Wednesday December 07, 2005

So much for biodiesel

peakoil.com -> guardian.co.uk :

In 2003, the biologist Jeffrey Dukes calculated that the fossil fuels we burn in one year were made from organic matter "containing 44 x 10¹⁸ grams of carbon, which is more than 400 times the net primary productivity of the planet's current biota". In plain English, this means that every year we use four centuries' worth of plants and animals.

The idea that we can simply replace this fossil legacy - and the extraordinary power densities it gives us - with ambient energy is the stuff of science fiction. There is simply no substitute for cutting back.

Last week, the chairman of Malaysia's federal land development authority announced that he was about to build a new biodiesel plant. His was the ninth such decision in four months. Four new refineries are being built in Peninsula Malaysia. Two foreign consortiums are setting up rival plants in Singapore. All of them will be making biodiesel from the same source: oil from palm trees. Before oil palms are planted, vast forest trees, containing a much greater store of carbon, must be felled and burnt. Having used up the drier lands, the plantations are moving into the swamp forests, which grow on peat. When they've cut the trees, the planters drain the ground. As the peat dries it oxidises, releasing even more carbon dioxide than the trees. In terms of its impact on both the local and global environments, palm biodiesel is more destructive than crude oil from Nigeria.

- Ah, so much for biodiesel eh? Besides questioning it from the multiple perspectives of scale of production, EROEI, competition for arable land, there's also now the question of climate impact from carbon emissions.

And, the "400 years worth" factoid is staggering. This ranks right up there together with the 98 tons per gallon one. Barring a miracle or demand destruction, the song might now go - "oh what fun, it is to ride, on the downhill Hubbert sleigh ..."

See also :

1. Singapore to setup 2 biodiesel plants
2. Malaysia to setup biodiesel plant
3. 98 tons per gallon

(2005-12-07 13:39:24 SGT) [Energy] Permalink

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