Energy plants mitigate energy crisis

By Anabela Yu

Peanuts don’t only make peanut butter or peanut oil; it is an “energy plant", savior of global energy crisis! In facing global energy crisis, our natural resources are counting down to its date of dying out. The world’s economy continues to progress by using irretrievable natural resources, yet fears remains of its run out in supply. In this dilemma, “energy plant” can substitute these natural resources.

Production of energy in using “energy plants” is one way to produce renewable energies. The sources of such energies include hydroelectricity, tidal energy, nuclear power, solar power, wave power, and wind power energy. According to N. El Bassam, author of the book Energy Plant Species – Their use and impact on environment, (1998), “current approaches to energy are unsustainable and not renewable”. He adds that fuel produced from energy crops are similar in origin to the fossil fuels which also began as biomass, here it offers direct substitution.

Macau possesses limited natural resources, and energy for daily use is mainly imported. Coal oil, diesel oil, heavy oil, petrol and petroleum gas, where coal oil is for aviation, diesel oil and heavy oil for generating electricity as well as petroleum for transportation according to exhibition information. The run out of natural resources can stop Macau from functioning.

According to the exhibition, “energy plants” can produce petroleum ingredient, plants which are convertible to biological fuel. Easy-to-grow–and-harvest plants are selected as “energy plants”, which should also be rich in oil, sugar, starch and cellulose ingredients. Major types include the rosebay family, euphorbia, the composite family, myrtaceous, and the pulse family.

“Energy plants” which are rich in sugar, starch and cellulose, like corn, sugar cane, go through ferment process and distillation to produce Bioethanol. Using plant oil as resources, going through hydrolysis and esterification process, can produce Biodiesel. Bioethanol and Biodiesel can ease the consumption of some non-renewable energy. A comparative bar chart in the exhibition shows that the use of “energy plants” is environmentally friendly, where using Bioethanol releases less greenhouse gases up to 91 percent compared to the use of gasoline, and up to 68 percent less greenhouse gases with Biodiesel instead of gasoline. Greenhouse gases are gases in the atmosphere that reduce the loss of heat into space, it contribute to global temperatures. Therefore the more greenhouse gases exist in the atmosphere, the higher the global temperature will be.

A survey showed Macau’s main energy consumption products composition ratio in 2006. Local consumption of natural energy has constant annual increase, with the continuous demand on the dead-end resources; “energy plants” is the redeemer.