260

BIOFUEL PRODUCTION

Biofuel Production Strategies for UK Agriculture. S.P. Carruthers and M.R. Jones. CAS Pap. 13, Centre for Agricultural Strategy, Reading, Great Britain, 1983. 143 pp., £6.50. ISBN 0-7049-0619-8.

Book reviewing can either be a tedious chore or, more rarely, a real pleasure. Carruthers and Jones have here produced that rarity, a truly British biofuels book, which has placed my own task very much into the second category. The title speaks for itself and accurately conveys the theme of the paper which is the latest in an excellent series from Professor Spedding's Centre for Agricultural Strategy at the University of Reading.

The authors have essentially synthesised the reports of the various parti- cipants in the U.K. Depar tment of Energy's fuels from biological materials programme organised from the Energy Technology Support Unit, Harwell; but they have also added other relevant material from home and abroad, plus their own thoughts and recommendat ions on how U.K. biofuel po- tential might be realised. It is less a work of science and technology, nor even of policy; but more one of assessing possible courses of action and the constraints to and consequences of their implementation.

While brief descriptions of the various bioconversion technologies are included, along with a quantitative appraisal o f potential biomass produc- tion and availability, the authors' main aim is to outline feasible strategies to harness this biomass as a feedstock for biofuel product ion in the U.K. For those readers who wish to follow up the latest progress made in the various technologies for bioconversion and biofuel utilisation, then a co- pious list of up-to<late references is provided. An obvious advantage in having books or papers such as this published 'in house ' is that the s tudy is less out of date on publication than it would have been if left at the mercy of a professional publishing company. Thus this paper, though itself published in July 1983, contains many references to material published over the preceding 18 months or so -- giving the work an added plus.

Five possible biofuel product ion strategies for U.K. agriculture (including forestry and horticulture) are cogently and concisely proposed as follows:

(1) The utilisation of wastes, residues and unharvested vegetation re- quiring little change in current agricultural practice and realising up to 818 PJ of energy (10% of U.K. primary energy consumption in 1981), mostly as combust ible solids and biogas.

(2) The cultivation of fuel crops on unused land and land released through crop yield improvements to produce 842--1344 PJ (10--16% 1981 U.K. primary energy consumption).

(3) A reduction in biomass use for animal feed achieved by increasing the efficiency of animal product ion and/or a move towards the human consumption of more plant and less animal products , so releasing more land and/or biomass feedstock; the latter would entail major changes in fmzning practice and eating habits but would allow 1738 PJ of fuelwood to be grown (21% of 1981 U.K. primary energy consumption).

261

(4) The decreased ou tpu t of present agricultural products and substitu- tion by biofuel product ion where profitable, such as in the transfer of cattle and sheep grazing land to wood energy plantations yielding 320-- 760 PJ (4--9% 1981 U.K. energy consumption) .

(5) Increased food imports to release land for fuel crops within an overall rationalisation of agricultural product ion within the U.K. and preferably the European Communi ty as a whole, so that individual regions would produce the crops best suited to their own particular environments and food surpluses could ult imately be eliminated.

Clearly the above proposals are not mutually exclusive and the poten- tial is there; but equally clearly biofuel product ion will have to become a long-term national priority before the more extreme measures suggested are entertained by government. Carruthers and Jones envisage biofuels making a more and more significant contr ibut ion to U.K. energy supplies in future, thereby increasing the pressure on our land resources and leading to the need for a national coordinating policy on agriculture, forestry and bioenergies. Before this can happen though, more government sup- port is required for research, development and demonstrat ion programmes, agro-energy product ion systems, and legislation changes to encourage the use of biomass wastes, allow on-farm bioalcohol fermentation and dis- tillation, and so forth. Detailed economic studies, more demonstrat ion projects, the integration of biofuel with food crop and animal produc- tion systems, the development of engines specifically fbr biofuel use, social studies of the implication of biofuel product ion and use and the effects for instance on local employment , and assessments of the relative strategic importance of fuels, food and t imber are all areas advocated by the authors for serious consideration and action.

The U.K. badly, and sadly, lags behind many other developed economies in the commercial exploitat ion of bioenergy operations and this is partly due to government apathy as far as renewable energy technologies are concerned. However, biomass systems have the inherent advantage over other 'renewables' in that they are capable of producing a wide range of indigenous chemical fuels which are easily storable at minimum or no cost. I would firstly recommend this book therefore to the mandarins at a number of government departments, notably Energy, Agriculture, Environment, Trade and Industry and Employment , in the hope that the Depar tment of Energy in particular is prepared to treat biofuels as a seri- ous energy supply opt ion for the U.K. and not just as an amusing sideline. The benefits of a substantial biofuel programme are spelled out in this paper which is realistic and balanced enough to also state the likely eco- nomic, social, organisational and perhaps technological constraints. Eco- nomic and energy analysis of various case studies are additionally presented as appendices, along with a glossary of selected terms, an adequate index, abundant references, and a very useful directory of over 150 U.K. organi-

262

sations active on some aspect(s) of biofuel production or use. In these times of vastly overpriced energy texts then this book at £6.50 is a bargain and should be read thoroughly by anyone with professional or other in- terests in U.K. energy supplies, renewable energy systems, agriculture~ land use, or indeed biofuels themselves; and of course it should be especially read by those civil servants who, like some politicians, seem obsessed by the idea that nuclear power and nuclear power alone can diversify our energy supply options now and for the foreseeable future. This book cer- tainly refutes any such ' there is no alternative' mental i ty to a massive in- vestment in nuclear power which the country neither needs nor can af- ford. Biofuels are clearly a viable alternative, however, and should receive much greater government backing that at present as a result of this ex- cellent little book.

CHRIS LEWIS

Energy Studies Unit, University of Strathclyde Glasgow, Great Britain