1. Using sea water and desert land to grow feedstock crops for
Bio-diesel and E-diesel
2. GROWING BIOFUEL FEEDSTOCKS ON DESERT LAND Contents :
INTRODUCTION TO USING SEA WATER FOR IRRIGATION
..........................................................................
1 FUEL FARMS
...............................................................................
2 SHORELINE INSTALLATIONS
................................................ 3,4 DESALINATION
OF SEA WATER
.......................................................................................................................
5,6 SOLAR POWER MODULES ..........................................
7,8 IRRIGATION OF PALM OIL TREES
.............................................................. 9
OIL PALM CULTIVATION
.......................................................................................................
10 OIL PALM PLANTATIONS ..................................... 11,12
FIELD CONTAINERS FOR ETHANOL FEEDSTOCK
.........................................................................................
13,14 ROBOTIC TRACTORS
.......................................................................
15,16 WHEEL TRACKS
....................................................... 15,16
DESERT FARMING FOR BIOFUELS
...................................................................................................................
17 PRODUCING BIOFUELS FROM SEA WATER
..................................................................................................
18 BIO-FUEL PRODUCTION
...................................................................................................................................
19 BIO-FUEL PLANTATIONS
..................................................................................................................................
20 LICENSING & BACKGROUND
...........................................................................................................................
21 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
...................................................................................................................................
21
3. INTRODUCTION TO USING SEA WATER FOR IRRIGATION One fifth of
land on Earth is arid and more areas are becoming warmer and drier
so that farming which is entirely dependent on unreliable rainfall,
its lakes, river water and underground reserves etc. can fail due
to the effects of drought. Oceans cover almost three quarters of
the world surface so by desalinating that resource it can be used
to irrigate crops from a reliable supply. However there have been
problems when using desalinated sea water for irrigation because
the cost of powering desalination equipment is more than the value
of crops that water can grow - so making it unprofitable. To remove
the expense of importing electrical power or diesel fuel for its
generation it is proposed every hot desert plantation would contain
fields of solar power modules which will generate enough
electricity to work all water pumps and desalination equipment
needed for supplying irrigation to the crops. Then plantations of
palm trees grown in soil containers stood on desert land can
harvest supplies of palm fruit for their oil to be processed into a
marketable biodiesel and with fields of 50m2 containers for growing
crops such as corn or sugar beet as a source of ethanol they will
provide an E-diesel alternative to gasoline. Arid land is often no
better than dirt, rock or sand and growing crops in such ground is
wasteful of water by losing irrigation into the air from the
surface of soil and by it draining down to bedrock. Trials in
several locations and across varied crops are showing that enclosed
soil systems use lower volumes of irrigation (approx. 40% of
agricultural requirements) so that water can be used more
economically. Oil palms would be grown in soil contained by
spun-bonded fabric laminated with a white coating to stop drainage
of water and reduce container temperature. Irrigation is drip fed
into the soil below a surface cover to keep all moisture away from
any sunshine or drying winds. Field crops of sugar beet or corn are
grown in shallow soil enclosed within plywood containers standing
level over unworked ground and again are drip fed irrigation
beneath a covering sheet. Desert with its plentiful sunshine and
irrigation supplied from the oceans can then become a desirable
site for plantations of oil palms, forests of fast growing timber
trees and fields of container crops which can yield harvests of
feedstock every day of the year instead of a single, seasonal crop
which is usual of agriculture in temperate or equatorial climates.
