Bioproduct Os

Bioenergy, Bioproducts and Energy
A Framework for research and development
A report for the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation
by Deborah O’Connell, Victoria Haritos, Sonia Graham, Damien Farine, Michael O’Connor,
David Batten, Barrie May, John Raison, Andrew Braid, Michael Dunlop, Tom Beer, Cameron Begley,
Andrew Braid, Mick Poole, David Lamb
November 2007
RIRDC Publication No 07/178

RIRDC Project No CSW-44A (PRJ-000830)
© 2007 Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation.
All rights reserved.
ISBN 1 74151 573 4

ISSN 1440-6845
Bioenergy, bioproducts and energy—A framework for research and development
Publication No. 07/178
Project No. CSW-44A (PRJ-000830)
The information contained in this publication is intended for general use to assist public knowledge and discussion
and to help improve the development of sustainable regions. You must not rely on any information contained in
this publication without taking specialist advice relevant to your particular circumstances.
While reasonable care has been taken in preparing this publication to ensure that information is true and correct,
the Commonwealth of Australia gives no assurance as to the accuracy of any information in this publication.
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Researcher Contact Details

Dr Deborah O’Connell
CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems
GPO Box 284
CRACE ACT 2602
Phone: 02 6242 1600

Email: Deborah.O’Connell@csiro.au
In submitting this report, the researcher has agreed to RIRDC publishing this material in its edited form.
RIRDC Contact Details

Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation
Level 2, 15 National Circuit
BARTON ACT 2600
PO Box 4776
KINGSTON ACT 2604
Phone: 02 6271 4100

Fax: 02 6271 4199
Email: rirdc@rirdc.gov.au.
Web: http://www.rirdc.gov.au
Published in November 2007

Printed by Union Offset Printing
ii
Foreword
In July 2007 RIRDC began a new program in Bioenergy, Bioproducts and Energy. This report aims to
recommend a set of research and development priorities to RIRDC in the areas of bioenergy (including
biofuels and electricity) and bioproducts. The priorities identified here are based on a survey of
industry participants, a workshop of R&D providers, discussions with Bioenergy Australia and a
literature review. RIRDC will develop a Five-Year Plan for the new program using the
recommendations in this report as input to the planning process.
This report begins with a snapshots of bioenergy, biofuels and bioproduct industries internationally
and then within Australia. This has been done to provide some context for the development of the
research and development priorities. A framework for the Research and Development in this program
area is presented and explained. The results of an online survey of industry participants in terms of
their current work in the area, organisational research capacity, and contact details are given.
This project was funded from RIRDC Core Funds (which are provided by the Australian Government)
in partnership with CSIROs Energy Transformed Flagship.
Most of our publications are available for viewing, downloading or purchasing online through our
website:
• downloads at www.rirdc.gov.au/fullreports/index.html
• purchases at www.rirdc.gov.au/eshop
Peter O’Brien
Managing Director
Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation
iii
Acknowledgments
We thank the following people: Roslyn Prinsley, Charlie McElhone, Brian Keating, Bruce Pengelly,
Will Woodward, Franzi Poldy, respondents to the survey and Bioenergy Australia members for your
contributions. Les Edye and Steve Schuck had considerable input into the architecture of the R&D
‘mudmap’ presented here. They participated at a workshop, and many other discussions during the
process of writing this report. We also thank Steve for his formal referee’s review of this report, and
consistent efforts to better co-ordinate researchers, government and industry efforts through his role as
manager of Bioenergy Australia.
iv
Contents
Foreword ............................................................................................................................................... iii
Acknowledgments................................................................................................................................. iv
Executive Summary ............................................................................................................................. vi
Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 1
Background, Technologies and Current Status.................................................................................. 2
Current snapshot of biofuels................................................................................................................ 2
An international snapshot................................................................................................................ 2
The Australian context .................................................................................................................... 3
Current snapshot of bioenergy (heat and power) from biomass.......................................................... 5
An international snapshot................................................................................................................ 5
Bioproducts and biorefineries ............................................................................................................. 7
An international summary ............................................................................................................... 8
Research and Development Priorities ............................................................................................... 10
Survey details .................................................................................................................................... 10
R&D Priorities................................................................................................................................... 11
Box 1 R&D investment framework or ‘roadmap’......................................................................... 13
Box 2 Sustainability ...................................................................................................................... 14
Box 3 Biomass resources .............................................................................................................. 16
Box 4 Supply logistics................................................................................................................... 18
Box 5 Conversion technologies..................................................................................................... 19
Box 6 Matching feedstock production systems with economically viable processing systems.... 20
Box 7 Products a) Product streams b) Understanding markets c) Pathways for new products to
market............................................................................................................................................ 22
Box 8 Policy analysis .................................................................................................................... 24
Box 9 Outreach.............................................................................................................................. 25
Box 10 Capacity building.............................................................................................................. 25
Other Related Activities...................................................................................................................... 26
The Academy of Technological Science and Engineering................................................................ 26
CSIRO Energy Transformed Flagship Future Fuels Forum.............................................................. 26
The Clean Energy Council Bioenergy Roadmapping project ........................................................... 26
IEA Bioenergy................................................................................................................................... 27
Concluding Comments and Next Steps ............................................................................................. 28
References ............................................................................................................................................ 29
Appendix 1 Survey responses............................................................................................................. 30
Appendix 2 Survey respondents information on organisational R&D activity and capacity ...... 38
Appendix 3 Feedback on R&D framework from Bioenergy Australia forum .............................. 46
v
Executive Summary
What the report is about
This report aims to recommend a framework for organising research and development priorities to
RIRDC, as well as provide research priorities arising from a survey and tabulated information on
organisations and researchers who are active in this area of research.
Who is the report targeted at?

In July 2007 RIRDC began a new program in Bioenergy, Bioproducts and Energy. This report aims to
recommend a set of research and development priorities to RIRDC in the areas of bioenergy (including
biofuels) and bioproducts. It does not cover the areas of “Methane to Markets”, and “Energy” because
these parts of the program are being developed under a different set of institutional arrangements, and
will be managed by RIRDC as part of the Bioenergy, Bioproducts and Energy program. RIRDC will
develop a Five-Year Plan for the new program using this report as an input.
Background
This report forms one of a series of reports from CSIRO to RIRDC to underpin the development of the
new program.
• Biofuels in Australia – issues and prospects (O’Connell et al.2007) – synthesis and summary
versions
• Biofuels in Australia – biofuel co-products for livestock (Braid 2007)
• Bio-based products (Haritos 2007)
• Biofuels in Australia – some economic and policy issues (Batten and O’Connell 2007)
All of the reports contain extensive reviews of a range of issues related to biofuels, bioproducts and to
a lesser extent, bioenergy (heat and power generation).
In this report, the knowledge gaps identified in the reviews are distilled and combined with surveys of
industry participants to recommend research and development priorities.
Aims/Objectives
This aim of the report is to provide a framework to organise research and development priorities and
projects. It also provides a list of research priorities and some of the organisations actively working in
the area.
RIRDC and other agencies with an active interest in R&D in this field are the prime beneficiaries of
the work presented here. It will also help to frame further development of an industry ‘roadmap’ and
will therefore help to guide government, researchers and industry with strategic investment into
research and development.
Methods used
There were four major inputs to this analysis
• Extensive literature reviews and analysis of opportunities and knowledge gaps for biofuels
(O’Connell et al.2007) and bioproducts (Haritos 2007) but not for bioelectricity and bioheat.
• An on-line questionnaire (trialled on paper at the Bioenergy Australia 2006 conference) which was
open to all industry participants about research activities and recommended priorities
vi
• A workshop held at CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems on 23rd March 2007 with the authors of this
report, as well as representatives from RIRDC, NFF, Bioenergy Australia, Queensland University
of Technology to discuss research and development priorities
• Positive feedback and useful commentary elicited from a presentation of the research priority
framework to Bioenergy Australia on 21 June 2007.
Results/Key findings
The R&D priorities have been organised into a set of 10 areas, each of which have a rationale and a set
of defined priorities (Figure 3, page 12). The 10 areas are
1. Research and development investment framework or ‘roadmap’
2. Sustainability
3. Biomass resources
4. Supply logisitics
5. Conversion technologies
6. Matching feedstock production with cost effective conversion technologies
7. Products a) Product streams b) Understanding markets c) Pathways for products to markets
8. Economic and policy analysis
9. Outreach
10. Capacity building
1. R&D Investment Framework or “Roadmap”

Identifying uniquely Australian problems/solutions, competitive advantage – national framework for bioenergy; national R&D framework/ roadmap
2. Sustainability
Assessment methods, accreditation schemes, Life Cycle Analysis case studies and inventories, biophysical and socio-economic analyses at regional,
national and international scales, quantifying benefits and impacts across economic and environmental value chains, obtaining community approval and
consumer demand
3. Biomass resources 4. Supply 5. Conversion 7a. Product 7b. Market analysis

• Current production base
logistics technologies streams • Domestic
• Future production base • Biorefineries • Identifying and • International
• Characterisation of biomass • Infrastructure
• Biocatalytic characterising novel
• Feedstock
• Thermo-chemical products
catchment
• Creation of co-products • Uses for co-products
• Harvesting/ • Market testing
incl fuel, heat, power,
scheduling • Safety testing
char
• Pre-processing
• Closed loop systems
7c. Pathways for products to markets

6. Matching feedstock production systems to economically viable • Infrastructure
• Distribution
processing systems • Barriers
Feedstock security, infrastructure, transport, distance to market, economic threshholds • Disposal
8. Policy analysis
Impacts of settings, feedbacks, current and future, domestic and international, placing biofuel policy in the context of broader energy and climate
change policy and carbon markets, sequencing of options and strategies for transition
9. Outreach
Education, communication, extension, barriers to uptake

