Biofuels.ppt

Biofuels Potential for biomass use Potential for biofuel production Land suitable for agricultural production Most important bio-fuel crops Impacts of biofuels Rainfed agriculture: Pressure on land resources Irrigated agriculture: Pressure on water resources What is the potential of the natural land resources base ? What is the potential of the natural land resources base ? What is the potential of the natural land resources base ? A few numbers Water needed to produce: 1 kilo of wheat: 1 000 litres 1 kilo of meat (beef): 15 000 litres Daily water requirements per person: Drinking: 2-3 litres Domestic needs: 20–300 litres Food: 2 000-3 000 litres with 2 500 litres of water, we can produce: food for one person for one day 1 litre of biofuel What is the potential of the natural water resources base ? What is the potential of the natural water resource base ? Biofuel and water use (2005) Projections for water demand - 2030 NAS report on water and biofuels in the United States (2007): Currently, biofuels are a marginal additional stress on water supplies at the regional to local scale. However, significant acceleration of biofuels production could cause much greater water quantity problems depending on where the crops are grown. Growing biofuel crops in areas requiring additional irrigation water from already depleted aquifers is a major concern. The growth of biofuels in the United States has probably already affected water quality because of the large amount of N and P required to produce corn. If projected future increases in the use of corn for ethanol production do occur, the increase in harm to water quality could be considerable. Conclusions World water system already under heavy stress due to agriculture and other uses Agriculture main water user (70%) Future water demand for agriculture in the rise Climate change likely to result in increased demand for irrigated water Bioenergy likely to add to pressure on water: depending on type of crop depending on