Kalistani Major History

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Biofuel Setback in Suldanor
Unusually dry year portends poor harvests, but bioplastics advance
Reynoldia, Duchy of Suldanor
August 31, 5498


Agronomists with KALNAPECO revise forecast down in Suldanor

While the last decade has seen a gradual emergence of a soybean industry in Kalistan for the purposes of creating biodiesel, the industry seemed to be a self-perpetuating engine of green growth. But when nature has other plans, it puts attempts to shift to a fully green energy sector in some jeopardy. Such is the case in the Duchy of Suldanor this year where it is clear that, despite best efforts and heavy irrigation, the climate has been too dry this year to allow farmers to meet forecasts. As a result, biodiesel will be in shorter supply, forcing KALNAPECO to continue using petroleum based diesel for fuel needs for yet another year.

"We are now anticipating shortfalls on the order of between 45 and 60% of our targets," says KNP spokesperson Monica Howell. "With continued rain shortfalls verging on moderate to severe drought in Suldanor and southern Odufaray, conditions are just far too dry to allow farmers to get anywhere near the targets we have set for our biodiesel quota this year. There will be shortfalls, and as a result, costs to the consumer will be increasing. By how much is still an open question, but more importantly, this also sets back our strategic goals of supplying biodiesel to meet 85% of the demand in Kalistan internally."

KNP is not sure whether this is the start of a longer term trend in the region which could affect crop production for years to come, or if this year is just an anomaly. "Kalistan has seen trends shifting toward more drier, warmer weather for years now," said Howell, "and this shift touches much of Kalistan proper. But to date, those warmer temperatures have served as a benefit to Kalistani farmers, allowing them to put more crops earlier. This year, it also didn't really rain much over the summer, which is a bit harder to accommodate for, especially in southern Odufaray, which tends to be drier anyway. Basically, no soybeans, no biodiesel, so this is a challenge."

Howell did note that the dry climate has required scientists to return to the labs to develop drier climate alternatives. "This year, our research has focused on creating hybrid crops that are hardier and less affected by drier climate patterns. The Soybean is naturally oily, which is why it is so good for creating biodiesel, but we are seeing whether it would be possible to create a seed variant that keeps those features we want, while also requiring less water and accomodating poorer, sandier, and rockier soils than usual. Dry land grains like millet, which animals tend to eat, are being experimented with to see if we can't cross breed with soy to produce crops that can withstand these climate trends. We could then theoretically shift growing further north into Odufaray."

On the bioplastic front, Howell did report a major breakthrough. "We tried cultivation of various kind of materials, but we have found through experimentation that we achieved the best results with sugar cane and corn starch based bioplastics that binds on cellulose from these two crops. They have consistently shown high marks for durability and versatility. We are very close to developing a durable thermoset plastics that retains shape and functionality even under heat and stress, and can serve as a full replacement for petroleum based plastic in most consumer applications. This is a fantastic development, and does not require the introduction of a new crop type in Kalistan. We already produce sugarcane throughout Suldanor, and have begun growing corn in both Odufaray and Vrassa, which will provide vital source material for our plastics industry."

Most importantly, Howell said, these bioplastics are not only biosourced, but also biodegradable. "While it does require very specific conditions for these plastics to break down, which will necessitate retooling our recycling operations for end of life disposal of these plastics, they do biodegrade back into a high carbon, very rich compost material which is suitable for large scale industrial production of the next generation of plants. creating a circular loop for these plastics is very important, and will require a fairly sizeable public investment, but once it gets off the ground, not only will Kalistan have a clean, renewable, low carbon footprint plastics industry, but we will also be dramatically cutting environmental pollution while still providing Kalistani consumers with the plastics they use every day."

This research which has taken place over more than a generation seems to finally be yielding results. "We definitely see a light at the end of the tunnel," said Howell. "But we have the technology, we have the research, and we are developing the infrastructure, and within 5 years, we should be seeing these new products in mass production for everything from sodas to car body components. It's an exciting time for bioplastics."