Brazilian and Angolan companies in $200 million agreement to build integrated sugar, bioenergy and biofuels facility in Angola
During Brazilian president Lula's latest Africa tour, countries on the continent joined his call to invest in bioenergy and biofuels in order to mitigate the catastrophic effects of high oil prices and to ensure energy security. Two of Africa's largest oil producers - the Republic of Congo and Angola - signed bilateral biofuel agreements with Brazil, which is willing to share technologies and knowledge. Congo welcomes biofuels because the country's oil output is declining (earlier post). Angola is interested in the renewable energy source because its production could help revive the agricultural sector in which the majority of its population is employed.
During Lula's visit to Luanda, Brazilian construction and engineering firm Odebrecht (which will own 40%), Angola's Damer (40%) and the country's state-run oil company Sonangol (20%) signed an accord [*Portuguese] to set up a joint venture to produce sugar, bioenergy and ethanol in the country's north-central Malanje Province (map, click to enlarge). The new bioenergy company will be called Biocom ('Companhia de Bioenergia de Angola').
The joint venture, which involves an investment of $200 million, is expected to produce 150 million tons of sugar per year, 50 million liters of alcohol and 140 megawatts of electricity. Construction will begin in the first semester of 2008, and the facilities should come online in 2010.
Wolney Longhini, chief negotiator for Odebrecht, said Biocom will initially be producing 30 per cent of the planned capacity, 65 per cent in 2011 and will fully operational in 2012. According to Longhini, the bioenergy and biofuels will primarily supply the local Angolan market because, despite being a major oil producer, it has a large energy deficit. Sugar will however be the main product, also destined for the local market.
Between this month (October 2007) and early 2008, the partners will spend up to $2 million on feasibility studies, on the training of local staff and on extension services that must help rural communities become efficient sugar cane producers.
Biocom will be producing sugar by evaporating raw sugar cane juice (garapa), which extracts around 78 per cent of the sugar contained in the juice. Ethanol will be produced from the residues. When the cane is crushed a fibrous residue is obtained, known as bagasse. This biomass waste, along with leaves and waste heat from sugar processing, will be utilized for the production of electricity in a steam turbine facility with a capacity of 140MW.
Angola is one of Africa's largest countries, developing rapidly because of its oil sector. However, the country's largely impoverished, rural population (63% of the total) does not see much of this economic growth. Angola is still recovering from a devastating civil war that lasted for decades and destroyed critical parts of its infrastructures as well as communities. Because of this war, the country's agricultural sector declined, despite its major potential.
Luckily, things are taking a turn for the better. Recently the UN's FAO announced that Angola is set to become self-sufficient in food due to the revival of its agricultural sector which has once again begun tapping the country's immense natural potential. Angola counts only 16 million inhabitants who currently use up less than 5% of all potentially arable land:
energy :: sustainability :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: ethanol :: sugar :: sugarcane :: bagasse :: rural development :: Angola ::
What is more, Angola is not only becoming self-sufficient in food is beginning to look at becoming a distribution base for agricultural products to be supplied to the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) (Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, South Africa).
Angola's agricultural potential is so large that it is set to become a 'biofuel superpower'. When a fraction of the arable land is turned to efficient agriculture for food, Angola is estimated to have the potential to export around 6 Exajoules of per year, the equivalent of 2.7 million barrels of oil per day. This potential is obtained without any deforestation and after meeting the food, fodder and fiber needs of its rapidly growing population and livestock base.
Because of this vast potential, several bioenergy investors have entered the country. Amongst them are Italy's state-owned energy major ENI, which signed an agreement with Brazil to join biofuel efforts in the country (more here), and a Portuguese-Angolan group which launched a large biodiesel project in the North-Western Bengo province (earlier post).
References:
Macauhub: Fábrica angolana deve iniciar produção de etanol em 2010, afirma brasileira Odebrecht - October 29, 2007.