Communities and industries with skilled labour, infrastructure, capital etc to develop new industries
vii
Implications for relevant stakeholders, and recommendations for
further steps
The research and development framework presented here is preliminary in nature and primarily aimed
at RIRDC to assist with setting the research agenda for their new program in Bioenergy, Bioproducts
and Energy. It may also be useful to a broader audience because it represents a ‘mudmap’ of research
issues and knowledge gaps required to underpin the further development of bioenergy, biofuels and
bioproducts industries more generally than within the new RIRDC research program. It therefore
provides a useful basis for a more comprehensive consultation with researchers, industry, government
and community than was possible here. There have been many calls for a bioenergy and biofuels
‘roadmap’, which would ideally include building a common vision, specific well-reasoned goals or
targets, critical pathways for research, technology development, adoption and commercialisation and
industry rollout. Many other countries have progressed substantially with developing such roadmaps,
and are starting to implement them.
Conclusions
There is currently a high level of interest in bioenergy, biofuels and bioproducts both internationally
and domestically. It is time to take advantage of this interest and make the most of the range of
opportunities which are currently presented. Australia has excellent opportunities to invest
strategically in those areas and technologies that will provide strong competitive advantage, make the
most of unique combinations of Australian bio-resources and processing technologies, and develop
new industries that can reinvigorate and integrate agriculture and forest industries. The RIRDC
Bioenergy, Bioproducts and Energy program can provide leadership and co-ordination to this
important industry development.
viii
Introduction
In July 2007 RIRDC began a new program in Bioenergy, Bioproducts and Energy. The stated goals of
this program are to
• Develop new industry options for farmers and regions
• Reduce carbon emissions
• Address carbon sequestration goals
• Address fuel security needs
• Provide a forum for research and industry networking and industry development
• Develop a new research and commercialisation program in “Methane to Markets” 1 in agriculture
• Improve energy efficiency 2
This report forms one of a series of reports from CSIRO to RIRDC to underpin the development of the
new program.
• Biofuels in Australia – issues and prospects (O’Connell et al.2007) – synthesis and summary
versions
• Biofuels in Australia – biofuel co-products for livestock (Braid 2007)
• Bio-based products (Haritos 2007)
• Biofuels in Australia – some economic and policy issues (Batten and O’Connell 2007)
All of the reports contain extensive reviews of a range of issues related to biofuels, bioproducts and to
a lesser extent, bioenergy (heat and power generation).
This report aims to recommend a set of research and development priorities to RIRDC in the areas of
bioenergy (including biofuels) and bioproducts. It does not cover the areas of “Methane to Markets”,
and “Energy” because these parts of the program are being developed under a different set institutional
arrangements, and will be managed by RIRDC as part of the Bioenergy, Bioproducts and Energy
program. RIRDC will develop a Five-Year Plan for the new program using this report as input.
This report aims to recommend a set of research and development priorities to RIRDC, as well as
provide tabulated information on organisations and researchers who are active in this area of research.
The report begins with very brief snapshots of bioenergy, biofuels and bioproduct industries
internationally and then within Australia. This has been done to provide some context for the research
and development into these areas. A framework for the research and development in this program area
is presented and explained, and further steps suggested. The results of an online survey of industry
participants in terms of their current work in the area, organisational research capacity, and contact
details are given in the Appendices.
1
A program being funded by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forests and managed by RIRDC
2
A cross-cutting program by several Research and Development Corporations which is currently being
developed, and will be managed by RIRDC
1
Background, Technologies and Current
Status
This chapter begins with a brief snapshots of biofuel, bioenergy and bioproduct industries in the
international and domestic context.
Current snapshot of biofuels

An international snapshot
International liquid biofuel production is increasing rapidly, with over 18 Mtoe (million tonnes of oil
equivalent) per year of ethanol mostly produced from sugar in Brazil and corn in USA, and 2.5 Mtoe
per year of biodiesel mostly produced from oilseeds in Europe (Figure 1).
Figure 1 Global ethanol and biodiesel production (from IEA Energy Tech Essentials Jan 2007)
The implications of this for global use of biomass, as well as emissions reductions are dealt with in
greater detail in the synthesis report Biofuels in Australia – issues and prospects (O’Connell et al.
2007). It is clear that whether or not Australia develops a significant industry in biofuels and
bioenergy, the implications of commodity prices influenced by the global demand for biofuels are
already starting to have an impact on Australian production. In this report the potential benefits (such
as greenhouse gas reductions) and risks were quantified where possible.
There are many different process pathways to obtain a range of biofuels from various biomass
feedstocks. Bioethanol from fermentation of starch/sugars, and biodiesel from transesterification of
fats and oils are the two commonly produced ‘first generation’ biofuels. There are, however, a range of
other ‘second generation’ fuels for which new feedstocks and processes are being developed and
commercialised. Some examples of technologies for second generation diesel substitutes, alcohols and
new fuels can be summarised as
• Gasification – heating with limited oxygen and steam to produce a gas called syngas or
producer gas (carbon monoxide, hydrogen, methane, and some carbon dioxide, with more
nitrogen in producer gas than syngas). The gases can be reconstituted to liquid fuels using a
Fischer Tropsch (FT) process which is the same as that used to convert coal to synthetic diesel.
The fuels produced include syndiesel and/or alcohols, including ethanol, methanol, or propanol,
as well as DiMethyl Ether (DME, which can be used in diesel engines, in blends in petrol
engines, and gas turbines).
• Pyrolysis – heating with no oxygen or steam to produce hydrocarbon-rich gas and bio-oils
which can be converted to a synthetic diesel. The bio-oils can be evaporated to create char
which is a stable way to capture carbon, and can be used as a soil conditioner (Stucley 2006).
2
• New biocatalytic pathways which use organisms or enzymes to convert materials such as starch,
sugars or lignocellulose to a range of new biofuels (e.g. butanol) or bioproducts (e.g. Hyde
2006, Haritos 2007)
The boundaries between fossil and bio feedstocks, and the production of liquid and gaseous fuels,
electricity and bio-based products become increasingly blurred as 2nd generation technologies
progress. For example, biomass gasification and pyrolysis can be used to produce liquid fuels as
described above, as well as drive gas engines or turbines for heating and cooling, or generators for
electricity. Coal can be used to create syndiesel, and methanol can be produced from natural gas as
well as biomass. This is a small subsample of the new processes and fuels being researched around the
world, and we are not focussing on them in detail in this report. Many of the new technologies are in
early research through to demonstration phase, and not yet cost competitive although it is mooted that
within 3 – 5 years some of these might become commercial (Hamelinck and Faaij 2006, Smeets et al.
2005, OECD/IEA 2007a).
The Australian context
The biofuels industry in Australia is in its early days, with a national production target of 350 ML by
2010 (about 1 % of current transport fuel usage). Different states are investigating biofuels and policy
options at state level, which have been reviewed in detail in Batten and O’Connell (2007). Production
for 2006/7 financial year in Australia was 83.6 ML ethanol and 76.3 ML biodiesel, which is less than
0.5 % of Australia’s transport fuel requirements (Table 1).
Table 1 Australian production of ethanol and biodiesel for 2006/7

Feedstock Current capacity Production in Percentage of total market
(ML/y) 2006/7 (ML)
Ethanol Waste starch and wheat < 0.5 % (volume) of current 19 500 ML
& C-molasses 148 83.6 petrol market
Biodiesel Waste Oil & Tallow 323 76.3 0.5 % of current 15 000 ML diesel market
Total 471 159.9
The current processing capacity for ethanol in Australia in 2007 is 148 ML, with planned capacity of
1155 ML. The current biodiesel capacity is 323 ML with a planned capacity of 1122 ML (Tables 2
and 3).
3
Table 2 Ethanol Production Capacity in Australia: Current and Proposed (Source Biofuels Task Force
(2005), CIE (2005) and BP Australia)
Company Location Feedstock(s) Capacity
2007 Planned
ML ML
Queensland
CSR Ethanol Sarina C-molasses 32 32
Heck Group Rocky Point C-molasses 16 16
Bundaberg Sugar Bundaberg C-molasses 10
Lemon Tree Milmerran Sorghum, wheat 67
Downs Fuel Farmers Dalby Sorghum, wheat 80
Austcane Burdekin Cane juice, molasses 100
AgriEnergy Lake Grace All grains 90
New South Wales
Manildra Group Nowra Waste starch 100 100
Primary Energy Gunnedah Sorghum 120
AgriEnergy Colleambally All grains 90
Symgrain Quirindi Wheat 100
Victoria
AgriEnergy Swan Hill All grains 90
Symgrain West Vic. Wheat 100
Western Australia
Primary Energy Kwinana Wheat 160
ETHANOL TOTAL 148 1155
Table 3 Biodiesel Production Capacity in Australia: Current and Proposed Source: Biofuels Task Force
(2005), BP Australia and other company sources.
Company Location Feedstock(s) Capacity
2007 Planned
ML ML
Queensland
Australian Biodiesel Group Narangba Various 160 160
Eco Tech Biodiesel* Narangba Tallow 30 75
Evergreen Fuels Mossman Used cooking oils 1 1
New South Wales
Australian Biodiesel Group* Berkeley V. Various 40 45
Biodiesel Industries Aust. Rutherford UCO and other oils 12 20
Future Fuels Moama 30 30
A J Bush* Sydney 60
Riverina Biofuels Deniliquin 45
Biosel* Sydney 24
Natural Fuels Australia Port Botany 150
Victoria
Vilo Assets Laverton UCO, tallow 50 50
Axiom Energy Geelong 150
Biodiesel Producers Barnawartha 60
Western Australia
Australian Renewable Fuels Picton Canola and Tallow 45
South Australia
Australian Renewable Fuels Largs Bay Tallow 45
S.A. Farmers Federation Gepps Cross 15
Northern Territory
Natural Fuels Australia Darwin Palm oil 147
BIODIESEL TOTAL 323 1122

