Scientists in Schools Program - Presentations from the Energy and Climate Change Symposium

1. Biofuels in Australia: Issues and Prospects Scientists in Schools 26 October 2007 Presented by Deborah O’Connell Contributing authors: Brian Keating, Michael Dunlop, Michael O’Connor, Barrie May, John Raison, Tom Beer, David Batten, Tim Grant, Graham Turner, Franzi Poldy, David Lamb, Mick Poole, Andrew Braid, Victoria Haritos, Cameron Begley, Peter Campbell, Damien Farine

2. Biofuels – hype vs reality

6. 3. What are biofuels? 1 st and 2 nd generation conversion technologies Source: Hamelinck and Faaij (2006) Outlook for advanced biofuels. Energy Policy 34 : 3268-3283. Hydrogen (H 2 ) Methanol (CH 3 OH) DME (CH 3 OCH 3 ) FT Diesel (C x H y ) SNG (CH 4 ) Biodiesel (C x H y ) Ethanol (CH 3 CH 2 OH) Biodiesel (alkyl esters) Bio oil (vegetable oil) Water gas shift + separation Catalysed synthesis Purification Hydro treating and refining Fermentation Esterification Vegetable oil Sugar Bio oil Biogas Syngas Gasification Anaerobic digestion Flash pyrolysis Hydrothermal liquefaction Hydrolysis Milling and hydrolysis Pressing or extraction Lignocellulosic biomass Sugar/starch crops Oil plants

7. 4. What is the current status of the industry? Ethanol Biodiesel Diesel 15 1.5 0.076 Biodiesel Petrol 20 1 0.084 Ethanol 2004/5 fuel usage (GL/yr) Proposed 2010 capacity (GL/yr) 2006/7 prdn (GL/yr) Australia 2007

9. Prospects… Could they? 1 st generation biofuels in Australia From O’Connell et al 2007. Biofuels in Australia: Issues and Prospects. RIRDC Pub No 07/071 Coarse

12. Prospects – could they? Replacing oil … Crude Oil Oil Refinery US Department of Energy 2005, American Institute of Chemistry; in New Scientist, 7 th July 2007 US$385bn ~US$375bn

13. Prospects –could they? With 3 rd generation bioproducts and energy… Liquid Biofuel Electricity / Heat Paint Distillers Grain Organic Waste Other Adhesives Biomass Biorefinery

17. If only it was this simple ! Prospects … should they?

19. Prospects … should they? Biodiversity – eg palm oil for biodiesel Biodiversity loss Peat land fires, carbon loss

21. Prospects … should they? Community ‘licence to operate’…. Big crowd expected to protest against charcoal plant … ABC News 20 September 2002 http://www.acr.net.au/~coastwatchers/charcoalition/abc200902a.html http://www.acr.net.au/~coastwatchers/charcoalition/abc200902a.html

22. Prospects … should they? Does the current land use meet community expectation on sustainability? Is there a potential biomass source? Is energy the highest order use for it? Greenhouse gas abatement ? Air quality maintained or improved? ? Land and water quality maintained or improved ? Biodiversity maintained or improved ? Positive social outcomes ? Financial viability ? Community consultation System design From O’Connell Keating Glover Sustainability Guidelines for Bioenergy 2005 The Sustainability Ladder Costs Benefits Costs Benefits Bioenergy not sustainable Bioenergy sustainable Costs Benefits Costs Benefits Bioenergy not sustainable Bioenergy sustainable Yes Conditional Yes Conditions Yes Conditional Yes Conditions Yes Yes Yes (existing) Yes (new) Yes (existing) Yes (new) Bioenergy not sustainable Bioenergy not sustainable No

26. Thanks folks! Contact Deborah.O’Connell@csiro.au This work is funded through the CSIRO Energy Transformed Flagship, with funding partners including RIRDC and GRDC