its large potential, economic viability and environmental benefits. Bio ethanol is already produced massively in Brazil and USA.
This contributes substantially to reducing the greenhouse effect. In recent years, the development and application of bio ethanol from sweet potatoes has been the main goal for Taiwan's renewable energy policy because the properties of the sweet potato include its easy growth, adaptability to many farming conditions, and prices that are more stable than other agricultural products, which are considered major energy crops.
Need of the hour
Ethanol production from renewable resources to replace the gasoline in transportation is the need of the hour, said another study conducted by the same two Taiwanese experts, along with Hui-Na Chou of the Department of Biochemistry Science and Technology, National Taiwan University, Taipei .
The use of bio ethanol as an alternative fuel or a gasoline supplement in amounts up to 15 per cent is highly recommended in Europe and the USA for ecologically favourable fuel oxygenates, they said.
Highly adaptive
The sweet potato — whose scientific name is Ipomoea batatas Lam — is a herbaceous perennial crop. It is also an important economic crop that can adapt successfully to a wide range of habitats, including marginal regions in Taiwan.
Explaining the new scientific methods developed to produce bio ethanol from sweet potato, the studies argued that the sweet potato will be one of the most viable source for bio energy which will address the climate change issues.
A variety of biomass feed stocks can be used for bio ethanol production, such as mill wastes, urban wastes, agricultural residues, and forest residues. Among these resources, agricultural residues dominate in terms of tonnage and can serve as ethanol feed stocks.
Main feed stocks for bio ethanol production are sugar cane and corn grain.
But many other agricultural raw materials rich in fermentable carbohydrates, or those locally available that could be converted to yield the fermentable sugars, are used worldwide.
Food security
Bioenergy developments can pose an increased threat to food security because it may compete with the same natural resources used for food production, according to the Bioenergy and Food Security Project (BEFS), an initiative launched in 2007 by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN.
Expanding production of fuel crops can influence national and international markets, triggering price surges and greater price volatility for staple foods. In areas where fuel crops expand, vulnerable rural communities may find it more difficult to gain access to the land or water they need to earn their livelihoods.
However, bioenergy development can also provide opportunities for increasing food security. It can generate employment and raise incomes in farming communities and spur rural development by providing a sustainable source of energy that is an affordable substitute for imported fossil fuels. Under the right conditions, investments in bioenergy can increase harvests for both food and fuel crops.
The BEFS project does not advocate for bioenergy. It intends to give policy makers, who may be exploring opportunities for bioenergy development, the tools they need to make informed decisions that take into account food security issues and in the broader context rural and agricultural development.
Source : FAO (Food and Agriculture Organisation of UN)
Production growth
Global bio fuel production tripled between 2000 and 2007 and is projected to double again by 2011. This growth reflects a growing interest worldwide in renewable energy alternatives to fossil fuels, especially as a perceived solution to the transport sector's dependency on oil. It also reflects the enforcement in 2005 of the Kyoto Protocol, and the increasing implementation of national bio fuels targets. As a result of these and other influences, policy makers and researchers in African countries are giving more attention to bio fuels.
The ‘food security threat' is particularly profound for the many African countries where food security is a significant issue, and raises questions in what has become known as the ‘food-versus-fuel' debate. As more and more African countries devote land to the cultivation of biofuels, the numerous questions and potential conflicts are of crucial relevance to many vulnerable populations, environments, and states across the continent.
Source: http://afraf.oxfordjournals.org
Numbers
90% of energy is non-renewable in developing countries
15 % bio fuels recommended in the US and Europe
Increasing demand for bio fuels
Global bio fuel production tripled between 2000 and 2007 and is projected to double again by 2011.1 This growth reflects a growing interest worldwide in renewable energy alternatives to fossil fuels, especially as a perceived solution to the transport sector's dependency on oil. It also reflects the enforcement in 2005 of the Kyoto Protocol, and the increasing implementation of national bio fuels targets. As a result of these and other influences, policy makers and researchers in African countries are giving more attention to bio fuels.
The ‘food security threat' is particularly profound for the many African countries where food security is a significant issue, and raises questions in what has become known as the ‘food-versus-fuel' debate.. As more and more African countries devote land to the cultivation of biofuels, the numerous questions and potential conflicts are of crucial relevance to many vulnerable populations, environments, and states across the continent.
Source: http://afraf.oxfordjournals.org