* there is some question as to whether these planned facilities will go ahead
4
It was concluded in the biofuels synthesis report (O’Connell et al. 2007) that it is likely that biofuels
based on first generation domestic feedstocks will remain at the margins of Australia’s transport future
(2 – 5 % of transport fuel needs) given current economic, policy and feedstock production
environment. This is because high input agricultural systems, which are geared towards producing
food and animal feed, will make the biofuel feedstock more expensive - especially given the upward
pressure on grain and oilseed prices from the international impact of rapidly increasing biofuel
production, as well as prolonged drought and impacts of climate change in Australia. First generation
biofuels may however form a useful first step along a transition pathway to second generation
biofuels. Biofuels could move beyond these limits if industries develop around second generation
technologies.
Current snapshot of bioenergy (heat and power) from biomass

Bioenergy refers to the use of biomass (and biogas as an intermediate step) to produce energy in all its
forms. This includes the use of biomass to generate heat and power. The status and prospects for
bioelectricity and bioheat have not been reviewed by CSIRO in the current suite of reports to RIRDC
because this was not within the Terms of Reference.
An international snapshot
The international situation has been recently summarised by the International Energy Association
(IEA) (IEA Energy Technology Essentials ETE03 January 2007). They conclude that co-firing the
biomass in modern coal-fired plants with combustion efficiencies of up to 45% (ie 45% of the total
energy stored in the biomass is recovered as electricity) is currently the most cost-effective use of
biomass for power generation in a global context. Limits to feedstock supply means that dedicated
biomass plants for combined heat and power are smaller and have lower electrical efficiency compared
to coal plants (30 – 34% using dry biomass, and around 22% for municipal solid waste). In co-
generation mode 3 the total efficiency may reach 85 – 90%. Biomass integrated gasification in a gas-
turbine plant is not yet commercial, but integrated gasification combined cycles using black liquor – a
by product from the pulp and paper industry – are already in use. Anaerobic digestion to produce
biogas is expanding in small off-grid applications.
The IEA conclude that in the short term, co-firing 4 remains the most cost-effective use for power
generation along with small scale, off-grid use. In the mid-long term, Biomass Integrated Gasification
Gas Turbine plants and biorefineries may expand significantly. Biorefineries may yet provide the
opportunity for combined, cost effective production of biochemicals, electricity and biofuels
(OECD/IEA 2007b).
The main barriers to increasing the market share for bioenergy include cost, conversion efficiency,
transportation cost, feedstock availability, supply logistics challenges, risks associated with intensive
farming (fertilisers, chemicals, biodiversity) (OECD/IEA 2007b).
Bioenergy is one form of renewable electricity, along with hydro, solar and wind power. The installed
capacity for the different forms of renewables, and the different technologies used, is provided in
Table 4. Biomass sources account for <7% of the total contribution of renewables (as at July 2006).
3
simultaneous generation of useful heat and power
4
combustion of two different materials at the same time – for example biomass and coal
5
Table 4 Proportions of renewable energy from different sources, shown by technology type (based on
Geoscience Australia data http://www.ga.gov.au/renewable/) in kW
Fuel Type Cogen FBC Gasn PV RE SC ST Turb Unknown Total *%
Biomass 10 24000 11500 3000 38510 0.46
Biomass
(bagasse) 301700 301700 3.63
Biomass (biogas) 200 200 0.002
Biomass
(digester gas) 3500 3500 0.042
Biomass (landfill
methane) 115043 115043 1.38
Biomass
(municipal
waste) 2500 2500 0.03
Biomass (sewage
methane) 1527 8630 10157 0.12
Biomass
(woodwaste) 27000 5000 40000 72000 0.86
Hydro 6983986 6983986 83.9
Solar 1957 1957 0.023
Wind 786965 786965 9.46
Total 28727 5000 3500 1957 123683 24000 353200 7773451 3000 8316518
Cogen = cogeneration; FBC = Fluidised Bed Combustion; Gasn = Gasification; PV -= Photovoltaics; RE =

Reciprocating Engine; SC = Steam cogeneration; ST = Steam Turbine; Turbine = Turbine
A Mandatory Renewable Energy Target (MRET) was introduced in April 2001 to encourage the
development of the renewable energy supply industry, and in doing so reduce greenhouse gas
emissions. The Office of the Renewable Energy Regulator (ORER) (a statutory agency) administers
the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Act 2000 (the Act), the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Charge
2000 and the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Regulations 2001 to increase renewable electricity
generation from Australia's renewable energy sources by encouraging the generation of an additional
9,500 GWh of renewable energy per year by 2010 (Australian Government Office of the Renewable
Energy Regulator 2007). The MRET applies nationally, with the majority of electricity retailers and
wholesale electricity buyers on liable grids exceeding 100 megawatt (MW) in all states and territories
contributing proportionately to increase Australia's renewable energy sources (ORER 2007). The
mechanism for managing renewable electricity in Australia is through Renewable Energy Certificates
(RECs), which are basically an electronic form of currency initiated by the Renewable Energy
(Electricity) Act 2000. RECs are created by registered persons, validated by the Office of the
Renewable Energy Regulator, traded between registered persons, and eventually surrendered to
demonstrate liability compliance against the requirements of the Australian Government's mandatory
renewable energy target (ORER 2007).
A recent snapshot of the role of bioenergy in the electricity sector was provided by Rossiter (2006)
(Figure 2). He showed that biomass was a major contributor to the MRET, supplying 41% of power
plants, and 25% of RECs overall, with an estimated investment of $950 million to October 2006. Of
the 17.8 million RECs validated to the beginning of October 2006, 3.8 million were for small deemed
systems SWH/SGUs mostly producing under 50 RECs each. The remaining 14 million were from
accredited power stations with approximately 5.9 M hydro, 3.6 M wind, 1.6 M bagasse, 1.5 M landfill
gas, 0.6 M wood waste, 0.5 M black liquor, 0.2 M sewage gas (Rossiter 2006)(Figure 2).
6
Figure 2 Performance of Biomass for RECs to January 2006 (from Rossiter 2006)
Bioproducts and biorefineries