Desert land : 100% sun x 0% water = 0% growth Arctic snow : 0% sun
x 100% water = 0% growth Temperate agriculture : 50% sun x 50%
rains = 25% growth Desert and sea water : 100% sun x 100% water =
100% growth 1
4. FUEL FARMS Rivers of sea water flowing through pipelines
into the interior of arid land would be outside the financial
capability of many desert states with their farming populations
often living in poverty. Instead investment and development might
rely upon other nations in need of fuel by encouraging them to rent
land in the worlds vast deserts for growing plantations of
feedstock crops which can produce reliable and effective sources of
biodiesel and E-diesel. That barren land could then earn money for
district authorities and native populations with potential to share
in the new farming technology and for those desert states to gain
revenues from taxation which may finance an infrastructure of sea
water pipelines. These biofuel plantations, timber forests and
fields of crops for local village workers will maintain a thriving
industry able to become the worlds new oil fields. Many countries
within temperate zones have little ability to grow feedstock for
fuel without using land needed for essential food crops and could
welcome this vacant acreage which encourages farming to develop on
the two bands of desert which encircle Earth. Reversing the
increase of arid land by adding large new areas of vegetation with
their supply of atmospheric ozone can decrease unwanted greenhouse
effects, reduce the polar-ice melt and give stability to a rising
sea height. Forests of fast growing timber trees can supply wood
and its products to construct fields of plywood containers for
growing ethanol feedstock and food crops. There is potential for
building multi-storey slopes of these soil containers to create sun
filled caverns of weather-proof farmland able to be harvested
throughout the year as a substitute for agricultural land which in
Temperate zones can grow only one seasonal harvest each year to
feed their rapidly increasing populations. 2
5. SHORELINE INSTALLATIONS Large underwater pumps attached onto
the seabed can each deliver 10,000 cubic metres of sea water per
day to installations on the shore where a screen removes any debris
carried in that saline. It then flows by gravity to a lower level,
draining through layers of anthracite and sand which filter out
loose particles and produces the clear water needed before
desalination by Reverse Osmosis. This screened and filtered saline
is fed into the wet well of a pump house where several pumps lift
the water and combine their flow through two large diameter pipes
which carry the flow inland. Twin pipelines provide a failsafe
capability so that should one stream fail or need to be isolated
for maintenance then inland desalination stations can still receive
water and continue to supply reduced irrigation for dependent
crops. 3
6. 4
7. DESALINATION OF SEAWATER Reverse Osmosis equipment for
processing 2,000 cubic metres per day of fresh water can be
installed onto a steel chassis and will allow factory built units
to be shipped ready for use. Each plantation would include two or
more of these units allowing a fail/safe ability which ensures
crops are always supplied with some irrigation should equipment
fail or need to be stopped for maintenance. The modular
construction of R.O. plant can accommodate later additions when a
higher output is needed to supply an increase in plantation size.
To ensure the irrigation output can match fluctuating needs of a
crop caused by stages in plant growth and seasonal, climatic or
daily temperature changes, all freshwater output from R.O. units is
fed into reservoir tanks which can absorb any variations in both
supply and consumption. To-date the operating costs of R.O.
desalination will approach $2.53 per cubic metre of freshwater with
only $0.03 required for chemicals used by the process and the
remainder needed for providing the operational power. It is this
expense which has made desalination totally uneconomic as an
agricultural possibility annual water costs are $1.82 per square
metre of crops and harvest sales would typically be $0.76 per
farmed square metre. Instead it is proposed the plentiful sunshine
in hot desert regions be used for generating electricity using
solar modules which will remove expensive fuel or power costs but
will limit operational time to the 12 hours of daylight. Each unit
includes a high pressure process which could be used to distribute
its freshwater output throughout a plantation or by using an energy
recovery process can generate power for independent pumping A
concentrated saline remains after the desalination process which
cannot be returned into the sea without it altering the ecological
balance of coastal waters. With most of the water already removed
during desalination then chemical separation might produce economic
harvests of metals or elements. Seeding with crystals will
precipitate some useful salts for commerce before solar evaporation
ponds remove any remaining water to leave behind solids which can
be modified as a construction material. 5
8. 6
9. SOLAR POWER MODULES Electricity for Reverse Osmosis
equipment can be generated by solar modules under the strong
sunshine available in high temperature desert and would remove the
usual running costs of a power hungry desalination process. The
price per KW of solar equipment is similar to that for diesel
generators. 2012 costs per watt are about $0.60 but with real world
prices per kW dependent a great deal on local weather conditions
then the high sunshine of deserts will keep these costs to a
minimum. Efficiency determines the area of a module given the same
rated output - an 8% efficient 230 watt module will have twice the
area of a 16% efficient 230 watt module. Typical modules measuring
approximately 1x 2 meters will be rated as high as 350 watts under
the strength of desert sunshine above 30C noon temperatures.
