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The fish farms provide both a source of income and a source of fertilizer, which reduces overall carbon emissions, since producing and using fertilizer is ordinarily a major source of carbon emissions in biofuels production. The mangrove forest also sequesters carbon dioxide in its root system. Most biofuels are at best carbon neutral, emitting as much carbon dioxide when they're produced and burned as the biofuel crops take in as they grow. One of the key parts of the Masdar research project is determining just how much carbon can be economically sequestered.
A version of the system has already been demonstrated in the north African country of Eritrea by Carl Hodges, the founder and chairman of the Seawater Foundation. (He's acting as a special advisor to the Masdar project.) In that project, the salicornia and leaves from the mangroves were used as animal feed, and some of the oil from the seeds was converted to biodiesel. That project ended as a result of political upheaval in that country, Hodges says, but it demonstrated that the integrated approach could work.
The effort to avoid using fresh water and land that's used for food "should be applauded," says Mark Schrock, a professor of biological and agricultural engineering at Kansas State University. But he says it will be important to quickly develop a mechanized means of harvesting the salicornia. This could be a challenge because, although it can be harvested with existing equipment, the plant has high salt levels that could damage these machines, says Wayne Coates, a professor at the Office of Arid Land Studies at the University of Arizona.
It will also need to compete with other biofuels crops. Per acre yields of oil are on par with soybeans (which provide additional economic value from non-oil products), but are just one-eighth the yield of palm oil. The saltwater system, however, has the advantage of not requiring expensive land and water, and it produces its own fertilizer. Kennedy says that initial estimates suggest that fuel produced from salicornia could be competitive with petroleum-based fuels, but warns that detailed studies still need to be done.
The company is developing crops that tolerate salty soils.
A startup unveils a high-yield process for making fuel from carbon dioxide and sunlight.
Making ethanol from corn is expensive. Better biofuels are years away from the gas tank. Farmers are reluctant to change their practices. But do we really have any alternative to biofuels?
Sequestration of CO2 by diatoms, making limestone, has been going on for billions of years, and has stripped the atmosphere. We're in a CO2 famine, and should be trying to drive the level back up to 2,500 ppm, if only it were possible.
There is no marginal effect on climate; the 1st 20-50 ppm of CO2 had as much effect as the next 400-1000 ppm. We're far past the saturation level.
Drill, dig, and burn, baby, burn!
This is an interesting article. The technology may also be beneficial in producing food crops later on. However all such technologies are based on one very flawed assumption that we should continue on our wasteful lifestyle. If we reduce our automobile usage then all these technologies and inventions can be used to grow food, improve the quality of life of poor people and improve sustainability. At present all such "high tech and sexy" solutions are geared to satisfy the greed of few rich countries.
I think that the US accounting for land-use changes is so important to set the bar higher for the environmental performance of biofuels. This is a move forward for a greener, responsible, economy. I found some great information at www.greencollareconomy.com and they also have a great directory for businesses at www.greencollareconomy.com/Green_Directory/green-building
Sea grass or eel grass are one of fastest growing salt water plants.
Manufacturing in the United States is in trouble. That's bad news not just for the country's economy but for the future of innovation.
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mkogrady
423 Comments
Sustainability Farming
This is cool stuff, and it can be a cash crop when combined with Shrimp and Talapia farming. The photo shows this stuff growing in rows, like it was sown from seeds like many crops are.
However, the paragraph stating "The runoff from that irrigation, now saltier " implies that it's sown like a rice crop, in some type of flood plain, and then harvested when the plant matures and the field drained away.
Is this increased salinity caused by evaporation of the field, or by the plants themselves sucking up water and leaving salt behind?
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