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| Fig. 1: Traditional Palm Oil Production in Jukwa Village, Ghana. (Source: Wikimedia Commons) |
Africa is a continent thriving with natural resources. As new avenues for energy open up, people are turning to energy sources that harm the Earth less as well as make energy more accessible for others. One such avenue is biofuels. Renewable, sometimes clean, and an easily accessible source, biofuels are providing new opportunities for both energy growth and economic growth in Africa.
There are various natural resources that have been explored as potential biofuel options within the continent of Africa. Some have met various levels of success, while others have met environmental or economic failure.
The jatropha plant, which originated from Central America, but was spread to various nations in Africa, India, Latin America, Cambodia, Indonesia, and the Philippines through colonialism. [1] The bushy, small tree holds pods that contain black seeds, which oil can be extracted from. This straight vegetable oil (SVO), was heralded as a great biofuel option for various parts of the world, and especially in Southern Africa. [2] The benefits of the plant were the lack of food vs. biofuel tension as the plant can grow in sandy soil and was thus not seen as taking up potential land for food production. However, what we understood of the jatropha plant was limited. The seeds grow best in good soil and consistent water, the possibility of the plant being invasive in Southern Africa, and the low seed yield. [1,2] While a large-scale production of the plant for biofuel use may not be feasible, the plant is being used as a small scale biofuel producer in villages. [1,2]
Palm-oil, which is in many foods we eat and products we use, was another candidate for biofuel. Originating from West Africa, it has been grown in tropical areas around the world with Indonesia and Malaysia being the top producers. [3] It is relatively cheap to produce, and has been produced for decades in West Africa (Fig. 1), however, it is severely hurting the environment. [3-4] Investors are looking into Africa as the global demand for palm-oil is not being met, however, this would create a problem as forests would be cleared out for the palm-oil trees to be grown. The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) estimates that in Africa 53 million hectares of land will be needed by 2050 to grow palm oil in order to meet global demand and this staggering number will have negative consequences on the primates living in the African continent if Indonesia is an example. [4]
Finally, croton nuts are providing new hopes as an economic and energy possibility for Africa. Found in East and Central Africa, it produces high concentrations of oils. [5] However, the production of croton nut oil for biofuel began in Kenya when entrepreneur Alan Paul created Eco Fuels Kenya, the only international croton nut processing company (EFK). [5] The use of croton nuts for biofuel within EFK is different than jatropha and palm-oil productions in that it is a low-tech, low-energy process, the reuse of by-products as food for livestock, the high- yield, and is locally-focused. [5,6]
Biofuel production is a field in Africa that can provide renewable energy, while stimulating economic growth. However, exploitation of resources, such as the British owning half the 3.2 million hectares of land dedicated to biofuel production in Africa, as well as the tension between food vs. biofuel land will cause problems as Africa aims to locally produce biofuel. [7] However, there is hope of an environmentally friendly, locally beneficial biofuel production in Africa.
© Chiamaka Agali. The author warrants that the work is the author's own and that Stanford University provided no input other than typesetting and referencing guidelines. The author grants permission to copy, distribute and display this work in unaltered form, with attribution to the author, for noncommercial purposes only. All other rights, including commercial rights, are reserved to the author.
[1] D. Charles, "How a Biofuel Dream Called Jatropha Came Crashing Down," NPR, 21 Aug 12.
[2] D. L. Kgathi et al., "A Review of the Sustainability of Jatropha Cultivation Projects for Biodiesel Production in Southern Africa: Implications for Energy Policy in Botswana," Agric. Ecosyst. Environ. 246, 314 (2017).
[3] J. C. Kurnia et al., "Advances in Biofuel Production from Oil Palm and Palm Oil Processing Wastes: A Review," Biofuel Res. J. 3, 332 (2016).
[4] H. Briggs, "Palm Oil: A New Threat to Africa's Monkeys and Apes?" BBC News, 14 Aug 18.
[5] K. Monks, "Croton Nuts: Africa's New Biofuel that Literally Grows on Trees," CNN, 4 Jan 17.
[6] G. Kafuku et al., "Croton megalocarpus Oil: A Feasible Non-Edible Oil Source for Biodiesel Production," Bioresource Technol. 101, 7000 (2010).
[7] D. Carrington and S. Valentino, "Biofuels Boom in Africa as British Firms Lead Rush on Land for Plantations," The Guardian, 31 May 11.