Modules are rated by their D.C. output power under standard test
conditions and have typical ranges from 100 to 320 watts at 25 so
during daylight an absorbed power of 460kW needed to run the 2 x
2000m3/day R.O. desalination units each producing 1000m3 freshwater
output would require 1,440 modules covering land in excess of 2,026
m2. The quoted 460kW to power desalination is obtained from 16 x
250m3 /day R.O. units and kW values needed for 2x 2000m3 /day units
might be much less. It would be useful if half of solar powered
electricity generated in the 12 daylight hours could be stored and
made available to operate R.O. units throughout 24 hrs with their
night time freshwater output stored in steel reservoirs - N.B.
crops cannot use irrigation at night. Battery storage of
electricity is uneconomic for high power usage which R.O. requires
but the flexible strength of carbon fibre could be made into coiled
springs as an efficient method of storing power, using solar
powered motors and geared shafts to wind those springs during the
day and later at night as they are unwound to turn generators for
creating electricity to continue the R.O. process. 7
10. 8 IIRIGATION OF PALM OIL TREES
11. Oil palms produce their highest yields under high
temperatures and high rainfall but can be successfully cultivated
in areas of moderate to very heavy rains (over 5000mm). In the hot,
dry atmosphere of desert regions the surface of palm leaves will
close to reduce excessive rates of moisture loss due to
transpiration because even when ample water is available in the
soil their fully open leaves would be unable to access sufficient
moisture from capillary water travelling up through the tree trunk.
This effect will limit any potential increase in growth which
otherwise could be available from fully irrigated trees grown under
the hot, dry conditions of desert land but if palms can be
developed with a wide trunk for greater capillary flow then fruit
yields may be increased. Palms supplied with full irrigation show
transpiration rates of 700 mm 2007 mm per year = 134 - 385
litres/palm/day. With ample available water it is normal for plants
to produce an excess of leaf growth at the expense of fruiting
material because the amount of fertiliser available from soil
remains constant as water increases to the leaves producing an
overall dilution of nutrient levels and lowering what is available
for fruit production which contains the palm oil. As irrigation is
increased the fruit yields can be improved with additional
fertiliser but since desalinating seawater is expensive it may be
prudent to keep irrigation levels below full transpiration to avoid
wasteful leaf growth. Oil palms are noted as having poor yield when
liable to periods of drought but in Dahomey, Africa where annual
rainfall is fairly low at 1232mm the oil productivity of its palms
is considered good even though four months are almost without rain
- due to the high water holding capacity of the soil. The lowest
level of agricultural irrigation before bad effects are noticeable
in palm trees is 1000 mm - a surplus of 300mm or 43% over the
lowest quoted transpiration rate of 700mm which indicates that some
water is lost by evaporation from the soil surface and by it
draining down into the sub-soil below root level. At 5000mm - the
highest level of rainfall - there is an excess of 2993mm over the
highest quoted transpiration rate i.e. 66% lost to non-productive
evaporation, transpiration or soil drainage. By using desalinated
sea water fed to the oil palms through drip irrigation under a
surface cover and in an enclosed soil container then water can be
available every day without periods of drought and would be
efficiently supplied. 9
12. OIL PALM CULTIVATION R.O. desalination output1 = 2 x 2000 m
freshwater / 24hr Daylight output of 2 x units = 2000m3 freshwater
Installed power required1 = 536kW Absorbed power = 460kW Energy
recovery available. = 70 kW Oil palm variety2 = La Me x Oleifera
Irrigation for oil palms3 = 350 litres/palm/day Trees irrigated per
R.O.unit = 5,714 oil palms Planting density2 = 156 trees/ha.