There is strong international interest, research and development, into new bio-based products and in
expansion of existing bio-based products. A separate report entitled Biobased products (Haritos 2007)
has been produced as part of this series of reports, and contains more detail on this subject.
Most biomass is composed of complex mixtures of carbohydrate, protein and oil in additional to more
intractable substances such as cellulose and lignin. Bioproducts may use just one of these components
but there is a growing awareness that the fates of the entirety of the biomass should be considered.
There are several advantages to this inclusive approach: there are fewer waste products to dispose of,
and a marginal bio-based product can be made more attractive by offsets earned from the utilisation of
the other non-target fractions.
Bioproducts can reduce greenhouse gas emissions, enable the agricultural and forest industries to
expand their product bases into valuable industrial products and (as most are also biodegradable)
reduce the amount of waste. Engineering valuable industrial traits into the cropping system can lead to
lower production costs and improve production certainty, which may create new demand and
increased use of biological sources.
The concept of bio-based products is not new. Prior to the widespread use of petroleum and crude oil,
many industrial products such as dyes, solvents and fibres were made from agricultural and forestry
materials. Whilst the industrial products markets for starch products and for some oils, like castor oil
and erucic acid, are well established, the development of the industrial non-food sector of agricultural
crops and its products internationally is generally at a very early stage with considerable research and
development into the potential of renewables to replace petroleum-derived materials
Analogous to the petroleum refinery, a biorefinery would be expected to produce about 95% of its
output as fuels and just 5% for chemical ingredients. The major non-fuel products from a biorefinery
are expected to be solvents, plastics, lubricants and fragrances (Fernando et al. 2006, Kamm et al.
7
2006). But strongly differentiating the two refineries is the nature of the feedstocks: hydrocarbons
versus complex, oxygenated stereo- and enantiomerically pure biomolecules.
Pulp and paper mills are a leading example of a biorefinery because they convert a lignocellulosic
feedstock into energy, chemicals and paper products. In North America, many older mills are
undergoing conversion to focus less on paper products, and more on energy and high value chemicals.
An international summary
Biorefineries (as a broader concept of biomass conversion to a range of valuable products) are at an
early stage of research and development. One of the first challenges is in separation of the complex
biological mixtures to obtain more homogeneous input streams. In petroleum refineries, distillation is
the key method of fractionation of products (after some initial pre-treatment to remove significant
contaminants) but that is not currently possible for the chemical nature of current biological feedstocks
as they contain complex carbohydrates, lignin, protein and lipids. Solvent extraction, in particular
employing aqueous systems or supercritical carbon dioxide, holds some promise (Mohan et al. 2006,
Ragauskas et al. 2006). Phase I, II and III biorefineries have been described and they reflect increasing
levels of complexity and capacity to accept less homogeneous feedstocks (Kamm and Kamm 2004). A
phase I biorefinery is a facility which has fixed processing capacity e.g. dry milling of grain for
ethanol production. A phase II refinery can be described as one that separates product streams and has
some flexibility to produce different end products depending on product demand and value. A phase
III refinery can accept a mix and range of agricultural feedstocks and varies processing methods to
produce a mix of high and low value, high and low volume products and biofuels. A biorefinery that
accepts whole crops, green material or lignocellulose are examples of Phase III biorefineries but most
are still in the research and development stage.
Governments and industry around the world have contributed to formation of strategic documents and
roadmaps to facilitate research, technology transfer and delivery of bio-based products into the
markets of their countries and for export. They have established large, multi-centre collaborations to
help overcome technical, commercialisation and other barriers to the wider development of bio-based
materials as these are seen as crucial to reducing emphasis on imported petroleum feedstocks and
reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Strategic Plans, roadmaps, market projection and paths to
commercialisation have been developed by The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development, governments of the USA (in addition to the US Department of Energy), Canada, UK
and the European Union. These are reviewed in more detail in Haritos (2007).
Internationally there is a huge amount of activity and successful business in developing and marketing
bio-based products. These range from small companies that were specifically established to deliver a
limited range of products, through to large, multinational companies like Du Pont that have set
ambitious targets for use of renewables in their product ranges. A wide range of biomass is being
utilised such as oils, fibre, protein, carbohydrates, sugars and lignocellulose and the products are being
sourced from existing plant sources, obtained via fermentation, or from genetically engineered plants
or microbes.
Bioproduct development and biorefineries are in their very early stages in Australia. Haritos (2007)
identified Australian companies that are currently marketing a wide range of bio-based products
including bioplastics, fibres, oils & lubricants and bioconversion technology but are relatively small
enterprises. Rudimentary biorefineries have been established mainly around ethanol production for
biofuels or bio-oils from wood but have not developed further as yet.
There is active Australian research and development into bioproducts and biorefineries, supported by
the Research and Development Corporations and the Cooperative Research Centre schemes. This
8
research and development covers the full range of activities from investigation of agronomic
characteristics of new industrial crops, examination of value chains for bio-based materials and
development of novel materials from agricultural by-products and high value products from existing
plants and genetically engineered varieties.
In Australia, the transition of research into products in both established bioproducts and new materials
has been slow, and in many ways, has lagged well behind other developed countries. To improve the
transition to wide-scale and profitable use of bio-based products and biorefineries will require on-
going research and development which is better coordinated, perhaps as part of a national scheme
together with biofuels and bioenergy, and focused on cost-effective delivery and implementation
pathways.
9
Research and Development Priorities
In this chapter we present a research and development framework for biofuels, bioenergy and biobased
products that would support the development new industries in these areas. There were four major
inputs to this analysis
• Extensive literature reviews and analysis of opportunities and knowledge gaps for biofuels
(O’Connell et al. 2007) and bioproducts (Haritos 2007) - but not for bioelectricity and bioheat.
• An on-line questionnaire, trialled on paper at the Bioenergy Austraia 2006 conference, and open to
all industry participants about research activities and recommended priorities
• A workshop held at CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems on 23rd March 2007 with the authors of this
report, as well as representatives from RIRDC, NFF, Bioenergy Australia, and Queensland
University of Technology to discuss research and development priorities
• A presentation of the research priority framework to Bioenergy Australia on 21 June 2007, which
elicited positive feedback and useful commentary (Appendix 3).
Survey details
Surveys were used to collect information on existing and potential bioenergy research and
development. A paper survey was distributed at the Bioenergy Australia Conference in Perth, 4-8
December 2006, and 14 responses were collected. An online survey, based on the paper survey, was
also conducted between 29 January and 5 March 2007, with 55 respondents. Two of the respondents
had previously completed the paper survey. The responses from both survey sources were combined,
providing a total of 67 responses.
Participants were asked to identify the top three priorities for biofuel, bioenergy and bioproduct
research, as well as adoption and commercialisation pathways. The survey responses are listed in
Appendix 1, and were used to help guide the development of the framework of R & D priorities.
Of the 67 survey responses, 49 identified the organisation to which they belonged. The organisations
to which participants belonged, as well as the role of each organisation in bioenergy/bioproducts is
summarised in Table 1 in Appendix 2.
Survey participants were asked to identify existing projects that their organisation conducts or funds
on bioenergy or bioproducts in Australia. Summaries of projects which are presently being conducted
by participants’ organisations and the existing projects presently being funded by participants’
organisations are given in Table 2 and 3 of Appendix 2.
The scope of this work did not provide for a comprehensive consultation process, and the self-
selecting nature of survey respondents did not provide an adequate snapshot of industry participants,
organisational research capacity, or knowledge needs. As this was not used in a quantitative fashion to
determine research priorities, this is not important and does provide a broad overview of research areas
of interest to industry, and a good starting point for further consultation.
10
R&D Priorities
The R&D priorities in biofuels, bioenergy and biobased products are considered together as they share
feedstock supply chains, beneficiaries and benefits, especially with regard to replacement of crude oil
and petroleum, mitigation of greenhouse gas, and strengthening of rural industries.
A research and development framework is presented in Figure 3. Each of the elements of this
framework is numbered, and each is separately described in the following section:
• Box 1 – An overarching requirement is recognised as the need to develop a more comprehensive
Investment framework, or ‘roadmap’
• Box 2 – Sustainability is a key tenet in biofuels, bioenergy and bioproduct development
• Box 3 – The value chain forms a central axis for the framework—from Biomass resources
• Box 4 – through to Supply logistics
• Box 5 – and Conversion technologies
• Box 6 – The configuration of these three areas in specific regional contexts to match Feedstock
production with conversion technologies is recognised as an important and discrete area of
research
• Box 7a – Development of product streams
• Box 7b – with an Understanding and analysis of domestic and international market dynamics
• Box 7c – and Identified pathways to markets is critical
• Box 8 – The policy and economic environment for development of the industry spans the
breadth of all of the preceding boxes
• Box 9 – Outreach programs
• Box 10 – and Capacity building are also important elements of a comprehensive program of
research and development in a new or emerging industry.
Each of the elements is described in the next section, with a distilled version of the survey results, and
the Bioenergy Australia forum feedback included.
11
1. R&D Investment Framework or “Roadmap”
Identifying uniquely Australian problems/solutions, competitive advantage – national framework for bioenergy; national R&D framework/ roadmap
2. Sustainability
Assessment methods, accreditation schemes, Life Cycle Analysis case studies and inventories, biophysical and socio-economic analyses at regional,
national and international scales, quantifying benefits and impacts across economic and environmental value chains, obtaining community approval and
consumer demand
3. Biomass resources 4. Supply 5. Conversion 7a. Product 7b. Market analysis

• Current production base
logistics technologies streams • Domestic
• Future production base • Biorefineries • Identifying and • International
• Characterisation of biomass • Infrastructure
• Biocatalytic characterising novel
• Feedstock
• Thermo-chemical products
catchment
• Creation of co-products • Uses for co-products
• Harvesting/ • Market testing
incl fuel, heat, power,
scheduling • Safety testing
char
• Pre-processing
• Closed loop systems
12
7c. Pathways for products to markets

6. Matching feedstock production systems to economically viable • Infrastructure
• Distribution
processing systems • Barriers
Feedstock security, infrastructure, transport, distance to market, economic threshholds • Disposal
8. Policy analysis
Impacts of settings, feedbacks, current and future, domestic and international, placing biofuel policy in the context of broader energy and climate
change policy and carbon markets, sequencing of options and strategies for transition
9. Outreach
Education, communication, extension, barriers to uptake

Communities and industries with skilled labour, infrastructure, capital etc to develop new industries
Figure 3 Research and Development Framework for Bioenergy, Biofuels and Bioproducts
Box 1 R&D investment framework or ‘roadmap’ (see page 12)
Many other countries have developed substantial and detailed ‘roadmaps’ of research through to
industry development. The Australian biofuels and bioenergy industry is in very early stages of
development, and there are numerous calls from industry for a similar ‘roadmap’ to be developed in
Australia. The framework presented here could be considered a ‘mud-map’ for research into biofuels,
bioenergy and biobased products – but a lot more effort and consultation would be required to turn it
into a true ‘roadmap’. The first research priority is therefore for the development of an industry
investment framework or ‘roadmap’ – which identifies uniquely Australian problems and solutions,
and areas of competitive advantage for this country. Decisions about which research to invest in
domestically, and pathways to industry development relevant to Australian production base, resources
and demand profiles is a more major activity than could be undertaken within the scope of the current
project and requires further research and wide-ranging industry consultation effort in its own right.
Comments from survey
The need for an R&D roadmap is supported by the survey results and the feedback on the R&D
Priorities presentation to the Bioenergy Australia quarterly forum (21st June 2007). Four survey
responses directly alluded to this, although just about all of the comments could be taken within the
context of supporting development of a ‘roadmap’. Bioenergy Australia members strongly supported
development of a strategic investment framework – typical comments included “Don’t duplicate
research on which others have a huge lead. We have got to be more strategic about what we do in
Australia”, and “Bioenergy is diverse, and diverse research can be piecemeal so we must pick
winners. There is risk in diluting our effort if we try and do all things — so we must pick a few winners
instead”.
Research priorities
• Development of a research investment framework or ‘roadmap’ to identify the most likely

technologies to deliver a competitive advantage to Australian industries, and maximise the benefits
across economic and environmental value chains.
13
Box 2 Sustainability (see page 12)
The lack of sustainability of our current systems of energy and fuel use is the key reason that
bioenergy, biofuels and bioproducts are on the research agenda at all. Any system for energy, fuel and
industrial products based on biomass must be able to clearly demonstrate sustainability credentials
over a range of alternatives. Some countries (e.g. European Union) are legislating for sustainability
certification of biomass and biofuels as a requirement for importation. The ability to produce
accredited biomass or biofuels may present a market advantage for countries like Australia in the
future.
Sustainability is, however, a difficult concept to operationalise. It contains elements of scientific

