Palm Oil is Still Not a Good Biofuel Solution
 Palm Trees |
We have been asked on several occasions to follow up on our previous discussion about using palm oil for biofuel, as a sustainable alternative energy resource. We didn’t like it then, and we don’t much like it now. So without further ado, here is a second perspective on palm oil as a biofuel.
What is Palm Oil?
Palm oil is an edible plant oil derived from the fruit of the Arecaceae Elaeis oil palm. It is the world’s second most widely produced vegetable oil, after soybean oil. Apart from consumption, it has also found a new use as a biofuel, a greener alternative to energy sources.
The Palm Oil that is “harvested” and produced from palm trees is referred to as “Crude Palm Oil”. This crude palm oil is then refined by a palm oil refinery. The output is referred to as Refined Palm Oil which is then used as biodiesel, or blended with petroleum diesel.
Palm Oil - Not Very ‘Bio’ At All
When we really take a look at the advantages and disadvantages of using Palm oil as a renewable, sustainable, environmentally friendly, alternative energy, we realize that palm oil is not the solution we are looking for.
When we say that palm oil is NOT an ideal biofuel, we can point to the following reasons why:
- The rising demand for palm oil has been one of the major concerns of environmentalists.
- Malaysia and Indonesia account for 80-90% of the world’s supply of palm oil.
- The rapid growth of palm plantations is severely degrading rain forests.
- Palm oil as a biofuel, is proving to be more harmful than useful to the environment.
- Deforestation to provide plantation space is accounting for about one-third of all anthropogenic CO2 emissions.
- Endangered species like the Orangutans, Sumatran tiger and Asian rhinoceros are facing rapid extinction with habitat destruction.
- Growth of new palm oil plantations is also being accused for being responsible for peat forest destruction in Indonesia and for accelerating global warming.
Palm Oil Alternatives
There are several biocrops alternatives for palm oil. Some of them are corn,sugarcane, sweet sorghum, sugar beet, soybean, algae and jatropha.
Cane Ethanol from sugarcane is substituting gasoline in all light vehicles and some cars all over Brazil. Compared to corn, which is the US biofuel, cane ethanol is 7 times more efficient, and less expensive.
Then there is corn, which is second-best to sugarcane. The starch from the corn is yeast fermented to make ethanol. These two are first generation biofuels.
Second generation biofuel production uses a variety of non-food crops. These include waste biomass, the stalks of wheat, corn, and wood.
Algae fuel are third generation biofuel made from algae. Algae are low-input, high-yield feedstock producing 30 times more energy than land crops.
Fourth generation biofuels are based on the conversion of vegoil and biodiesel into gasoline.
Good vs Bad Bio Fuel
The most used bio fuels need not have to be the most efficient ones. Bio fuels are not 100% Eco-friendly, as each one has it’s own drawbacks.
Sugarcane, although most used, is adding to global warming, as fields are burnt just before harvesting to remove the sharp leaves, kill snakes and other harmful animals, and to fertilize the fields with ash. And then there’s the destruction of forests to claim plantation land.
If algae fuel replaced all petroleum fuel in the US, it would require 15,000 square miles of land. Although efficient, it would cause more harm than good.
Although palm oil, sugarcane, and algae oil are some of the most efficient, they are also causing environment degradation. But on the other hand, there are some biofuels, whose full potentials are yet to be realized.
Some examples of unrealized biofuel sources are:
- Jatropha: Requires very few land nutrients and water for it’s growth, although it’s seeds have 40% oil.
- Biogas: Formed out of decomposing vegetable waste, this also doubles as waste management.
- Switch grass: Due to its hardiness in poor soil and climate conditions, rapid growth, low fertilization and herbicide requirements.
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