Plantation size = 36.6 ha. Annual oil palm yield2 = 11.5 m
bio-fuel/ha. Oil yield per R.O. unit = 421,000 litres /year = 2,647
US barrels /year Ref: 1) Salt Separation Services :
[email protected] 2) Palmplantations.com.au/oil-palm-trees 3)
Netafim.com/article/oil palm India 10
13. OIL PALM PLANTATIONS Oil palms are grown in a mixture of
local sand, silt and finely shredded palm leaf contained within a
spun-bonded fabric which has been laminated with a white coating. A
strong plastic mesh embedded into the soil during filling is
attached by cables through the skirt onto external ground anchors.
As the tree grows its roots will interweave through that mesh and
so provide additional stability during high winds. Fertilisers are
added into the soil or irrigation supply and minor chemicals
essential for plant health can be introduced by occasional flushing
with diluted seawater. Manual labour for working on these vast
plantations would become uneconomic so a robotic system may be used
to fulfil all necessary harvesting operations. Each palm is
positioned to a grid pattern and is harvested by unmanned equipment
travelling on reinforced dirt tracks running between alternate rows
of trees. The harvester will read bar codes embedded in the track
to position and park itself between pairs of trees, scanning
similar bar codes fixed to the soil containers to judge their
position. Before harvest operations begin two pneumatic arms extend
and grip both trees below leaves at the fruiting head. Each arm
includes an encircling gantry and rotary deck with apparatus to
cut, shred and catch leaves before moving their debris to a chute
leading down to attendant trucks alongside. A video camera will
transmit pictures of the exposed fruit bunches to an on-board
computer which has been programmed to recognize their patterns and
axis. Fruit are probed to test their ripeness and if mature they
are cut from the trunk and sent via the chute into the waiting
trucks. Engines would remove and replace filled trucks and move
harvested crops to local processing factories. To achieve the
quantity of oil palms needed for large scale plantations a
propagation by micro-culture would be needed to produce sufficient
young stock and could be matched to building the sea water
pipelines, adding desalination equipment and construction of
plantation rail systems and irrigation networks. Full production of
oil from palm trees requires about five years growth. 11
14. 12
15. FIELD CONTAINERS A lack of spare arable land for growing
feedstock has resulted in biofuel producers needing to use corn
leftovers and other throwaway materials for manufacturing ethanol,
creating an industry that is starved of raw materials and
unattractive to investors. Yearlong sunshine is available in desert
regions which will enable two corn or beet crops to be harvested
annually and since there is little seasonal change in growth then
farms could produce a continuous daily supply of feedstock
throughout the year. It is proposed to create new areas of timber
forest by growing trees in spun bonded fabric containers stood onto
the arid land with their irrigation supplied by desalination of sea
water so that under desert sunshine their fast growth rate will
provide cheap and renewable timber materials for the construction
of 25m2 and 50m2 soil containers growing field crops of corn or
sugar beet as the feedstock for ethanol. The timber is used to
produce plywood, a stable material which will not distort like
natural woods and can be made in various thicknesses for soil
walls, container bases and floor joists. Every soil container is
seated on adjustable supports embedded into the ground and held
level over any uneven slopes of original terrain. A water supply
hose under each line of containers is connected to drip irrigation
mats laid onto the soil surface and which include a pattern of slit
holes for automated sowing into seed drills, allowing plants to
grow through the mat but prevents the sun or wind from drying the
soils surface. Irrigation would be altered to match the soils
saturation according to climatic changes or the crops specific
needs and stage of development. Robotic tractors will provide the
technology for sowing, tending and harvesting without a labour
force except to transport feedstock to processing factories. Every
soil container has bar codes written on studs embedded into the
walls and are read by the tractors equipment to identify its place