Biopact: Biofuels 'superpower' Angola soon to be self-sufficient in food production - FAO - January 31, 2007
Biopact: Italy and Brazil to join biofuel efforts in Africa - March 21, 2007
Biopact: Portuguese-Angolan group launches biodiesel project in Angola - March 17, 2007
Article continues
During Lula's visit to Luanda, Brazilian construction and engineering firm Odebrecht (which will own 40%), Angola's Damer (40%) and the country's state-run oil company Sonangol (20%) signed an accord [*Portuguese] to set up a joint venture to produce sugar, bioenergy and ethanol in the country's north-central Malanje Province (map, click to enlarge). The new bioenergy company will be called Biocom ('Companhia de Bioenergia de Angola').
The joint venture, which involves an investment of $200 million, is expected to produce 150 million tons of sugar per year, 50 million liters of alcohol and 140 megawatts of electricity. Construction will begin in the first semester of 2008, and the facilities should come online in 2010.
Wolney Longhini, chief negotiator for Odebrecht, said Biocom will initially be producing 30 per cent of the planned capacity, 65 per cent in 2011 and will fully operational in 2012. According to Longhini, the bioenergy and biofuels will primarily supply the local Angolan market because, despite being a major oil producer, it has a large energy deficit. Sugar will however be the main product, also destined for the local market.
Between this month (October 2007) and early 2008, the partners will spend up to $2 million on feasibility studies, on the training of local staff and on extension services that must help rural communities become efficient sugar cane producers.
Biocom will be producing sugar by evaporating raw sugar cane juice (garapa), which extracts around 78 per cent of the sugar contained in the juice. Ethanol will be produced from the residues. When the cane is crushed a fibrous residue is obtained, known as bagasse. This biomass waste, along with leaves and waste heat from sugar processing, will be utilized for the production of electricity in a steam turbine facility with a capacity of 140MW.
Angola is one of Africa's largest countries, developing rapidly because of its oil sector. However, the country's largely impoverished, rural population (63% of the total) does not see much of this economic growth. Angola is still recovering from a devastating civil war that lasted for decades and destroyed critical parts of its infrastructures as well as communities. Because of this war, the country's agricultural sector declined, despite its major potential.
Luckily, things are taking a turn for the better. Recently the UN's FAO announced that Angola is set to become self-sufficient in food due to the revival of its agricultural sector which has once again begun tapping the country's immense natural potential. Angola counts only 16 million inhabitants who currently use up less than 5% of all potentially arable land:
energy :: sustainability :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: ethanol :: sugar :: sugarcane :: bagasse :: rural development :: Angola ::
What is more, Angola is not only becoming self-sufficient in food is beginning to look at becoming a distribution base for agricultural products to be supplied to the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) (Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, South Africa).
Angola's agricultural potential is so large that it is set to become a 'biofuel superpower'. When a fraction of the arable land is turned to efficient agriculture for food, Angola is estimated to have the potential to export around 6 Exajoules of per year, the equivalent of 2.7 million barrels of oil per day. This potential is obtained without any deforestation and after meeting the food, fodder and fiber needs of its rapidly growing population and livestock base.
Because of this vast potential, several bioenergy investors have entered the country. Amongst them are Italy's state-owned energy major ENI, which signed an agreement with Brazil to join biofuel efforts in the country (more here), and a Portuguese-Angolan group which launched a large biodiesel project in the North-Western Bengo province (earlier post).
References:
Macauhub: Fábrica angolana deve iniciar produção de etanol em 2010, afirma brasileira Odebrecht - October 29, 2007.
Biopact: Biofuels 'superpower' Angola soon to be self-sufficient in food production - FAO - January 31, 2007
Biopact: Italy and Brazil to join biofuel efforts in Africa - March 21, 2007
Biopact: Portuguese-Angolan group launches biodiesel project in Angola - March 17, 2007
Article continues
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
MIT study: human-generated ozone could damage crops - temperate regions hit hard, tropics spared
The research shows that increases in temperature and in carbon dioxide may actually benefit vegetation. However, those benefits may be more than offset by the detrimental effects of increases in ozone, notably on crops. Northern temperate regions generally benefit from climate change because higher temperatures extend their growing season. However, the crop losses associated with high ozone concentrations will be significant here. In contrast, the tropics, already warm, do not benefit from further warming, but they are not as hard hit by ozone damage because ozone-precursor emissions are lower in the tropics. The net result: regions such as the United States, China and Europe would need to import food, and supplying those imports would be a benefit to tropical countries [who have a very large agricultural potential left, ed.].
