Environmental research

The general aim of this Project is exploration of the possibilities for production of biodiesel from crops grown on the agricultural land contaminated with heavy metals. This would provide a double effect: soil decontamination by the method of phytoextraction and effective utilization of the agricultural produce, that is otherwise unusable for human and livestock consumption and would have to be disposed off. The specific aims of the Project are: 1. Decontamination of the agricultural land contaminated with heavy metals; the activities to achieve this aim are: a) selection and preparation of the land for cropping; b) sowing of the crops with bioremediation properties; c) harvesting and collection of the yield for biodiesel production; d) analysis of the heavy metal content in the fuel and solid plant remnant; and e) analysis of the heavy metal content in soil samples. 2. Improvement of the economic conditions of the local population, through production of biodiesel for own purposes; activities to be undertaken are: a) procurement and installation of biodiesel production equipment; b) biodiesel production; c) promotion of the possibilities for biodiesel production in the region; and d) advocacy and lobbying for legislative regulation and stimulation of biodiesel production with the offered methodology. 3. Reduction of the effects on the global climate through reduced emission of greenhouse gases and reduced consumption of diesel fuel; activities for achievement of this specific aim are: a) production of biodiesel for own purposes. Expected positive outcomes from this pilot production are: 1. Local development: a) decreased costs of the agricultural production, as a result of the utilization of the produced biodiesel for the agricultural mechanization; b) effective utilization of the agricultural produce grown on the contaminated agricultural land. 2. Environmental component: a) gradual decontamination of the land (with at least 5 cycles), that can afterwards be used for growing other crops. If this kind of experimental production proves to be feasible, both in terms of economic and environmental parameters, it can be scaled up on a larger region, or can be relocated in other regions, where the soil contamination is/will be identified on smaller localized areas (at present, the Japan International Cooperation Agency JICA is financing the Soil Contamination Survey and preparation of Inventory of Contaminated Lands in Macedonia, through which the contaminated regions can be identified and targeted in the future projects). Indirectly and on a long-term basis, this Project will have an impact on: - Decreased use of petrodiesel, i.e. substitution with energy from renewable resource - biomass, as well as decreased emission of hazardous gases and/or potential water and soil contamination. - Utilization of the available resources (unused agricultural land for environmentally friendly and economically sustainable production of industrial crops (rapeseed, sunflower, sugar beet, sugar cane, etc.), for income generation, leading to poverty reduction in Macedonia in a long run.

Macedonia