content (such as greenhouse gas emissions, air quality, land and water impacts) through the life cycle
of product use which can be measured, modelled and predicted. Development and application of
sustainability criteria and indicators is being progressed in many other countries, and Australia must
remain abreast of international methods. Life cycle analysis methodologies are mature, but the results
are very specific to the actual production system in question, and the plethora of overseas studies are
not readily applicable in Australia. There is a scarcity of data which can be used to assess life cycles of
new product pathways or Australian production environments. The methods and data to assess some of
the environmental impacts (e.g. the impact of one litre of biodiesel on biodiversity) are poorly
developed.
Economic viability is one of the pillars of sustainability, and can contribute to driving environmental
sustainability in some cases – for example in implementing measures such as water recycling, nutrient
replacement, greenhouse gas mitigation that reduce impacts on land and water. Policy analysis has
been articulated as a distinct activity (Box 8), but is a critical part of sustainability assessment.
The sustainability issues depend partly on the ultimate size of the biofuels or bioproducts industry. For
example if the biofuels industry remains at the margins in Australia (ie 2 – 5 % of total transport
requirements), sustainability challenges for feedstock production differ little from those of current
agricultural systems. The economic sustainability risks would be largely carried by individual biofuel
producers and investors, and those directly impacted by the enterprise. Once an industry becomes part
of the main game (>10 – 20 % of total transport), the sustainability implications may change the
profile of those faced by current agriculture and forestry – with positive or negative impacts depending
on how the industry developed (O’Connell et al. 2007).
Methods for assessing the sustainability across scales, regions and particular configurations of industry
must be developed. There are some conceptual frameworks for assessing sustainability, but none
adequately deal with the tradeoffs between different elements of sustainability (for example some
options may perform better on some criteria than others). Development and implementation of ‘track
and trace’ methods suitable for sustainability certification is required. Even more difficult than the
‘hard science’ (or ‘content’) elements of sustainability is the ‘soft’ science (or ‘process’) components
required to obtain a community acceptance, manage consumer demand and link to broader societal use
of resources. There are major questions being raised internationally about the social sustainability of
fuel alternatives which compete with human food supply. Application of these approaches in relation
to development of new sustainable energy and bioproduct industries is critical for a viable and
prosperous future industry.
Comments from survey and forum
“Sustainability is critically important” was one response during the Bioenergy Australia forum
presentation. The survey results indicated similar importance to sustainability as an R&D area with
eleven respondents primarily pointing their statements at life cycle analysis, impacts (and reductions
thereof) of biofuels on the environment and biodiversity, and “potential contribution of biofuels to
health improvements”.
14
Research priorities
A path forward in ensuring the sustainability of the biofuels industry may include the following
elements
• Develop, test (in case studies) and operationalise robust methods for assessing the sustainability
across scales, regions and particular configurations of industry, including gaining broad public and
consumer support
• a national assessment of regional potential for sustainable biomass production (including the
impacts of expanding production of lignocellulosic crops, and increasing the removal of
agricultural and forest in-field residues)
• Life Cycle Analyses and develop Life Cycle Inventories using common ISO standard methods so
as to provide comparable results across range of biomass production systems, conversion
technologies and product pathways specific to Australian production systems
• Develop and test methods, and undertake case studies for ‘scaling up’ the ‘per unit’ impacts to
cumulative industry benefits and impacts
• analysis of sustainable transition pathways for biofuels in the context of a range of alternative
transport futures, given a range of climate change, economic and policy scenarios
• a systematic and scientifically defensible process to develop testable criteria (or other approaches)
to ensure sustainable development, which could be applied in legislation
• develop track-and-trace certification mechanisms to ‘sustainably produced’ biomass
15
Box 3 Biomass resources (see page 12)
Land and water will increasingly be contested for human food, animal feed, fibre, energy, water yield
and environmental services. Evaluating the production capacity and sustainability (sustainable yield)
of increased production or use of biomass resources is critical to underpin development of new large
scale biofuel, bioenergy or bioproduct industries. Already, many of the biodiesel facilities in Australia
are operating at less than capacity because of the difficulty in obtaining sufficient feedstock at
competitive prices.
The biomass resources in Australia available for biofuel and bioenergy production are not well
quantified. The resources can be categorised as follows (O’Connell et al. 2007)
Current production base

