Australia’s first dry mill grain ethanol plant at Dalby SE Qld
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November 13, 2005A $54 million ethanol plant will be built in SE Queensland to boost supplies of alternative fuel. The State Government will link up with two Queensland companies – the Queensland Fuel Group and Petro Fuels and Lubricants – to begin construction of a bio-refinery near Dalby in mid-2006.
This will be the state’s first dry grain mill ethanol plant, initially producing 40 million litres of ethanol annually from mid-2007. Eventual production of a minimum 80 million litres a year is good news for although the number of service stations stocking E10 fuels in Queensland has grown from 12 to 102, supply has apparently been an issue.
The grain-to-ethanol technology successful in the US provides an opportunity for the Dalby area’s sorghum and wheat producers – the primary feed stocks to be used in production.
In Queensland this year it’s estimated 20 million litres of ethnanol have been sold. It seems misconceptions about ethanol use are being overcome!
5 Comments
This drives up the cost of grain, e.g. increases the cost of meat fed on grain, etc., and generally increases the cost of bread, causes instability in poorer countries, etc.
The solution may well be to genetically engineer a grain that is not used as food for humans and animals. Nobody would object to this sort of approach (excepty the analy retentive who naysay anything.)Why not get Monsanto on side to do this.
Good thinking Geoff
I just read some articles on biofuel. I am shocked. To produce 1 liter of biofuel we need (only) 4000 litre of good drinking water. You do the maths. 90 mil. liters of biofuel in Dalby. And I thought we had water shorage. And by the way, ? how many millions liters of fuel is required to harvest 250mil tonnes of grain. It makes so much sense to produce biofuel!!! not.
Geoff this is such a poor perspective, Sorghum is the key ingredient/grain commodity used in the dry grain ethanol plant in Dalby, this grain is commonly not used in Food production because wheat and barley are much better substitutes. The grain produced in Australia of this quality is usually to expensive for world aid programs and therefore this will not affect their supplies.
Second point, you suggest why not Genetically engineer a grain that is neither used for food for humans or animals this is very difficult to do as Humans, animals and ethanol production all rely on energy (Usually as a sugar) so what would genetically engineering another grain source achieve.
Currently agricultural scientists are working on drought resistant cultivars of grain that have higher yield and protein content on the same production area and inputs as what are currently used.
I Apologise for being abrupt but I think that you should all stand back and look at what you are paying for food then look at the commodity markets and figure out how much the farmers of this country who are feeding you are getting paid.
This Ethanol plant can only mean one thing for Grain Producers in southern Qld and northern NSW and that is higher grain prices.
Also it will mean higher prices for high quality beef cattle and meat sheep which means that smart farmers will make more money direct to markets than before benefitting our primary producers.
Please try and remember what Australia was built on not what we all survive on now. And what will carry Australia into the future because the mineral boom is not sustainable.
Not sure what biofuel marcus is speaking of but to produce 1 litre ethanol from sorghum requires 4 litres of water. Certainly not 4000. Must have been a typing mistake you would hope. Misinformation creates hysteria.