Climate change is upon us. The evidence that this is being caused or at least exacerbated by the increase in carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere is overwhelming. Only the most recalcitrant naysayers deny it.
How can we reduce our carbon dioxide emissions? It is not easy, as its sources are many and varied. In fact, to do this, we need to look at not just the industries that produce it but the systems that are responsible for its production. Thus there are many sources, though most come from the modern world's need for energy and, to a lesser extent, chemicals. It was the use of energy that spurred the initial Industrial Revolution and our subsequent development into the society we are today. To get the energy we needed for this development, we essentially became dependent on the combustion of fossil fuels. What we have been doing is turning the carbon stored in these materials over millions of years into the greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide, which is accumulating in the atmosphere. For instance, carbon capture and storage as currently mooted, and which is much in vogue, is not really a long-term sustainable solution. (“Delay the evil day!”)
We need the energy required to run society as we know it without using fossil fuels. Thus we need new sources of energy that do not produce new sources of carbon dioxide. This has been recognized by most forward-thinking people and industries; hence the proliferation of photovoltaic and wind-generated electricity installations. But there is a problem: energy consumption and its use are not necessarily in phase, and so storage mechanisms are needed. Many of the solutions currently offered are not realistic and can create further problems.
Another form of solar collection that is currently not being adequately utilized as an energy source is photosynthesis. Here, the energy is actually stored as biomass rather than being directly available, e.g. as electricity. It is estimated that 140 billion tons of biomass waste are produced annually. The biomass is not in a form that can easily and conveniently be used an energy source in our modern environment. What can we do to make its use and storage more convenient?
About 34 billion barrels of crude oil are needed annually, and, for instance, it is estimated we could make about 100 billion barrels of synthetic crude from biomass waste using gasification and Fischer–Tropsch (FT) synthesis. Of course, the problem is when we use the synthetic crude oil as an energy source, we release carbon dioxide back into the air. However, if it is left to rot, it produces methane, which is a much more potent greenhouse gas. In any event, as long as we keep growing plants that use up the carbon dioxide we are producing, we are not increasing the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
It might be argued that we can store electricity in batteries or convert it to hydrogen. However, the energy density of these storage mechanisms is so low relative to liquid fuel that this represents a major problem, particularly for moving vehicles such as cars, trucks, ships and aircraft. Thus the need for liquid fuel, although diminishing, is likely to remain. The other advantage of liquid fuel for transport is the possibility to go where there is limited infrastructure, such as on farms and in rural areas.
Furthermore, liquid fuel is a very convenient energy storage method for when electricity supply cannot meet demand. This is because generators can be brought online easily and quickly. All of this suggests that while the demand for liquid fuels may decrease, it will continue to be needed in the future. The challenge then seems to be how to turn biomass into liquid fuel efficiently and sustainably.
Clearly what is needed are new ideas, and the people from IDEAS (Institute for the Development of Energy for African Sustainability) have the experience and the ideas to make a difference! They have been developing fundamental methods to look at systems (in particular chemical plants) to make them more efficient – and hence more environmentally sustainable. Over and above this, they have been working on FT – both the theoretical and the practical sides – for many years and have developed international reputations in all these areas. They are thus in a strong position to put forward new ideas and methods to make liquid fuel materials and chemicals sustainably from biomass. Clearly these ideas (IDEAS) are vital for achieving the sustainability that we should all be trying to achieve.
David Glasser 
