INSTEAD of spending money on controlling regrowth, Central Queensland graziers could soon be profiting if a new biofuel project goes ahead.
The CSIRO is looking at ways to produce aviation fuel from biomass (vegetation), and regrowth in the region looks to be the most profitable.
“Regrowth is the most interesting as there is a lot of it and it’s a problem for farmers, and it is already there and can kick-start the industry,” said CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences chief research scientist Dr John Raison.
Dr Raison said demand for fuel from the aviation industry was growing rapidly at 5 per cent a year, and there was pressure to produce biofuel to reduce greenhouse effects and to hedge against the volatility of costs of conventional fuel.
These drivers led to an initial study in the Fitzroy Basin jointly funded by Boeing, he said.
The study, just completed, looked at three sources of biomass: a rotational system where new trees are grown, harvested every 10 years then regrown; harvesting native grass; and the management of regrowth for on-going biomass production.
Managing regrowth is the cheapest of the three biomass sources and new technology is emerging where biofuel can be produced in processing facilities around the region, so the biomass does not need to be transported to central plants.
“It allows initial processing in the region, so there will be more jobs, and the markets for fuel are in the region too,” he said.
“Diesel can be used by farmers and mining, which is just on the doorstep.”
The new up-scaled project is exploratory at this stage and grew out of the scoping study CSIRO conducted in partnership with Boeing in 2011. That study looked at the sources of biomass in the Fitzroy Catchment and a scale-up over 25 years of production of about 500 million litres of aviation fuel a year.
“That was the background of this work and got us close to the stage where we are now,” Dr Raison said.
The CSIRO team visited Central Queensland a number of times and in September talked with graziers and AgForce about the project.
“They were quite keen for anyone who can help with the regrowth problem and help stabilise farm income. Everyone we talked to is very positive given it’s a new idea. It has an attraction in that it is compatible with the grazing industry,” he said.
The next stage of the project is to get potential partners from state and federal government, aviation, mining and agricultural sectors and then put together a major proposal for funding.
“Our plan would be to get it all stitched up by end of the financial year and to commence full activity by the middle of next year.”
The idea is to initially build a small plant that will require about 60,000 tonnes of biomass a year, then in five years another 10 would be built. There would be a progressive scale-up over a 25-year timeframe until the plants would produce 470 megalitres of aviation fuel each year – about 5 percent of Australia’s annual use of aviation fuel.
“A lot of money is needed to start up,” he said.
“The difficulty in this industry is overcoming the risk so investors will do it, so we need to link the three areas: those producing the biomass, those processing it into fuel and those who use the fuel.”
If the project goes to full scale, it would need about 5 million tonnes of biomass per year. That is approaching a million hectares of land.
“So there is a lot of potential for many farmers to contribute,” Dr Raison said.
“This would be a significant industry if it happens.
“It will start small but scale up, and there will be several potential models for how farmers could be involved.
“The landholder could rent out some of their land and let someone else manage it and get a land rent, which is what we have assumed in our economic model, or the farmer could manage his land for both biomass and grazing.
“A biomass broker could also manage and harvest on their behalf.
“There are several possibilities there.”
Dr Raison said there was a lot of social research to be done.
The early stages of an extended project would involve working closely with farmers.
Economic modelling shows that biofuel is still more expensive than fossil fuel. However, Dr Raison said once the project started it would become more efficient.
Currently estimated costs to produce aviation biofuel is $1.10 a litre and about $0.90 for fossil fuel.
“We think it looks reasonably promising and needs more study in detail as there are lots of uncertainties, as there is no industry as yet, but a good research and development program will reduce the risks and encourage industry investment.”
The CSIRO team will soon prepare a proposal for project funding and has met state and local government, the Fitzroy Basin Association, several Queensland universities, the aviation industry, graziers, mining and other heavy industry.
