Research sparks bright future for bio-energy

Australia’s move towards renewable energy resources will take a step forward tomorrow, with the development of six nation-wide initiatives for biomass energy systems.

Researchers and industry experts will meet in Canberra to plan the development of a sustainable biomass resource in tandem with suitable bio-energy technology which has the potential to replace a large proportion of fossil fuels and deliver a productive industry to rural Australia.

Biomass is the residues from trees, crops and agricultural and forestry wastes which is used to make fuels, chemicals and electricity.

The meeting will be co-ordinated by Australia’s Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC).

“Currently there are a number of research projects, in the public and private sector, looking into different aspects of the biomass industry,” RIRDC General Manager – Research Dr Roslyn Prinsley said.

“We are proposing six new projects worth several million dollars which will build on the current work and move towards outcomes that will foster industry development.

“Bio-energy is an exciting development for Australian industry, and especially agriculture, which will benefit from the introduction of new uses for wastes and specialist tree planting programs.”

Dr Prinsley said introduction of biomass as an environmentally sustainable energy system was in line with the Federal Government’s commitment to increase the contribution of renewable energy to Australia’s electricity supply by two per cent.

On a world scale the International Energy Agency estimates that biomass energy sources have the potential to meet 40 per cent of all present energy consumption.

Already the US has set a goal of tripling the use of bioenergy and bioproducts by 2010. It estimates that meeting this goal could create US$15 billion to US$20 billion in new income for farmers and rural America, and reduce annual
greenhouse gas emissions by up to 100 million tons ? the equivalent of taking more than 70 million cars off the road.

“The development of a biomass industry in Australia has the obvious benefits of reducing fossil fuel usage and greenhouse emissions, but has added environmental benefits for Australia’s agricultural regions suffering damage from salinity, acidity and erosion,” Dr Prinsley says.

“To meet demand for biomass products, there will need to be increased tree plantings that will help halt the salt-led destruction of farm land while providing a commercial benefit to farmers.

“The investment made now in research is expected to pay big dividends right across Australia.”
Announcements of final project descriptions, value and proponents will be made in April.

More information:
Roslyn Prinsley, RIRDC General Manager – Research.    Ph. 02 6272 4033 or 0409 661 087
Tim Evans, RIRDC Communications.    Ph. 02 6272 4735 or 0409 661 961
 
 

BACKGROUNDER - The benefits and potential use of bio-energy

The production of energy from biomass sources, such as agricultural residues or short rotation tree crops, is one of the promising solar based renewable energy sources currently available to replace the use of fossil fuels. Biomass can be converted into a range of energy forms, including electrical and heat energy, liquid and gas fuels, and charcoal. On a world scale the International Energy Agency estimates that biomass energy sources have the potential to meet 40% of all present energy consumption, and that already these sources are second only to hydro-electricity as a supplier of renewable energy to commercial users.

There are additional environmental and economic benefits associated with the production of renewable energy from biomass. As a rationale for increased tree planting, biomass production can assist with the reduction of soil salinity and acidity, the mitigation of soil erosion, the utilisation of wastewater, the sequestration of atmospheric carbon, and the creation of employment and new industries in rural areas. For example, the large scale planting of Mallee eucalypts in Western Australia for the production of eucalyptus oil, activated carbon and bio-energy, has the potential to reduce salinity in Western Australia’s low rainfall zone, while sequestering atmospheric carbon in the Mallee rootstocks.

Bio-energy in Australia
In Australia the relatively low cost of fossil fuels has in the past limited the commercial role of bio-energy sources. Commercial development of renewable energy sources will therefore be largely driven by the need to respond to greenhouse issues under Australia’s commitment to the UNFCCC, rather than by energy availability or cost. In this context, the Commonwealth Government’s commitment to increase the contribution of renewable energy to Australia’s electricity supply by 2%, combined with government and community support for Green Power schemes, have the potential to create real and valuable markets for bio-energy.

Australian biomass projects
To meet this potential demand there are already a significant group of Australian projects investigating the utilisation of biomass for renewable energy and other products. Several of these projects are at, or near, the pilot stage of development, and would be well positioned to supply a bio-energy market.

Current projects include:
· The generation of electrical and heat energy by the combustion of biomass residues from sawmills and agricultural crops (co-generation and co-firing);

· The production of combustible gases which can be used to power small scale electrical generators (wood gasification);

· The production of ethanol and methanol for use as a solvent, or as a liquid fuel which can be added to petrol or diesel for use in conventional vehicles;

· The production of eucalyptus oil for use as a pharmaceutical product, and as an alternative to ozone depleting industrial solvents such as trichloroethane;

· The generation of electrical power in tandem with the production of high quality charcoal for specialist smelting, and for use as a cooking fuel;

· The production of activated carbon for use in the purification of water, air and oil, and for the extraction of gold in the mining industry;

· Integrated Mallee Processing, to produce eucalyptus oil, charcoal, activated carbon and electrical power from mallee coppice treated in a single processing plant.

Much of this work has been collaborative in nature, involving cooperation between government agencies, research organisations and industry. Contributors have included the Australian Greenhouse Office, the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation, the Australian Biomass Taskforce, CSIRO, the Western Australian Department of Conservation and Land Management, State Forests of NSW, Enecon Pty Ltd, The Oil Mallee Company, Western Power Corporation, Stanwell Corporation, and the Manildra Group.