Plants accumulating valuable metals, like nickel, can be farmed

This shrub oozes a green sap rich in nickel (Source: New Scientist)

Mining for metals is very destructive and expensive. For example, New Caledonia in the Pacific has rich deposits of nickel and its land has been ravaged by strip mining of the metal. However, some plants accumulate high concentrations of metals, such as nickel, possibly as a defence against pests. These plants are called hyperaccumulators and can be used to produce metals, perhaps reducing the need for mining. 

Nickel is an important metal for the making of steel and is used in many lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicles, phones and other consumer items. Demand for nickel and other metallic elements is expected to surge as they are needed for electric vehicles, wind turbines, magnets, lasers and other crucial technologies.

Hyperaccumlators have been found in areas where volcanic eruptions have brought the softened Earth's mantle, rich in metals, to the surface as ultramafic rock. The resulting soils have produced plants that accumulate metals such as cobalt, arsenic, manganese, zinc, nickel and other rare earth elements. 

As a result of finding these plants, farming has commenced and it is called agromining. Metal farms are now springing up in China, Europe and Malaysia. The ultramafic soils are poor for other crops, so are now given a more profitable use. In Europe, the nickel hyperaccumulator plant is related to kale. It is harvested, baled and burnt to release a nickel rich ash. The heat from burning is used to heat surrounding homes. The return per hectare is much greater than that for wheat.

Hyperaccumulator plants can also be used to rehabilitate old mining sites, such as in New Caledonia, as it is difficult to grow other plants there. Also field trials have been set up to test agromining production on old mining sites in China.

For more information see: How to grow metal. New Scientist, January 9, 2021, No3316, pp42-5.

How can we avoid buying products with palm oil ingredients?

 

Palm Oil Free face cream (Photo Julie May)

The repeated removal of tropical jungle to plant oil palms (Elaeis guineensis) for palm oil has reduced the habitat of many threatened species, in particular the Orangutan in South East Asia. Unfortunately (or fortunately for some) the large palm fruit is rich in oil which makes it a cheap oil to harvest.

Over the last few years I have been trying to buy products that do not contain palm oil but it is very hard to know which ingredients come from palm oil. I look for products that say they are 'palm oil free' but there are not many of those and it is often said that palm oil is in almost everything! See WWF webpage below for a general list of products containing palm oil.

Well thanks to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), there is a list of ingredients that come from palm oil. Some are common ingredients that can come from other plants such as vegetable oil, vegetable fat, sodium lauryl sulphate and others, so further research is needed or the producing company contacted. Other ingredients are obviously from palm oil. The WWF also suggests looking for the sustainably produced palm oil symbol on products (see webpage).

Here is the WWF's list of ingredients coming from palm oil:

INGREDIENTS: Vegetable Oil, Vegetable Fat, Palm Kernel, Palm Kernel Oil, Palm Fruit Oil, Palmate, Palmitate, Palmolein, Glyceryl, Stearate, Stearic Acid, Elaeis Guineensis, Palmitic Acid, Palm Stearine, Palmitoyl Oxostearamide, Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-3, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Sodium Kernelate, Sodium Palm Kernelate, Sodium Lauryl Lactylate/Sulphate, Hyrated Palm Glycerides, Etyl Palmitate, Octyl Palmitate, Palmityl Alcohol. CONTAINS: Palm oil (World Wildlife Fund).

For years I have been unknowingly using face creams that contain one or two palm oil ingredients, so I decided to try to find one without. From Coles in Australia, I found the Australian made Sukin pictured above. It has a long list of ingredients but does not contain any of the above. There are other plant oils included such as from: sesame, cacao, rosehip, macadamia, jojoba, argan, candelilla, baobab, acai, hibiscus, goji, tangerine, mandarin, lavender and carrot oils. Vegetable protein is listed but possibly not from palm oil as oils/fats do not contain protein.

For more information see the WWF webpage at: https://www.worldwildlife.org/pages/which-everyday-products-contain-palm-oil