Food, feed, fuel

Question 1

Key challenges for science and engineering in the 21st century

Answer 1

Population increase
> Increased energy requirements
> Increased land use 
> Climate change
> Reduced availability of fresh water

Question 2

Climate Change

Answer 2

Mean global temperature increases
- Melting glaciers > Sea level rises

Increased CO2 concentration in the atmosphere

Increase in global precipitation -More heavy rainfall

Increase in drought intensity, frequency and duration- More frequent extreme weather events

Question 3

Increasing land use

Answer 3

In the past, demand growth has been met through yield growth. But the strong demand growth ahead will create a need for substaintial acreage expansion

Question 4

Increased demand for energy

Answer 4

Total world energy demands are predicted to increased by approximately 50% by 2030

China is the main driver of increasing energy demand in the current decade, but India takes over in the 2020s as the principal source of growth

Rising oil output from North America and Brazil - helping quench global oil thirst over the next decade

Middle East will continue to be a key source of oil supply growth from the mid 2020s.

Question 5

% growth in global energy demand will be met by low carbon energy sources and in some regions by _______

Answer 5

~40% of

Question 6

rapid expansion of_________ raises fundamental questions about the design of power markets and their ability to ensure ___________

Answer 6

rapid expansion of wind and solar PV

to ensure adequate investment and long term reliability.

Question 7

A critical element of economic well being and industrial competitiveness in many countries is

Answer 7

energy availability and affordability

[large variations in energy prices are reported to exist through 2035]

Question 8

energy efficiency is set to remain untapped in 2035 unless ___________

Answer 8

unless market barriers can be overcome

Question 9

Energy related carbon dioxide emissions are projected to (change) by ? % to 2035,

> a long term average temperature change of ? °C
which is different to the internationally agreed ? °C climate target.

Answer 9

rise by 20% to 2035

a long term average temperature increase of 3.6 °C

which is above the internationally agreed 2 °C climate target.

Question 10

new types of energy resources

Answer 10

e.g. light tight oil and ultra deepwater fields.

Question 11

Reduced availability of fresh water

Answer 11

1 billion people lack access to drinking water.

2 billion people lack adequate sanitation.

By 2050 more than half the world will face water shortages.

Question 12

Food, feed fuel deman trend

Answer 12

Food demand is stable, feed demand is rising and fuel demand is exploding

Question 13

Wealth increases demand

Answer 13

Increased wealth leads to more grain being indirectly consumed through animal products

More demand for meat with increasing income
> Increases meat prices
> Increase livestock production
> Increase grain feed prices
> Divert grain from food to feed
> Increase food prices

Question 14

Feed demand

Answer 14

• Emerging markets
• Global consumption increase for meat almost double
• A majority of meat production is now located in countries that practice and use soybean meal feed
• Feed demand has increased substantially given the rise in consumption of protein- intensive foods

Question 15

Poverty alleviation

Answer 15

= 1.1 bn people are living with low income per day, mainly under nutrition and hunger

Question 16

Feed efficiency

Feed to meat ratio

Answer 16

Grains required per g of animal weight gain :
Cattle (8.3) hog (3.1) Chicken (2.0) Fish (1.5)

Grains required per kcal of energy pervision to human:
Beef (2.99) Pork (0.82) Poultry (0.94) Fish (1.29)

Question 17

Food production

Answer 17

Corn yield:
High yielding country yield 7.5 tonnes/ha
Low yielding country yield 2.8 tonnes/ha

Additional 200 Million tonnes/year of corn and wheat estimated to be needed by 2017

Increasing low yielding countries to global average would produce an additional 100 Million tonnes/year

Question 18

Reduction of waste is crucial

Answer 18

Current crop loss due to pests and disease worldwide (Oerke, 2006)

1. Potaotes -40%
2. Rice -37%
3. Maze -32%
4. Wheat -28%

Total worldwide crop losses are estimated to be in excess of 40% (Yudelman et al 1998)

Question 19

Human food requirements

Answer 19

10 essential amino acids that make up proteins

Fatty acid linoleic acid (omega 3)

Vitamins

Question 20

10 essential amino acids

Answer 20

leucine, isoleucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, valine and for infants (arginine and histidine)

Question 21

Fatty acid linoleic acid (omega 3) abundant in

Answer 21

plant oils, nuts and fish oils

Question 22

Essential vitamins

Answer 22

Vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, B6, B12, C, D, E, K, pantothenic acid, biotin, and folic acid.