within a plantation and allow equipment to be accurately positioned
for an on-board computer to control all farming operations. The
tractors travel between lines of field containers on tracks cut
into natural terrain with the ground strengthened by a cement
addition to produce hardwearing surfaces which can support the
weight of tractors when fully laden. 13
16. 14
17. ROBOTIC TRACTORS Traditional farming would need armies of
paid tractor drivers to complete the various farming operations
needed for growing and harvesting millions of hectares of ethanol
feedstock. Instead it is proposed to develop a system of unmanned,
computer controlled tractors which travel on tracks formed into
ground between each line of soil containers and would work 24 hours
a day, stopping only to unload harvested crops or to be refuelled,
resupplied and maintained. The basic tractor unit comprises a
lightweight self-levelling frame supported on pneumatic pistons,
attached onto air powered drive bogies. External cladding is added
to that frame and creates enclosures for housing equipment such as
an air compressor, a bio-diesel generator and a range of pneumatic
powered farming tools, all accessible to maintenance engineers and
controlled by on-board computer programming. During travel pistons
raise and lower the tractor whilst keeping it horizontal above soil
containers which have been stood level over the natural slope of
terrain and whilst the tractor is stationary pneumatic controls and
equipment would complete the complex farming operations performed
by each robot. A radio link and on-board CCTV camera allows the
tractor to be under instruction from and report back to an
operations centre and show the state of crops. To complete all
necessary farming operations each crop will use several tractors
working as a group - e.g. Sugar Beet requires :- Beet tops
harvester + Beet puller + Soil cultivator & steamer + Soil rake
& seed drill WHEEL TRACKS To provide solid track for the
tractors four drive bogies a powerful earth working machine would
create a narrow path between rows of containers by milling existing
rocks, soils or sand to a depth related to its original ground
strength. During that process the rock debris and loosened sand are
combined with cement dust and bonded by steam then rolled flat to
form a hardened beam capable of supporting a fully laden tractor.
Embedded into the ground at each end of a wheel track are
turntables which can be rotated by turning the tractors drive
bogies through 90 allowing it to travel on an access track which
crosses along the line of crops. At the next row to be farmed a
further rotation on turntables will return the tractor down tracks
between crops to continue its farming operations. 15
18. 16
19. DESERT FARMING FOR BIO-FUELS Desert land Agricultural land
+ Land prices : Low - Land prices : High + Sunshine throughout the
year - Sunshine often obscured by clouds + Harvesting daily
throughout 365 days - Seasonal harvest of feedstock + Daily
production can be matched to daily fuel consumption - Seasonal
production requires fuel storage - Cost of soil containers + Arable
land has no additional costs + Multiple annual harvests from each
container - Single annual harvest + Non-productive land is made
profitable - Farming for fuel replaces farming for food Ocean water
Rain water + Plentiful and reliable - Can be scarce and erratic -
Cost of pipelines for sea water importation + Free - Cost of R.O.
desalination equipment, pumps & pipes + Free Robotic farming
Manned farming + Free labour - Cost of annual wages for large
labour force + Can be operated throughout 24 hrs and 365 days -
Manual labour must have rest periods & holidays - Cost of track
& lightweight robot tractors - Cost of heavyweight manned
tractors Bio fuels Fossil fuels + Farmed fuel uses plentiful desert
land & ocean water - Fuel production needs available oil fields
+ Fuel plantations can be increased over generations - Fuel
resources are diminishing and finite + Biofuel production can meet
international demands - National fuel supply often dependent on
imports 17
20. PRODUCING BIOFUELS FROMSEA WATER Bio-diesel : palm tree
plantations - 2 x 2000m3/day units : R.O. sea water desalination =
2,000 m/ 12 hr day output Irrigation for containerised trees = 350
litres/palm/day Irrigated plantation available per unit = 5,714 oil
palms Plantation size = 36.6 ha. Annual palm oil yield @ 11.5 m/ha.
