Mixed future for sugar ethanol

SUGARCANE has been recognised as the cheapest renewable crop from which to produce ethanol but waiting for technology to catch up in order to make it viable could be the hardest thing for growers.
Half of the recent two-day Kingsman Conference in Cairns was devoted to ethanol, with 15 speakers giving their views, experiences and projections.

Kingsman, a global reporting and consultancy agency focused on the world sugar and ethanol industries, hosted attendees from nearly all sectors of the sugar industry.

Speakers ranged from executives from Australia’s ethanol producing companies to GM Holden, Caltex, cellulosic ethanol researchers and a grain trader.

And while growers may have been buoyed by the discussion about cane being the preferred ethanol crop, the mood was balanced with projections of just how far off a feasible industry would be.

It was recognised sugarcane was the cheapest renewable source from which to produce ethanol as the feedstock accounts for 60-80 percent of the cost of production.

In Brazil where millers buy the cane for around US14 tonne, and export it at around US33c/litre, motorists buy ethanol for less than half the price of petrol, which accounts for the high uptake of Flex-Fuel vehicles.

In the grain for ethanol versus grain for food debate, the general opinion was that the threat to food has been overstated, particularly as most of the grain used for ethanol is diverted from animal feed.

It is a non-issue in Australia according to Dalby Bio-Refinery CEO Kevin Endres, who pointed out, at his plant, sorghum goes into the process with a protein content of 9-10 percent, comes out as brewers grain with a protein level of 35pc.

From every tonne of sorghum 750kg of brewers grain is produced and 140kg of syrup, both of which are used to formulate feedlot rations.

The conference was told the world wasn’t going to run out of oil any time soon, but in 20 or so years, demand will outstrip the supply of easily accessible oil - unless ethanol extends that period - and to make up the shortfall, as the oil produced from shale or heavy sands is costly, fuel will become more expensive.

SOURCE: nqr.farmonline