Question 23

Plant products generally lack:

Answer 23

tryptophan methionine lysine

Question 24

Animal feed used in developed countries

Animal feed used in developing countries

Answer 24

Mixed plant sources /Animal sources

Maize

Question 25

Increasing methionine in feed

Answer 25

Loss of methionine through conversion of plant to microbial protein in the rumen

Question 26

Fuel production

Answer 26

Increase in ethanol production over the years, mostly from grain feedstock in US/China/ EU/ Canada & sugarcane in Brazil

(USDA Agricultural Projections)

Question 27

World fuel ethnol production 2007

Answer 27

USA ~50%
Brazil ~ 39%
EU ~4%
China ~3.7%

Question 28

Ethanol production is driven by

Answer 28

increased exponentially driven by crude oil prices

Crossing $55 per barrel made it competitive to substitute petrol with gasohol (petrol blended with ethanol).

Question 29

gasohol

Answer 29

petrol blended with ethanol

Question 30

Increasing biofuel output

Answer 30

output expected to more than double in next few decades.

Will require a dramatic increase in the land used given the preference for indigenous feed stocks

Question 31

Limiting biofuel production

Answer 31

In the EU:
By 2020 renewable energy sources must account for at least 10% of transport fuel use.

In 2013 the European Parliament approved a proposal to limit the amount of food crop based biofuels that can be counted towards renewable energy targets to 6%.

Prefer second generation biofuels from non-food feedstock – waste, straw, algae.

Question 32

emphesis on 2nd generation biofuels because

Answer 32

they are presumed to emit substantially less greenhouse gases than fossil fuels and do not directly interfere with global food production.

Question 33

Perferred second generation biofuels in EU

Answer 33

from non-food feedstock – waste, straw, algae.

Question 34

By 2020 renewable energy sources must account for % of which use

Answer 34

at least 10% of transport fuel use.

Question 35

research is being done into using _____ to produce ethanol

the problem

Answer 35

straw

the plant matter requires a considerable energy input to break it down
but don’t want plant with broken stem before harvest

Question 36

problem of biofuel

Answer 36

diverting farm production away from food crops, thus potentially driving up food prices.

need a clear and stable energy-policy framework or else power-sector investment will dry up

Question 37

Current emissions target

Answer 37

2020 - to reduce carbon-dioxide emissions to 20% below 1990 levels.

2050 - aim for CO2 emissions at least 80% below 1990 levels, as well as nearly eliminate emissions from the electricity sector.

2030 - reduce greenhouse gases, boosting renewable energy, and cutting total energy consumption

Question 38

Controversy converting ________ to produce crop-based biofuels as they emit more CO2 than displacing fossil fuels

because

Answer 38

rainforests, peatlands, savannas or grasslands

• Carbon debt resulting from habitat conversion
• Number of years after conversion to biofuel prodction required for cumulative biofuel GHG reductions, relative to the fossil fuels they displace, to repay the biofuel carbon debt.

Question 39

Next generation biofuels offer

Answer 39

significant potential e.g. from appropriate wastes, residues and other technology

Question 40

Advantages of Algae as feedstocks for biofuels

Answer 40

• Synthesise and accumulate large quantities of lipids.
• High growth rates.
• Tolerate areas not suitable for conventional agriculture.
• Can be grown in culture vessels all year round.
• Produce 10x more biomass than terrestrial plants on an area basis.

Question 41

UK low carbon energy production

Answer 41

• Carbon capture and storage
• marine technologies
• offshire wind