At Biopact we think the Machiavellian argument often heard that temperate regions (which happen to house the industrialised world) stand to benefit agriculturally from increased levels of atmospheric CO2 and therefor shouldn't put too much effort in fighting climate change, is hereby partly debunked.
The MIT scientists say the economic cost of the damage will be moderated by changes in land use and by agricultural trade, with some regions more able to adapt than others. But the overall economic consequences will be considerable. According to the analysis, if nothing is done, by 2100 the global value of crop production could fall by 10 to 12 percent.
While others have looked at how changes in climate and in carbon dioxide concentrations may affect vegetation, Reilly and colleagues added to that mix changes in tropospheric ozone. Moreover, they looked at the combined impact of all three environmental 'stressors' at once. Changes in ecosystems and human health and other impacts of potential concern were left outside the of study.
They performed their analysis using the MIT Integrated Global Systems Model, which combines linked state-of-the-art economic, climate and agricultural computer models to project emissions of greenhouse gases and ozone precursors based on human activity and natural systems.
Results for the impacts of climate change and rising carbon dioxide concentrations (assuming business as usual, with no emissions restrictions) brought few surprises. For example, the estimated carbon dioxide and temperature increases would benefit vegetation in much of the world:
energy :: sustainability :: biomass :: bioenergy :: climate change :: global warming :: fossil fuels :: carbon dioxide :: ozone :: emissions :: agriculture :: forests ::
But the effects of ozone are decidedly different. Without emissions restrictions, growing fuel combustion worldwide will push global average ozone up 50 percent by 2100 (graph, click to enlarge). That increase will have a disproportionately large impact on vegetation because ozone concentrations in many locations will rise above the critical level where adverse effects are observed in plants and ecosystems.
Crops are hardest hit. Model predictions show that ozone levels tend to be highest in regions where crops are grown. In addition, crops are particularly sensitive to ozone, in part because they are fertilized.
What is the net effect of the three environmental changes? Without emissions restrictions, yields from forests and pastures decline slightly or even increase because of the climate and carbon dioxide effects. But crop yields fall by nearly 40 percent worldwide.
However, those yield losses do not translate directly into economic losses. According to the economic model, the world adapts by allocating more land to crops. That adaptation, however, comes at a cost. The use of additional resources brings a global economic loss of 10-12 percent of the total value of crop production.
Global estimates do not tell the whole story, however, as regional impacts vary significantly. The net result of the projections show regions such as the United States, China and Europe would need to import food, and supplying those imports would be a benefit to tropical countries.
Reilly warns that the study's climate projections may be overly optimistic. The researchers are now incorporating a more realistic climate simulation into their analysis.
Reilly's colleagues are from MIT and the Marine Biological Laboratory. The research was supported by the Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Science Foundation, NASA, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration and the MIT Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change.
It is part of the MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI), an Institute-wide initiative designed to help transform the global energy system to meet the challenges of the future. MITEI includes research, education, campus energy management and outreach activities, an interdisciplinary approach that covers all areas of energy supply and demand, security and environmental impact.
Graphs: The upper figure shows MIT projections of global average percentage change in crop yield under three scenarios. In the highest curve, emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases (GHGs) are unregulated, and any impact of ozone is excluded. In the lowest curve, GHGs are unregulated, and crop damage from ozone is included. In the middle curve, GHGs are regulated, and ozone damage is included. The message: rising temperatures and CO2 concentrations cause crops to thrive (top curve), but that positive effect is more than offset by the negative impacts of rising ozone concentrations (bottom curve). When GHG emissions are regulated, fuel combustion declines, reducing ozone concentrations and related crop damage (middle curve). The lower figure shows changes in total crop production under the same three scenarios. While crop yields may drop dramatically, crop production never declines by more than 8 percent because the world adapts by allocating more resources to growing food. Courtesy: John Reilly / MIT.
References:
J. Reilly, et al. "Global economic effects of changes in crops, pasture, and forests due to changing climate, carbon dioxide, and ozone", Energy Policy, Volume 35, Issue 11, November 2007, Pages 5370-5383, doi:10.1016/j.enpol.2006.01.040
MIT News: Human-generated ozone will damage crops, according to MIT study - October 26, 2007.
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