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February 2, 2008
As part of a $60 million upgrade to their Bombala softwood processing facility Willmott Forests have indicated they will be exploring the possibility of using plantation waste to produce biofuel.
Willmott Forests has also won the right to explore with Forests NSW options to extract up to 70,000 tonnes per annum of biomass from plantation waste which may be used in applications such as power generation and biofuel.
Ethtec, a Willmott Forests subsidiary, is currently constructing a pilot plant for cellulosic ethanol production in Northern New South Wales (previous post). Should this be successful it isn't hard to imagine Willmott Forests using the same technology in Bombala.
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December 3, 2007
Construction of a pilot lignocellulosic plant at Harwood Island, near Maclean, has started. Processing is due to kick off on December 17, 2007. The operation is being run by Australian biofuel company Ethanol Technologies Ltd, or Ethtec, which has the rights to commercialise a cutting-edge technology developed and proven at the laboratory stage by Australian and US researchers.
The process uses hydrolysis to convert the hemicellulose and cellulose components of the fibre to sugars, which already have markets such as bioplastics. The sugar solution is then fermented with the resulting ethanol stream concentrated via distillation. The new technology allows for simultaneous ethanol recovery and liquid waste treatment, significantly reducing the environmental impact of ethanol distilleries.
In the state's southeast, Bombala-based softwood company Willmott Forests, which this year bought a 51% shareholding in Ethtec for $2.75 million, is confident the technology will provide big opportunities to add value to traditionally lower value wood products. Willmott chief executive Marcus Derham said the project had the potential to change the structure and pricing of pulp, chip and mill residue markets across the whole forestry industry.
Ethtec company director Robert Carey said the process would be tested extensively at the Harwood plant next year, and if successful on a commercial scale, would have immediate application world-wide in ethanol distilleries utilising traditional sugar, corn or starch feedstocks. "This is a world-wide race and if we can win it, the result will be Australian technology being exported on a large scale,"Mr Carey said. "The commercialisation process is about ensuring we can get the same economies of scale in the real world as have been achieved. Ethanol is a clean-burning alcohol produced by bacteria that ferment the sugars in maize or sugar. Ethanol is a potential alternative to petrol and about five million vehicles already drive on 'flex-fuel' in the US. in the laboratory."
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November 14, 2007
Ethanol Technologies Ltd (Ethtec) welcomes the recent announcement from the Deputy Prime Minister the Hon. Mark Vaile that provides for $5 million of Federal Government support for the construction and operation of the Ethtec Lignocellulosic Ethanol Pilot Plant.
Ethtec has a world-wide exclusive licence from Apace Research Limited to further develop and commercialise technologies developed by and under the direction of Apace Research for the production of ethanol from lignocellulosic material such as wood, bagasse (waste from sugar production), crop stubble and municipal green waste.
Ethtec has raised funds to build a pilot plant, designed by Apace Research, to demonstrate the commercial application of these technologies. Ethtec Chairman, Mr Jonathan Madgwick at Ethtec's Annual General Meeting in Ingham last night said, "we are delighted that the Federal Government has shown the foresight to support our project with matching funding and look forward to a timely and positive outcome from our efforts."
Over the past 25 years Apace Research has received a number of Federal Government grants to develop new technologies for the production of ethanol from lignocellulosic material. In collaboration with the University of Southern Mississippi, the Tennessee Valley Authority and the University of New South Wales, Apace Research has developed and demonstrated this technology at laboratory and mini-pilot plant scale.
Ethtec has commenced construction of a pilot plant to value-add to wood residues (including pine), bagasse and other lignocellulosic materials. The pilot plant project is a four phase project to further develop and commercialise the Apace Research technology.
The pilot plant is situated at the NSW Sugar Milling Co-Operative Harwood Mill and Refinery in Northern NSW.
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Technology
The individual new technology processes and the associated phases of the pilot plant project are:
-hydrolysis of lignocellulosics (phase one);
-alternative sugars and lignin production (phase two);
-fermentation (phase three); and
-simultaneous ethanol recovery and liquid effluent treatment (phase four)
Phase one of the pilot plant project is a critical phase for a commercially viable cellulosic ethanol fuel industry to be established world-wide. It involves a new hydrolysis process that converts the hemicellulose and cellulose components of the fibre to sugars at a significantly lower cost than competing methods. These sugars have a ready market in the production of renewable chemicals and bioplastics, and as an alternative in some traditional sucrose markets.
Phase four of the pilot plant project can be undertaken at the same time as phase one, and involves a new process of simultaneous ethanol recovery and liquid waste treatment. If successful, this new process will eliminate the liquid waste stream and thereby significantly reduce the environmental impact of ethanol distilleries. Furthermore, by using "induced phase separation", the ethanol recovery essentially eliminates the need for the conventional distillation technology, thus dramatically improving the energy balance of ethanol production, with accompanying reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
This new process is expected to have immediate application world-wide in all new and existing ethanol distilleries that utilise traditional sugar, corn or starch feedstocks. There are more than 300 of these plants worldwide, either in operation or in the final stages of construction. The current annual global production of ethanol using traditional methods is approximately 50 billion litres.
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