Boral and Global Ecofuel enter the biofuel and bitumen arena

An Australian government agency has awarded around US$350,000 to two companies to investigate the production of bitumen and diesel from wood waste. If successful, Australia’s state of New South Wales could become home to the world’s first biorefinery turning sawmill residues into renewable bitumen and diesel, according to ARENA - the Australian Renewable Energy Agency. Under the $842,000 million study, Boral Timber, a major supplier of hardwood and softwood in Australia, will explore the technical and
May 9, 2019 Read time: 2 mins

An Australian government agency has awarded around US$350,000 to two companies to investigate the production of bitumen and diesel from wood waste.

If successful, Australia’s state of New South Wales could become home to the world’s first biorefinery turning sawmill residues into renewable bitumen and diesel, according to ARENA - the Australian Renewable Energy Agency.

Under the $842,000 million study, 8897 Boral Timber, a major supplier of hardwood and softwood in Australia, will explore the technical and financial viability of establishing a biorefinery near the Herons Creek sawmill.

If the study is successful, ARENA said the proposed biorefinery could cost around $35 million to build. But it could convert up to 50,000tonnes of waste sawmill residue produced each year into transport-grade renewable diesel and bitumen.

The sawmill residue – which includes sawdust, remnant woodchips, shavings and offcuts – is currently used for lower value products and processes such as landscaping and boiler fuel.

The study will consider a low-temperature and pressure mechanical catalytic conversion technology developed by Spanish-based Global Ecofuel Solutions. The process breaks down long chain hydrocarbon molecules into shorter chain liquid hydrocarbon products such as bitumen, avgas and diesel. The process has yet to be developed into a full-production facility, explained Ivor Frischknecht, chief executive of ARENA.

“The transport sector is a significant user of energy in Australia, with liquid fuels a key long term energy source for heavy-vehicle road and air transport since they cannot readily be electrified,” he said. “Bioenergy comprises a growing proportion of Australia’s energy mix and this new technology could see residue from the production process be used to reduce Boral’s reliance on diesel and bitumen derived from fossil fuels.”

Wayne Manners, Boral’s executive general manager for building products, said that if the feasibility study was successful, the transport-grade renewable diesel produced at the potential new biorefinery could eventually account for up to 15% of Boral’s own annual diesel needs.

The project will also explore the potential government regulatory hurdles to developing biorefineries in rural New South Wales.

Boral Timber
%$Linker: 2 External <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 0 0 0 link-external https://www.boral.com.au/products/timber false https://www.boral.com.au/products/timber false false%>

Arena
%$Linker: 2 External <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 0 0 0 link-external https://arena.gov.au/projects/hardwood-residue-bio-refinery-feasibility-study/ false https://arena.gov.au/projects/hardwood-residue-bio-refinery-feasibility-study/ false false%>

Global Ecofuel Solutions
%$Linker: 2 External <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 0 0 0 link-external https://gefs.es/arena-grant-approved-for-partnership-study-with-boral/ false https://gefs.es/arena-grant-approved-for-partnership-study-with-boral/ false false%>

Materials

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Asphaltica exhibition and conference will provide asphalt road knowledge
    October 31, 2012
    The global economy is still suffering, and many believe investment in road and other infrastructure is the key to its revival Over the past 14 years in Italy, only 187km of new highways have been made, but, at the same time, the amount of vehicles using the country’s roads has grown by nearly 10 million. It is in this context of financial concern and growing burden on existing road infrastructure that the sixth edition of ASPHALTICA, the only European event exclusively dedicated to the world of asphalt, bit
    Read More
  • VIDEO footage shows bridge replacement project in Rhode Island
    October 10, 2014
    A time-lapse video has been released showing the rapid replacement of the Barton Corner Bridge in Rhode Island in the US. Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) partnered with EarthCam to document the US$6.4 million rapid replacement of the Barton Corner Bridge. The construction project was completed during an 11-day period in August 2014 and can be seen in an exclusive time-lapse, released by RIDOT. Had RIDOT had used conventional methods, the bridge replacement would have taken two full constru
    Read More
  • France tops Eurobitume’s European bitumen consumption table
    November 20, 2017
    Among European countries, France consumed the most bitumen in 2016, using over 2.2 million tonnes of the black stuff, according to figures from Eurobitume. The recent 2016 Eurobitume Bitumen Consumption Statistics for Europe shows that bitumen consumption across all grades for Europe as a whole was 11,274 million tonnes in 2016.
    Read More
  • US driving distances see continued increase
    September 6, 2017
    New data released by the US Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) shows that US driving topped 2.53 trillion kilometres in the first six months of 2017. This continues a streak of steadily increasing vehicle distances travelled that began in 2011.
    Read More

Highlighted Content