A. Feedstocks based on sugar or starch crops already widely grown in Australia for ethanol, or
oilseeds and tallow for biodiesel. The quantum of these feedstocks is generally well understood,
although climate change and world commodity markets will have an impact which may change
production capacity and economics.
B. Feedstocks suitable for first generation bioenergy, or second generation biofuels – e.g.
lignocellulosics for ethanol, butanol, methanol, biogas or electricity including cereal crop
(stubble) and sugar (trash and bagasse) residues, annual and perennial grasses, farm forestry
crops such as oil mallee, forest products including native forest and plantation residues and
thinnings, firewood, and waste streams such as urban woodwaste. The resources in this category
are poorly quantified. Sustainability issues including effect of removal of crop and forest
residues on ecosystem carbon, and biodiversity as well as cost of production must be addressed
in the process of quantifying potential feedstock in this category .
Future production base
C. Feedstocks providing different sources of oil or sugar/starch for first generation biofuels -
includes any expansions of crops (e.g. wheat could expand into higher rainfall areas, sugar beet,
sweet sorghum, mustard), Genetically Modified (GM) crops, oil bearing trees such as Pongamia
pinnata and Jatropha curcas. There is a strong international interest in using non-agricultural
land in Australia for growing these plants, but this raises issues of biosecurity (e.g. from
weediness) posed by some of these species. In addition, the production potential for these new
plants in Australian conditions is poorly understood, as is the capacity to increase oil production
and decrease negative plant traits through breeding and GM.
D. Feedstocks for second generation biofuels, bioenergy and biorefineries for range of high value
biobased products, with biofuel and energy as co-products. The second generation feedstocks of
the future could greatly expand supply – for example, large scale planting of oil mallee, other
native woody species are being investigated for a range of new products including novel wood
products, bio-based products as well as energy, grasses, GM crops, and algae.
Research into biomass resources was indicated by 26 survey respondents, with typical comments
focussing on issues such as “Conducting detailed resource assessments”; “Engineering salt and
drought resistant crops for food/energy”; “How to increase yields and decrease prices of Australian
biofuel crops”; “New crops for bioenergy”; “Which species for maximum yield”; and “How to use
indigenous Australian sources of biomass for bio ethanol and higher value products”.
16
Research priorities
• scoping which of the myriad of options for increasing feedstock production for energy or
bioproduct markets are most worthy of investing research effort
• assessing the potential quantum of biomass in B, C and D in different regions of Australia under
specified scenarios e.g. meeting sustainability criteria, climate change or economic thresholds
• investigating the potential of new oilseed trees in category C, including performance in less
productive Australian environments, invasive weed potential, and potential yield increases with
plant improvement and agronomy
• assessing sustainability issues including effect of removal of crop and forest residues on ecosystem
carbon, and biodiversity as well as cost of production
• capturing benefits and minimising risks across the value chains which integrate biomass
production systems across traditional agriculture, forestry and waste management industries
• characterising material properties of the feedstock, their variation and suitability for second and
third generation processing opportunities
• routes to high purity, cost effective production of the raw materials for biobased products
• plant metabolic engineering using biotechnology to increase the level and purity of carbohydrate,
oil or protein trait of interest
17
Box 4 Supply logistics (see page 12)
Processing technologies based on food crops mostly have well established harvesting and transport
infrastructure, with well understood economics in terms of the transport distances. For many new
types of energy crops such as short rotation or coppicing crops, the harvesting machinery is not yet
developed. It may be possible to modify existing harvesting techniques for collecting residues (e.g. for
sugar trash) – but for other types of woody tree crops or biomass production systems (e.g. ‘phase
farming’ with short rotation trees) suitable harvesting systems require further development.
Particular biomass supply chains may have complex scheduling requirements due to characteristics of
the crop (for example sugar content in sugar cane peaks for a relatively short window, and the crop
must be harvested within this time). Integrated biomass supply chains to a facility may require
sophisticated scheduling to deal with either the characteristics of the plant, efficient use of facilities
etc. In new biomass production systems, there may also be the need for substantial new investment
into appropriate infrastructure (processing facilities or new roads such as have been required for
plantations in the last decade) or the emergence of “higher density biomass” or small scale
economically viable processing facilities.
Six responses from the survey were directed at the need for further research on supply logistics. These
were primarily targeting the development of technologies/infrastructure for harvesting biomass at low
costs, and “Supply chain vulnerabilities to more expensive energy”. The Bioenergy Australia feedback
forum elicited comments such as “Distributed resource means that we won’t be viable for at least 20
years as there is a scale issue – can’t have large processing facilities with economic transport
distances if there is a distributed resource”.
Research priorities
• Investigate use of existing small modular processing plant for distributed production of products
&/or energy
• Investigate partial local processing options for the most promising new feedstock systems (e.g.
harvesting and briquetting/pelletising technology)
• Identify infrastructure requirements and transitions for specific regional opportunities
• Once promising regional options have been identified (Boxes 3, 5, 6), investigation into the supply
logistics for particular regional industries
18
Box 5 Conversion technologies (see page 12)
There is a plethora of potential second and third generation conversion technologies for bioenergy,
biofuels and bioproducts being researched internationally, which were very briefly discussed in the
‘snapshot’ overviews at the start of this report. As discussed earlier for Box 1, identification of those
processing and conversion technologies which could be developed overseas and brought into Australia
as mature technologies, compared to those which would provide Australia with some competitive
advantage if researched and developed domestically, is a high priority.
It may be advantageous to import technology developed overseas where the quantum of research
funding is several orders of magnitude larger than is available in Australia. This may be the case, for
example, in some areas of research into lignocellulosic transformation where research funding in the
USA dwarfs our own, and may be readily used in Australia once commercialised. However, there are
opportunities to harness unique combinations of Australian resources (e.g. flora or different types of
transformation technologies) that present competitive advantages for domestic innovation and create
sustainable domestic industries. For example our native flora may contain distinctive chemicals, or our
bacteria and fungi (or other agents of biotransformation) may offer unique opportunities particularly in
the area of biorefineries.
Survey comments
The area of conversion technologies was the most numerously identified area of research focus by
survey participants with 28 responses directed at this area. These covered all aspects of this research
area such as developing the technologies needed to derive ethanol from feedstocks (primarily
mentioning lignocellulosics), the recovery and use of secondary products, reduction of cost of
production, integrating bioenergy into the farming systems, and general comments such as “Investment
should be emphasised on conversion technologies”. Bioenergy Australia forum participants made
comments including “It would be useful to focus on thermochemical pathways” and “You should not
focus on ethanol or biodiesel, but perhaps butanol”.
Research priorities
• Systematic evaluation of which emerging conversion technologies would be best left to overseas
development and imported and adapted to Australian feedstocks once commercialised, and which
technologies show promise in terms of providing a competitive advantage by taking advantage of
unique biomaterials or local production circumstances
• For those systems which offer promise, developing feasibility studies and demonstration or pilot
plants, developing process engineering for biorefineries producing a range of products including
fuel, energy and high value bioproducts (e.g. as was done by RIRDC for the Integrated Tree
Processing for oil mallees (Enecon 2001)
• investigation of ‘closed loop’ systems for vertically integrating biomass production, conversion to
biofuels and bioproducts, and efficient waste stream management (e.g. for livestock industries;
Braid 2007)
19
Box 6 Matching feedstock production systems with economically viable
processing systems (see page 12)
As shown in Boxes 3, 4 and 5 there are discrete areas of research across the value chain from biomass
production through to the conversion technologies. There is a separate task to be done in matching the
various configurations of biomass production system through to particular conversion processes,
suited to specific regions or industry circumstances (Box 6).
Biofuels, bioenergy and bioproducts may present new opportunities to regional Australia, and there
are many factors that might be required for success, and models that may be useful as case studies
(discussed in more detail in O’Connell et al. 2007). There is however no robust analysis of the extent
to which such opportunities could be applicable to regions across Australia. There are opportunities
for biodiesel to reach some level of regional self-sufficiency – but the success of this will depend on
whether sustainable business models can be developed to achieve the economies of scale, and
integration with existing fuel blending and distribution networks. It also critically depends on issues
such as security of supply of feedstock (in the face of increasing competition for the use of water),
climate change, policy settings and commodity prices. What are the relative costs of production ,
transport and supply of different types and volumes of biomass feedstocks, how might these be
reduced and what policy measures are needed to make biofuels competitive with fossil fuels?
The amount of feedstock and the ‘catchment’ area required in order to supply a facility of specified
size will differ according to biomass type and its product value, productivity of the region,
configuration of the production system and transport distances, and particular processing technology.
In some types of production system (such as sugar), the timing and scheduling of harvest is also a
critical factor. Transport accounts for a significant proportion of the cost (and energy input) of
bioenergy generation. In Australia, where yields of some crops such as grains can be low and variable
in comparison to many other countries such as USA or Europe, it may be hard to ever achieve the
economies of scale obtained by large 200ML ethanol refineries because the transport distances
required will not be financially viable. There is a strong relationship with technologies however – for
example biodiesel facilities do not display the economies of scale of ethanol facilities. In the area of
heat and power generation, there are emerging technologies for small bioenergy power generators
which can be placed close to feedstock sources (on or off grid) - and therefore do not require large
feedstock catchments.
The economics of transport distances are well understood for some industries – for example in the
sugar industry the transport of feedstocks can cost about 10c per km per tonne, making distances of
over 30 km uneconomic for small power stations (5 – 10 MW) in Australia (Rutovitz and Passey
2004). These sorts of ‘guideline’ costs are not available for other sources of feedstocks. Oil mallee
systems which have sparse distribution of resource in farming land means that transport distances, and
gaining a critical mass within the economic transport radius from a processing facility might prove
very challenging. Systems which can compact the large volumes into high density briquettes or pellets
in the field or forest may help to overcome this problem and make the transport distances more
economic.
There is currently a fragmented approach with respect to quantifying the current and future resource
base for whole-of-biomass (rather than industry specific products such as grain, oilseed or wood
products). Research into new woody crops (such as oil mallee) has developed useful frameworks for
assessing regional industry potential. However these apply only to a limited range of new tree species,
and to limited areas of Australia. If a national understanding of the regional opportunities is required,
then further work will be required to bring these elements together in a cohesive and robust framework
across the biofuels value chain.
20
Survey comments
Ten survey responses fell primarily within Box 6, including “Development of bioenergy and biofuels
systems optimised for small-scale application in rural Australia”, “What are the relative costs of the
different feedstocks, technologies, pathways”, and “Develop cost effective models for harvest,
processing and handling and sale of biomass from plantation management/harvest”. Bioenergy
Australia forum participants expressed concern regarding the focus on national assessment: “R&D
focus is geographically-specific - therefore it is difficult to focus at the national scale rather than
regional”.
Research priorities
• Develop and test methods for assessing regional resources (across agriculture, forestry and waste
industries) and matching to conversion technologies to identify industry opportunities specific to
various regions
• Apply these methods to Australian resources to identify areas with promising options for industry
development
• Investigate the scales of economy, risks and suitability of distributed compared to centralized
biomass conversion systems. These need to be matched to the homogeneity (or heterogeneity) of
available biomass, which in turn determines appropriate conversion processes, which in turn has
implications for capital and infrastructure of large plants versus the costs of logistics and the
flexibility required for different regions.
21
Box 7 Products a) Product streams b) Understanding markets c) Pathways for
new products to market (see page 12)
There is a spectrum of complexity with respect to products across the areas of bioenergy, biofuels and
bioproducts. Product research and specification is not an issue for bioenergy for electricity since it is a
very standard product. The biofuels currently produced in Australia are ethanol and biodiesel, and
although there are some issues of fuel quality and standards to be considered for biodiesel (O’Connell
et al.2007), the research agenda is focussed more towards new generation biofuels such as butanol, or
methyltetrahydrofuran (MTHF, also known as levulinic acid) and the various useful properties, suite
of co-products, and useabilities of these. The research agenda expands greatly in the area of
bioproducts because of the range of possibilities and the limited existing knowledge. Opportunities in
biobased products research fall into three general categories (Haritos 2007)
• Products that aim to supply an existing demand with a biobased alternative that is substantially
identical. Fuel, heat and power fall into this category along with other industrial petrochemical
replacements such as fatty acids and propylene glycol.
• Functionally improved or differentiated products that present opportunities to create new value
propositions into current markets. This is exemplified with the rise of PLA and bio-based
polyols (that go into polyurethanes)
• Products which are novel and need the creation of new uses and markets for their adoption.
Examples of this include new chemistries derived from structural protein bio-polymers and
nutraceutical fractions for human consumption
For the former group, price, quality, quantity and reliability of supply will be the determining factors
and the research or opportunity focus is mainly around efficiencies of production and processing.
These products have known properties and should already have established supply and value chains.
An example is a new source of propylene glycol, where the utility is very well known but production
costs of the biobased source needs to be competitive with those from a non-renewable source.
However its likely that many bio-derived products will have differentiated functionality from current
petro-based products requiring a range of technical and commercial inputs to identify novel value
propositions to create sustainable value chains for an emerging bioeconomy. The third category may
have an identified means of production but requires development of target markets and partners to
bring the ideas to utility (Haritos 2007).
Survey comments
Product streams were the primary area of seven survey responses who commented on particular
products “Adding value to agricultural waste material”, and discussed the need for new products
“Developing replacements for petrochemicals from bio-based sources”. Bioenergy forum members
were strongly focused on this area of R&D, with many comments such as “Products to market is more
important than anything else”.
22
Research priorities
Biobased products research requirements vary with feedstocks used, attributes of the products and the
markets that they are destined for. Each product has specific research requirements however Haritos
(2007) has identified some general research gaps for biobased products (of which biofuels can be
considered a subset). It is difficult to specify research and development exclusively under this activity,
because it is strongly linked to the biomass sources, supply chains etc. Areas of useful research
includes
• Biofuels which can be produced for low cost, and low energy input per unit energy output
• On-going demand for new and innovative biobased products having desirable attributes for
industry, including low energy costs of production - discovery research into new products from
natural sources with desired characteristics such as functional materials, and engine lubricants
• Cost effective methods of downstream biomass processing to enrich biobased product fractions
• Prepare and test novel biobased products to determine physical characteristics of relevance and
value to industry
• Conduct market analysis for novel biobased products to identify likely end-users and potential
value and volume demand for the product.
23
Box 8 Policy analysis (see page 12)
Like many countries, Australia faces a complex set of challenges, opportunities and decisions with
respect to meeting future energy needs. Biofuels, bioenergy and bioproducts can be expected to play a
part in this future. It is clear that the economic and policy environment for biofuels is a complex and
challenging area. Some of the economic and policy factors affecting biofuels have been discussed in
Batten and O’Connell (2007), but there are no available assessments adequately covering the areas of
bioenergy and bioproducts. Understanding complex feedbacks between the cost of biomass production
and supply for liquid biofuel/bioenergy/bioproduct production, and the impact of government policy,
oil prices and carbon trading on the price for biomass feedstock at international, domestic and regional
scales is crucial.
Maintaining a strong, up-to-date understanding of the international and domestic commodity markets
which affect feedstock prices, and the competition between competing markets under various policy,
technological, economic and other drivers is essential to keep abreast of this fast moving area of
development. A consistent set of policies with well researched intended outcomes, clear transition
pathways, clear benefits and minimal risks to the public, future generations and industry will place
Australia in an excellent position to secure a sustainable energy future with a stable environment for
investor confidence.
Survey comments
Thirteen survey participants identified the policy and related R&D areas in their responses, with
several comments such as “What policy instruments are needed to facilitate the expansion of
bioenergy in Australia. Could examine successful schemes in Europe” and more direct policy
suggestions such as “Carbon sequestration in soils”. Forum members at the Bioenergy quarterly
meeting expressed similar views; “As we are not producing biofuels to capacity, we need work on
policy issues to increase our production to meet existing capacity”.
Research priorities
Identification of relevant desired policy outcomes, and analysis of associated tensions and synergies
and implications for policies to stimulate appropriate levels of development of the biofuels area could
include
• The economic environment is highly uncertain with international commodity prices and drought
interacting to cause price volatility. Ongoing research into economic drivers and thresholds at
domestic and international scales – for existing markets (e.g. for feedstocks such as wood) as well
as new product markets is critical.
• Investigate policy mechanisms which steer the industry towards sustainable development through
mechanisms such as targeted incentives.
• Analysis of policy options to underpin development of a robust policy framework for biofuels,
bioenergy and bioproducts within a broader alternative fuels or sustainable energy strategy in
Australia, with consistency across the agriculture, forestry, energy, transport and carbon market
domains.
• Analysis of potential interactions between policies (and other factors) to ensure that intended
benefits are gained, and unintended costs or distortions are minimised. The transitional pathways
to a sustainable energy future (ie the sequence of steps and policy changes required to reach the
intended destination or target) must also be understood to underpin effective policy development.
24
Box 9 Outreach (see page 12)
Any new and emerging industry requires an outreach program in order to facilitate adoption and
commercialisation of new technologies and products. Such information dissemination could be in the
form of participative research, sound commercialisation strategies, effective liaison between
government, research and industry as well as information provision in the form of pamphlets,
publications, lectures and talks, conferences or seminars.
Survey comments
Survey responses include two comments which fit within R&D priorities of box 9,
“Commercialisation & support for projects - operations and maintenance issues” and “Identifying
viable social implementation of such technologies and land systems”.
Research priorities
• Identify and implement appropriate outreach activities
Box 10 Capacity building
Any new industry which requires specialised skills, knowledge, technology, or infrastructure will
require human capacity in order to take advantage of growth opportunities. The skill levels of people
involved in the entire value chain could be a limiting factor to growth, especially at a time of skill
shortages in science and engineering in Australia.
Survey comments
Two responses to the survey covered Box 10 activities, where one comment was “Social aspect of
putting the above all together for small country towns to stop migration to the city”. The bioenergy
forum members made no comments related to capacity building research or development, although the
comment was made afterwards “Where are there going to be B.Sc. degrees in bioenergy in Australia
for people to study?”.
Research priorities
• Identify capacity shortages or barriers to industry development, and develop appropriate strategies
to address them
25
Other Related Activities
In parallel with the development of this framework of research and development for RIRDC, there
have been other activities including
The Academy of Technological Science and Engineering

