Australia prepares for petrol crisis

Journal Article · Thu Nov 01 00:00:00 EST 1979 · Energy Int.; (United States)

OSTI ID:5626942

Scott, W E

As Australia's self-sufficiency in petroleum is rapidly declining and a liquid-fuel crisis looms large on the horizon, the government is backing research into biomass-derived fuels. An Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization group determined that such fuels could play a major role in supplementing the liquid fuels. They envisaged that two kinds of alcohol could be used. Ethanol would be produced by the fermentation of starches and sugars derived from special energy crops. A similar compound, methanol, or wood alcohol, would be made from fibrous or woody plant materials, namely: cereal straw, bagasse, logging and timber-mill wastes, and other residues. Recently, trials were begun with a pilot-scale digester to convert waste foods into methane. Working properly, it is expected to generate the equivalent of about 30 litres of petrol per day. Generally, production costs of biomass-derived fuels are expected to be about 2 to 3 times those of petrol, with world crude oil prices at October 1978 levels.

• OSTI ID: 5626942
• Journal Information: Energy Int.; (United States), Vol. 16:11
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

10 SYNTHETIC FUELS
29 ENERGY PLANNING
POLICY AND ECONOMY
09 BIOMASS FUELS
AUSTRALIA
SYNTHETIC FUELS
ETHANOL
PRODUCTION
METHANE
PROCESS DEVELOPMENT UNITS
METHANOL
AGRICULTURE
BIOMASS
ENERGY SOURCE DEVELOPMENT
PETROLEUM
PLANNING
RENEWABLE RESOURCES
RESOURCE ASSESSMENT
ALCOHOLS
ALKANES
AUSTRALASIA
CRYOGENIC FLUIDS
ENERGY SOURCES
FLUIDS
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
FUNCTIONAL MODELS
HYDROCARBONS
HYDROXY COMPOUNDS
INDUSTRY
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES
RESOURCES
090200* - Alcohol Fuels- (-1989)
295000 - Energy Planning & Policy- Hydrogen & Synthetic Fuels
140504 - Solar Energy Conversion- Biomass Production & Conversion- (-1989)