Exercise caution on use of biofuel, says Environment Minister

Union Minster for Environment and forests, Jairam Ramesh, has asked to exercise caution while promoting use of biofuels. At a summit organized by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, Ramesh said that even though bio-fuel is a very important option, India is not a land-rich like Brazil and could lead to serious food security issues. However, marginal use of bio-fuel can be an option. After October 2007, under pressure from the world to cut emissions of the greenhouse gasses produced by fossil fuel combustion, the Government of India had mandated that all diesel should contain 5 per cent biofuel by volume. There is however a view that this biofuel target is a reason for food prices shooting up lately in India.

 Complete Sequence of Jatropha Genome revealed

Life Technologies Corporation, a biotechnology service provider company and SG Biofuels, a bioenergy crop company, announced complete sequencing of Jatropha curcas genome to 100x coverage.

The sequence significantly accelerates the identification of key traits for the oilseed-producing crop and advances its development as a high yielding, low-cost source for next generation biofuel. SG Biofuels will use the sequence to generate a high quality Jatropha reference genome.

The genome will be compared to sequences generated from SG Biofuels’ germplasm library of more than 6,000 Jatropha genotypes to identify molecular markers and trait genes to accelerate development of elite cultivars with vastly superior yields and profitability.

Jatropha curcas seeds contain high amounts of oil that can be used for a variety of bio-based materials including feedstock substitutes for the diesel, petrochemical and jet fuel industries.

China committed to develop and commercialize greener biofuel from cellulosic ethanol

China recently announced its considerable commitment to promote production of ethanol from cellulose, despite of not being a world leader in ethanol production like Brazil.

The idea of producing ethanol from cellulose is not new. Governments have spurred R&D into this technology for some time. Two features make cellulosic ethanol particularly attractive. One is that it promises to produce biofuel without the need to compete with growing food crops. The other is the forecasted large market for its future commercialization.

The government of China pledged to mandate favourable policies that will lead to an early commercialization of cellulosic ethanol. It is anticipated that ethanol fuel made from crops is merely transitional as its market will fall after cellulosic ethanol will be manufactured on a commercial basis. Chinese companies have teamed up to build a demonstration plant and expect to start selling cellulosic ethanol in the next few years.

Cellulosic ethanol differs from conventional ethanol in that it uses the non-edible part of plants or agricultural waste to make fuel. Cellulosic ethanol is mostly made from musty and decayed grains which are otherwise inedible. In contrast to the valid and widespread reaction prompted by the generation of biofuels from food crops, environmentalists have given their backing to cellulosic ethanol because it is apparently five times better in terms of its net energy balance than corn-based ethanol, can be produced with fast-growing grasses, such as switchgrass, that absorb carbon dioxide as they grow. Another advantage is that cellulosic ethanol plants will be able to run their energy-intensive boilers on the plant waste from their own processes (corn ethanol plants use natural gas).

According to an article in Checkbiotech.org, there is still work to do before the entire cellulosic ethanol process is clear from hurdles. Research conducted on the potential of wheat straw residue in particular concluded that, despite the boosted overall output that could be obtained from this crop there are still difficulties to keeping the process free from other complications such as bacterial infections.

Moreover, the sticking point with cellulosic ethanol has been finding a dependable enzyme that can break down raw materials into the sugars that make ethanol.  

Energy crops impact environmental quality

While most research is focused on the conversion of cellulosic feed stocks into ethanol and increasing production of biomass, the impacts of growing energy crops and the removal of crop residue on soil and environmental quality have received less attention. Moreover, the effects of crop residue removal on soil and environmental quality have not been compared against those of dedicated energy crops. A review found that crop residue removal from corn, wheat, and grain sorghum can adversely impact soil and environmental quality. Removal of more than 50% of crop residue can have negative consequences for soil structure, reduce soil organic carbon sequestration, increase water erosion, and reduce nutrient cycling and crop production, particularly in erodible and sloping soils.

Residue removal at rates of less than 25% can cause loss of sediment in runoff, relative to soils without residue removal. To avoid the negative impacts on soil, perhaps only a small fraction of residue should be available for removal. This small amount of crop residue is neither economically feasible nor logistically possible. An alternative to crop residue removal is growing warm season grasses and short-rotation woody crops as dedicated energy crops. These crops can provide a wide of range of ecosystems services over crop residue removal. Available data indicate that herbaceous and woody plants can improve soil characteristics, reduce soil water and wind erosion, filter pollutants in runoff, sequester soil organic carbon, reduce net emissions of greenhouse gases, and improve wildlife habitat and diversity.