In July – August 2007, the Academy of Technological Science and Engineering (ATSE) held
workshops in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne to gather views on Australia's potential for biofuel
production and use. The purpose of these workshops is to provide a paper with policy
recommendations for consideration by the Australian Government in planning the future for
Australia's transport fleet. Subsequent to the ATSE workshops, the Crawford Fund held a conference
in Parliament House, Canberra in August 2007 at which international speakers described the global
biofuels activity and prospects and exposed global challenges, focusing in the end on the research and
development needs for Australia. These were summarised as
• strengthen first-generation biofuels technologies
• improve the equality of public policy
• unlock second-generation technologies and demonstrate second-generation technologies through
partnerships rather than new projects, including an algal bioreactor.
Detail of the Conference presentations can be viewed at
http://www.crawfordfund.org/publications/conference07ppps.htm
CSIRO Energy Transformed Flagship Future Fuels Forum

The Future Fuels Forum will be responsible for articulating the major challenges for Australia in
arriving at a secure and sustainable transport fuel mix by 2050. The initiative will develop a public
report to be delivered by June 2008. Future Fuels Forum activities will include:
• providing additional input in scoping the project
• advising on a set of scenarios that can be used to explore alternative transport fuels
• interpreting and drawing implications from techno-economic modelling and other analysis
developed by project staff
• providing insights and expertise in drafting a public report on the activities of the forum.
Further information and an invitation to join this forum can be found at
http://www.csiro.au/news/futurefuelsforum.html
The Clean Energy Council Bioenergy Roadmapping project

The Clean Energy Council is undertaking a Bioenergy Roadmapping exercise commencing in 2007.
Further details and contacts can be sought from http://www.bcse.org.au/home.asp
These activities all help to improve the quality of debate and dissemination of information about
opportunities, challenges and likely directions for the future of bioenergy, biofuels and bioproducts in
Australia.
26
IEA Bioenergy
Australia participates in the International Energy Agency’s Bioenergy program through Bioenergy
Australia. IEA Bioenergy is an international collaborative RD&D program involving some 23
countries plus the European Commission. It operates through a series a Tasks, each generally of a
three year duration. These Tasks cover key research areas, spanning the whole spectrum of bioenergy
from the resources side, to energy conversion technologies, to overarching aspects such as greenhouse
gas balances and socio-economic aspects. Bioenergy Australia, led by RIRDC and in which the
CSIRO is a participant, currently participates in three Tasks: Task 30 Short Rotation Crops for
Bioenergy Systems, Task 38 Greenhouse Gas Balances of Biomass and Bioenergy Systems, and Task
39 Commercialising First and Second Generation Biofuels from Biomass. This participation provides
access to overseas networks and research, providing an opportunity for leveraging off overseas
experience and knowledge in bioenergy, including biofuels. See http://www.ieabioenergy.com.
27
Concluding Comments and Next Steps
The research and development framework presented here is preliminary in nature and primarily aimed
at RIRDC to assist with setting the research agenda for their new program in Bioenergy, Bioproducts
and Energy. It may also be useful to a broader audience because it represents a ‘mudmap’ of research
issues and knowledge gaps required to underpin the further development of industry more generally
than just within the new RIRDC research program. It therefore provides a useful basis for a more
comprehensive consultation with researchers, industry, government and community than was possible
here. There have been many calls for a bioenergy and biofuels ‘roadmap’, which would ideally include
building a common vision, specific well-reasoned goals or targets, critical pathways for research,
technology development, adoption and commercialisation and industry rollout. Many other countries
have progressed substantially with developing such roadmaps, and are starting to implement them.
The research and development framework presented here may help government, industry and research
agencies to assess the breadth of activities required to underpin development of a sustainable biofuels,
bioenergy and bioproducts industry in Australia. It outlines a cohesive approach, points to some of the
knowledge needs and research gaps, and provides some contextual setting and relative importance to
each of these. These research areas have not been worked through with any rigorous priority setting or
‘critical research pathway’ process, has not included adequate consultation, and requires further detail
to be developed within each area. It would be useful to do this at some time in the near future as
implementation of the first research priority (Box 1). In the meantime, however, there are clearly other
areas which can be researched in parallel with this process.
There is currently a high level of interest in bioenergy, biofuels and bioproducts both internationally
and domestically. It is time to take advantage of this interest and make the most of the range of
opportunities which are currently presented. Australia has excellent opportunities to invest
strategically in those areas and technologies which will provide strong competitive advantage, make
the most of unique combinations of Australian bio-resources and processing technologies, and develop
new industries which can reinvigorate and integrate agriculture and forest industries. The RIRDC
Bioenergy, Bioproducts and Energy program can provide leadership and co-ordination to this
important industry development.
28
References
Australian Government Office of the Renewable Mohan, D., Pittman Jr, C.U. & Steele, P.H. 2006,
Energy Regulator 2007, 14-Sep-2007-last "Pyrolysis of wood/biomass for bio-oil: a
update, Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs). critical review", Energy & Fuels, vol. 20, pp.
Available: 848-889.
http://www.orer.gov.au/recs/index.html [2007,
20/09] . O'Connell, D., Batten, D., O'Connor, M., May, B.,
Raison, J., Keating, B., Beer, T., Braid, A.,
Batten, D. & O'Connell, D. 2007, Biofuels in Haritos, V., Begley, C., Poole, M., Poulton, P.,
Australia - some economic and policy issues, Graham, S., Dunlop, M., Grant, T., Campbell,
Rural Industries Research and Development P. & Lamb, D. 2007, Biofuels in Australia -
Corporation, Canberra Australia. issues and prospects, Rural Industries Research
and Development Corporation, Canberra
Braid, A. 2007, Biofuels in Australia - biofuel co- Australia.
products for livestock, Rural Industries
Research and Development Corporation, OECD/IEA 2007a, Biofuel Production, International
Canberra Australia. Energy Agency.
Enecon 2001, Integrated tree processing of mallee OECD/IEA 2007b, Biomass for power generation
eucalypts., RIRDC, Canberra. and CHP, International Energy Agency.
Fernando, S., Adhikari, S., Chanrapal, C. & Murali, ORER (Office of the Renewable Energy Regulator)
N. 2006, "Biorefineries: current status, 2007, 14-Sep-2007-last update, Renewable
challenges, and future direction", Energy & Energy Certificates (RECs). Available:
Fuels, . http://www.orer.gov.au/recs/index.html [2007,
20/09] .
Hamelinck, C.N. & Faaij, A. 2006, "Outlook for
advanced biofuels", Energy Policy, vol. 34, pp. Ragauskas, A.J., Williams, C.K., Davison, B.H.,
3268-3283. Britovsek, G., Cairney, J., Eckert, C.A.,
Fredrick Jr, W. J., Hallett, J.P., Leak, D.J.,
Haritos, V. 2007, Bio-based Products, Rural Liotta, C.L., Mielenz, J.R., Murphy, R.,
Industries Research and Development Templer, R. & Tschaplinski, T. 2006, "The
Corporation, Canberra Australia. path forward for biofuels and biomaterials",
Science, vol. 311, pp. 484-489.
Hyde, L. 2006, "Alternative biofuels to those
currently utilised and the future prospects", Rossiter, D. 2006, "Mandated Renewable Energy
AIAST Biofuels: Paddock to Pump Symposium. Target - review of contribution from
bioenergy", Bioenergy Australia Conference.
Kamm, B., Kamm, M., Gruber, P. & Kromus, S.
2006, "Biorefinery systems - an overview" in Rutovitz, J. & Passey, R. 2004, NSW Bioenergy
Biorefineries - Industrial processes and Handbook, Mark Ellis & Associates, Sydney.
products. Status quo and future directions, eds.
B. Kamm, P. Gruber & M. Kamm, Wiley-VCH Smeets, E., Junginger, M. & Faaij, A. 2005,
Verlag GmbH & Co., Weiheim, pp. 3-40. Supportive study for the OECD on alternatuve
developments in biofuel production across the
Kamm, B. & Kamm, M. 2004, "Principles of world, Copernicus Institute for Sustainable
biorefinery", Applied Microbiology and Development, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Biotechnology, vol. 64, pp. 137-145.
Stucley, C. 2006, "Wood Processing for Energy and
Char", Green Processing 2006, vol. 2006, pp.
77-80.
29
Appendix 1 Survey responses
Survey participants were also asked to identify research questions or topics which they considered
RIRDC should invest in with regards to biofuels, bioenergy and bioproducts. Table 1 summarises the
research questions identified by participants.
Table 1 Questions which survey respondents considered RIRDC should be investing in with regards to
biofuels, bioenergy and bioproducts. Box ref number references the research questions to the Strategic
Research and Development framework in Figure 3.
Research question Adoption/ commercialisation pathways Box ref

