  
|
 |
| August 2008 |
Opinion |
|
Biofuels: The Debate Continues
Henry Ford's first car ran on alcohol, a form of biofuel. That was a century ago, and, with the discovery of fossil fuels, the
use of biofuels diminished significantly. Today, however, as the world faces unstable oil prices and an increasingly
urgent energy crisis, in tandem with environmental concerns such as global
warming and climate changes, biofuels are making a comeback. However, this comeback is not without controversy. Both the World Bank and the UN have expressed concern about the impact of
biofuels on world food prices, while Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister of
Britain, put the issue on the agenda at the G8 summit of 2007, and voiced
concerns over deforestation and loss of habitats caused by biofuels production.
His concerns seem to be well-founded as a study conducted by the University
of Minnesota in the US this year revealed: “...converting rainforests, peat
lands, savannas, or grasslands to produce food-based biofuels in Brazil,
southeast Asia, and the US creates a ‘biofuel carbon debt’ by releasing 17 to
420 times more CO2 than the annual greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions these
biofuels provide by displacing fossil fuels.” While the international debate continues to unfold, food prices continue to
rise, as does biofuels production. For example, in the US the number of ethanol
factories has almost tripled from 50 in the year 2000 to about 140 in the year
2008. A further 60 or so are under construction, and many more are planned. Today, the most common first generation biofuel is ethanol, which can, for
example, be used in petrol engines as a replacement for gasoline. However, to
replace the current US petroleum use, one would require about 75% of all
cultivated land on the planet. For a developing country such as South Africa, resurgence to biofuels has a
potential role to play in many facets other than being an alternative source of
energy. These facets include poverty alleviation through job creation, economic
upliftment and empowerment of rural communities, and transformation between the
first and second economies. In addition, South Africa’s draft biofuels
industrial strategy further paves way for the biofuels not to have a negative
effect on food security, as it advocates against the use of essential food crops
and productive food-land for use in the production of biofuels. What could be biofuels saving grace is the development of second generation
and third generation biofuels, which use non-food products. Second generation
biofuels comprise the stalks of wheat, waste biomass and biomass crops, while
algae fuel is a third generation biofuels. In essence second generation biofuels could be more sustainable and less
energy-sapping than first generation biofuels. Lignocellulose degradation is also favoured as a new way towards generation
of biofuels. Dr. Sandile Ncanana, of PlantBio Trust is also of the view that: “The use of
lignocellullose as a feedstock for bioethanol, for instance, is gaining momentum
in many countries - cellulosic ethanol factories in particular are being
developed. However, this technology relies heavily on the willingness of various
stakeholders to invest significantly in research and development especially in
the fields of bioprospecting and protein engineering. These are research fields
with potential to yield novel microbes or enzymes that could convert cellulose
to fermentable sugars or direct to ethanol”. PlantBio Trust, as an innovation centre for plant biotechnology, has taken
the lead in identifying, sourcing and subsequently funding biofuels projects.
Sweet stem sorghum has been particularly identified by PlantBio as one of the
crops that needs to be characterised to ascertain its suitability as a feedstock
for biofuels production in South Africa. The selection of crops for biofuels at
PlantBio is largely based on 2 main factors, namely, high sugar content, and
ability of a crop to grow in marginal land with low input (energy) requirement,
all these being in line with our national biofuels strategy which excludes the
use of essential food crops. Benefits and pitfalls of biofuels will be highlighted at Bio2Biz SA 2008
conference, which takes place alongside INSITE 2008, the International Science,
Innovation and Technology Exhibition, at the Sandton Convention Centre from 15 –
17 September 2008. “Bio2Biz aims to expose business and industry to international biotechnology
trends and developments, while ensuring the country is in line with the
international world in terms of the developments in biotechnology. Ultimately it
affords both industry and business with the opportunity to work together and
utilise this technology to the country’s best advantage,” explains CEO of BioPAD,
Dr Joe Molete. More information:
Dr Garth Cambray, biotechnology entrepreneur and biofuels expert will be presenting on the route to commercialisation. He is also the CEO of Makana Meadery.
|
||||||||||||||||||
Science in Africa - Africa's First On-Line Science Magazine |
|||||||||||||||||||
    |
|||||||||||||||||||
Copyright Science in Africa, Science magazine for Africa CC. All Rights Reserved
|
|||||||||||||||||||
For further information, please contact Jo Melville, INSITE 2008 Project
Director on e-mail