= 421,000 litres = 84,200 gal. = 2,648 barrels __________ Oil
yields/harvest : Oil Palm = 10.5t/ha. Jatropha = 1.6t/ha. Rapeseed
= 0.49t/ha. Sunflower = 0.42t/ha. Soyabean = 0.36 t/ha __________
Ethanol : field crops - 2 x 2000m3 /day units : R.O. sea water
desalination = 2,000 m/ 12 hr day output Container grown beet @ 21m
water/ha/day = 95ha : 2 x annual harvests - ethanol yield @
22m/ha/yr. = 2.09M litres = 418,000 gal. Container grown corn @ 22m
water/ha/day = 91ha : 2 x annual harvests - ethanol yield @
21m/ha/yr. = 1.90M litres = 380,000 gal. __________ Diesel
Petroleum Ethanol 100% Biodiesel 90:10 E-Diesel $6.43 /gal*. $6.36
/gal.* $5.62 /gal. * $5.20 /gal.* $5.24 / gal. * Platts Singapore
price February 2013 + 40cpl for freight and excise 18
21. BIO-FUEL PRODUCTION Example : Diesel consumption = 150,000
M litres/year (Nom.) : Gasoline consumption = 500,000 M litres/year
(Nom.) ____________ Diesel - palm oil required = 150,000 M
litres/year Gasoline - palm oil required = 450,000 M litres/year :
90/10% E-diesel mix : ethanol required = 50,000 M litres/year
Biodiesel & E-diesel - palm oil required = 600,000 M
litres/year ____________ Palm tree yield = 73.7 litres oil / palm /
year Planting density = 156 trees/ha. Required plantation = 8,140,
M palms Required acreage = 52 M hectares = 520,000Km2 desert land
Sugar beet yield = 110 litres ethanol / 50m2 container/year
Required farmland = 455 M containers Required acreage = 2.3 M
hectares = 23,000Km2 desert land N.B In practise palm oil when used
for biodiesel and E-diesel vehicles will require modification and
the required volume of crude oil may be higher than those quoted.
19
22. BIO-FUEL PLANTATIONS Biodiesel Ethanol Sea water paired
pipeline capacity 100,000 m/day 100,000 m/day Desalinated
freshwater capability 85,000 m3/day 85,000 m3/day Paired R.O units
: 1000m3 /12 hour output 43 43 Feedstock cultivar Oil Palm (Elates
oleifera) Sugar Beet Planting density 156 trees/ha. 100,000
beets/ha. Freshwater required (container grown) 54.6m3/ha/day
21m3/ha/day Irrigated plantation available 1,556 ha/pipeline
4,048ha/pipeline Crop yield 11.5 m/ha 22 m/ha Marketable fuel
output 17.9Mlitres/pipeline/year 89Mlitres/pipeline/year
___________ Example : Diesel consumption = 150,000 M litres/year :
Gasoline consumption = 500,000 M litres/year Bio-diesel required =
600,000 M litres/year : Ethanol required = 50,000 M litres/year
____________ Pipelines required for bio-diesel production = 33,520
: Pipelines required for ethanol production = 562 Total = 34,082
pipelines Land required for palm plantations = 521,570 sq.km. :
Land required for field containers = 22,750 sq.km. Total = 544,320
sq.km. Palms trees required for target biodiesel production =
8,136M : 50m2 containers required for target ethanol production =
455M _____________ Achieving target biofuel production as an
alternative for a nominal 150,000 M Litres of diesel and 500,000 M
litres of gasoline per year by growing oil palms for bio-diesel and
sugar beets to create a 90% bio-diesel : 10% ethanol supply of
E-diesel (gasoline) would require 34,082 paired sea water pipelines
and 1,465,526 paired R.O. units to irrigate plantations covering
544,320 sq. kilometres of desert. 20
23. LICENSING & BACKGROUND The project and all work on its
design is a development by Allan R. Warren. This presentation has
been published worldwide without patent so its contents and designs
may be distributed or used without restriction by any party or
industry. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Salt Separation Services :
[email protected] Aries Power Solutions Ltd. : [email protected]
Palm Plantations of Australia : www.palmplantations.com.au Weir
Pumps Ltd Root Trappers : www.rootmaker.com __________ Allan R.
Warren, 54A Drovers Way, Dunstable, Beds. LU6 1AW ENGLAND Tel : +44
774 3772624 email : [email protected] 21