Haryana Agricultural University in India has received a grant to build and study a collection of ber genetic resources. Ber (Ziziphus mauritiana) is a jujube tree that grows well in arid areas, has fruits rich in vitamin C, and also could be used for the production of biodiesel.
Decentralized biofuel distillation
A report in The Financial Express of India makes perplexing reading. It cites a report from CIAT, the International Centre for Tropical Agriculture, that advocates small-scale conversion of starchy crops such as sweet potato and cassava into ethanol for use as biofuel. Initial processing would be a village-level activity, resulting in 50% alcohol (by volume). This would be transported to a central distillery to make 99.5% alcohol. I see a couple of problems.
First, experience in, for example, the Kolli Hills of India shows that when poor rural farmers grow industrial feedstock (cassava for starch factories) they do not earn enough the replace the nutrition they used to grow and that is now displaced by the industrial crop.
Secondly, drunkeness. I’m serious. I’ve lost track of the number of diversification and income-generating projects in which the women have to be in charge because if the men get their hands on the additional cash they spend it on drink. So, let’s cut out the middle man and make drink the object of the exercise?
Biofuels blog
A whole blog on “low-input, high-diversity” biofuels.
Report on biofuels
GRAIN’s report on biofuels is generating lots of heat.
Biofuels in the UK
Sunflower in the UK? Yep, and then some!