Estimation of forest area near deserts - production of Global Bio-Methanolfrom solar energy

This paper proposes a new synthesis method for methanol as a future alterna tive fuel, by the combination of carbon supplied from wood and hydrogen sup plied from the electrolysis of water using a solar power generation system in the desert. In the developed countries, more than half of the potential forest area has already been converted into other land uses, while existing forests are well organized and available for wood production. In the devel oping countries, potential forest sites are expected to be available for wo od production, even though they are presently grasslands or secondary fores ts, while natural tropical forests will not be allowed to be converted into artificial forests. The area available for plantations within 500 km dista nt from deserts was estimated to be 65 Mba in the world, except for the mou ntain areas, Biomass production from these sites will be converted annually into 980 Mt methanol with hydrogen from the deserts. This amount is equal to 34% of the world's fuel consumption by vehicles. (C) 2000 Elsevier Scien ce Ltd. All rights reserved.