Three days after Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced the details of the carbon pricing package, including a $10 billion fund to invest in clean and renewable energy, the Minister for Industry, Innovation, Science and Research Senator Kim Carr has paid a visit to Queensland University of Technology's (QUT) Mackay Renewable Biocommodities Pilot Plant. Marking the one-year anniversary of the plant's launch with his visit, Senator Carr learned that QUT research has made excellent progress towards the development of biofuels and green chemicals.
Previously discarded waste from Queensland's sugarcane crops may one day replace up to a third of Queensland's unleaded petrol needs, thanks to QUT research occurring at the purpose-built pilot plant.
"Waste from Queensland's sugarcane crops has the potential to replace up to 35 per cent of the state's unleaded petrol requirements. This would significantly reduce our need to import oil; it would significantly reduce greenhouse gases and revitalise North Queensland's sugar industry," QUT Professor James Dale said.
"QUT researchers at the pilot plant have spent the past year developing and demonstrating new biofuel technology.
"Since the plant opened in July last year, we have focussed on the most challenging stages involved in the process of converting sugarcane waste - or 'biomass' - into ethanol. We have developed and demonstrated the pretreatment process required to modify biomass so that it is more amenable to processing into fermentable sugars as well as other higher value biocommodities.
"In coming months we will complete the final steps in the process of converting fermentable sugars into ethanol."
Professor Dale said researchers at the pilot plant had already managed to use biomass to produce lignin, a green chemical which could replace fossil-based chemicals commonly used in paints and adhesives.
"We have also partnered with The Biofuels Partnership in a project to further develop their innovative community-scale biodiesel production unit known as the Biocube which could be used on farms to covert oils into biodiesel," he said.
Senator Carr said the work being done in Mackay was an outstanding example of Australian ingenuity.
"I am pleased that this plant is not only working to create biofuels from waste, they are committed to helping Australian industries access and utilise the renewable energy," he said.
The Mackay Pilot Plant has been funded by the Australian Government through the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy, the Queensland Government's Smart State Research Facilities Fund, the Australian Government's Education Investment Fund and QUT. QUT's industry partners in this project include the large global agri-business Syngenta, Farmacule and Mackay Sugar Ltd.
"This is a very exciting time. The pilot plant and our research on new biofuels based on generating fermentable sugars from sugarcane waste are attracting international attention," Professor Dale said.
"We are in discussions with a number of major international companies keen to partner with us to move these very promising R&D advances into commercial feasibility phase. We are also receiving numerous enquiries from both national and international organisations and companies interested in accessing the unique capacities of the pilot plant."
Media contact: Michaela Ryan, QUT media officer, 07 3138 4494 or michaela.ryan@qut.edu.au
