The place of halophytes in Pakistan’s biofuel industry

Abstract

An unsustainable supply of fossil fuel necessitates the need to look for suitable alternatives. One solution lies in using plant biomass, which can be converted into a wide range of biofuels. To avoid conflict between feed and fuel, the crops available for human consumption being used presently as biofuel feedstock may be replaced with halophytes, which have the potential to thrive in saline lands and can be irrigated with brackish water; some can even tolerate seawater salinity. This approach will help in producing sustainable fuel without encroaching on the good quality land and water resources needed for food crops. A candidate species should preferably be perennial, having high yield in saline lands with minimum inputs. Other attributes include cellulose/hemicellulose >25–30%, lignin <10%, low salt load in foliage and a non-invasive nature. The unexplored aspects of agronomy of these wild plants need careful study, especially with regards to land degradation and ecological consequences, before large-scale cultivation.

Financial & competing interests disclosure

The work was supported by the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan and the University of Karachi, Karachi, Pakistan. Z Abideen is recipient of a scholarship from HEC offered under their indigenous PhD programs. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.