Development of transportation fuels from The petroleum industry must get involved. 1
biomass.
Maximize bioenergy from sea water New invention 1
Net economic benefit of biofuels 1

To examine the role that electricity could 1
play in transport energy - most biofuels
generate energy. There is increasing
investment in using electricity for transport
purposes
Impact of using Biofuels on the Greenhouse credits for reduced emissions 2
environment from which they come,
contribution to pollution and GHG
reduction.
Life cycle analysis studies to identify the Policy development to promote systems 2
most suitable biomass sources and identified as most beneficial
conversion processes for biofuel production
Potential contribution of biofuels to health 2
improvements. Can we make a link between
air pollution, community health and
improvements due to biofuels? Many
claims, not much fact.
Reduced environmental impacts of biofuels Commercialisation could be through the 2
production. industry by way of incremental
improvements to the existing business or new
entrants
What is a reasonable way to calculate To establish better ground rules in the 2
EREOI (sic) and reduce claims and counter- scientific literature and to make the findings
claims on the performance of biofuels of EREOI (sic) studies more understandable
Implementation of land systems that can manufacturing lead in gasification and all 2,6
have landscape scale solutions for potential pathways i.e.-polymer/material
environment [biodiversity-system, manufacturing, liquid fuel manufacturing
climate]and socio economic-cultural [e.g. methanol, hydrogen], gas making, and
outputs other secondary
Sustainable alternatives to liquid 2,7
hydrocarbon fuels
30
Gearing up: How to sustainable massively Given that huge amounts of land would be 2,8
expand (10-100 fold increase) a dedicated necessary, a significant challenge would be
energy crops without. the development of cooperation between
many landholders and co-ordinating all
stakeholders. Also, simultaneous
development of the market (if it was canola,
the market would be bio-diesel) would need
to be considered.
GHG balances of alternative bioenergy Influencing government policy to choose 2,8
cycles sensible options
Life cycle analysis of biocommodities/ Relevance to carbon trading 2,8
agricultural system/ processing strategies
Sustainability of Biofuels as a creditable Investment in sustainable biofuel projects 2,8
resource.
Assessment of alternative feedstocks for 2nd Microbiogen and other Australian 3
generation ethanol production in various companies could help to commercialize
Australian regions
Conducting detailed resource assessments 3
Develop/trial biofuel/woodgas options from 3
harvest waste using thinning etc at site or in
central locality to sites
Digestate Fertiliser Trials for enhanced 3
growth and water use efficiency in a range
of agricultural and horticultural
applications.
Engineering salt and drought resistant crops More efficient land use and the ability to 3
for food/energy utilise poor quality land would provide a
boon to the farming industry and ultimately,
Australian exports.
Genetic improvement of woody crops for Demonstration of commercial feasibility 3
low rainfall agriculture. will see rapid adoption.
How to increase yields and decrease prices 3
of Australian biofuel crops.
Identification, analysis and optimisation of Public private partnerships fund research 3
best non-food, low rainfall adapted, and share IP. Biofuels producers and/or
Australian feedstocks for 1st and 2nd farmers commercialise technologies.
generation biofuels.
Low cost substrates for bioenergy Land use change, formation of a new 3
industry
New crops for biofuels Farmers grow crops. 3
1. Oilseeds to crushers, oil to biodiesel
manufacturers, Biodiesel to public or blender
then to public, meal to
fertilizer/stockfeed/industrial use e.g.
bioplastics manufacture.
2. Wheat or alternative crops to ethanol
plant, ethanol to fuel blender, fuel to public.
Byproducts for feed? industry?
31
Productivity of woody crops in low rainfall Demonstration of commercial feasibility 3
wheat belt regions will see rapid adoption.
Sustainable feedstocks for larger scale 3
biodiesel and ethanol production.
What are the most efficient biofuel Through encouraging JV research with 3
feedstock that are cost effective but do not industry
replace food crops
Which species for maximum yield In-house commercial advantage 3
Development of sustainable production Usual ag extension methods 3,2
systems, including evaluation/development
of novel species for bioenergy applications
Strategies for ensuring both biofuels and N/A 3,2
food needs can be met.
Water issues: How to maximise Potential pathways include: immediate land 3,2
productivity and minimise water usage, use changes, implementation of completely
while maintaining land-use flexibility. new land use applications, modernizing/
improving existing land use practices,
development of cultivars that have a greater
tolerance for lower rainfall, establishment of
integrated water grids, cloud seeding and so
on. Obviously, some strategies will change
the market equation and these changes would
need to be carefully considered.
Alternative oil sources for biodiesel Already in place 3,5
production
Biodiesel from algae grown in WWTP 3,5
effluent
Winterization of biodiesel to make it 3,5
commercially available.
Biomass supply chain for short cycle 3,6
woody crop systems
Developing Australian technologies for A joint venture of government, industry and 3,6
biofuels production from biomass, farmers associations
particularly mallee - one of the few biomass
materials which can have a realistic impact in
Australia's future energy mixture.
Reducing the cost of establishment of 3,6
seedlings. At the current price of $1/seedling
planted, for the 840,000 hectares of the Avon
I estimate that it will cost $2.1 trillion for
establishing the resource alone. Never mind
the infrastructure and processing facilities.
32
The potential for energy cropping via With appropriate tax and carbon-credit 3,6
indigenous polyculture on marginal land for incentives, the development of megawatt-
use in gasification-based distributed power scale 'bush power stations' using
generation systems. gasification technology to sustainable
power end-of-line regional communities via
native agroforestry on marginal land.
Use land to capacity by initiating and MIS and mining companies already 3,6
developing new industries in the involved and interested
Rangelands
How to use indigenous Australian sources 3,7

of biomass for bio ethanol and higher value
products
Development of harvest technology for Collaborate with existing efforts in this area 4
short rotation eucalypts
Low-cost infrastructure so that new 4
technologies are affordable e.g. mechanical
harvester for oil mallees.
Producing wood pellets from used oil Farmers would become more sustainable, 4
mallee biomass producing wood pellets for export or the
local energy market.
Proof of scaleability of processing strategies 4,3,6
to other biomass sources (other than
sugarcane bagasse)
Develop pelleting processes for milling and Stimulate introduction of low emission cost 4,6
manufacturing waste to be processed into a competitive carbon neutral domestic and
higher value transportable/exportable institutional wood heating
product
Supply chain vulnerabilities to more 4,6
expensive energy
Bioenergy integrating power and water Less demand on government to provide 5
desalination resources as small towns would be self
supported as they are producing their own
power and water.
Carbon Partners Energy From Organic We are happy to discuss one-on-one. 5
Waste (via Thermal Hydrolysis / High Rate
Anaerobic Digestion such as that employed
by Carbon Partners), to treat a broad range
of municipal and agricultural organic wastes.
There are a large number of these facilities
already operating in Germany.
Ester cloud point lowering technology Existing industry 5
33
Ethanol: How to cost effectively convert There is practically unlimited demand for 5
sugars in wood to ethanol and value add to ethanol in Australia. That is, national ethanol
the lignin residue. production could be increased by 10 fold and
it still would not come anywhere near
meeting the 10% limit in petrol. Thus, these
is sufficient market pull. However, cost
competitiveness of production and access to
raw materials is paramount if the market is to
grow. Research into improving wood to
ethanol technologies would help in both
areas.
Gasification [conventional and Lead development & expertise in 5
supercritical] technologies for energy, implementation of base resources that offer
material and water production. direct environmental out comes combined
with viable sustainable economic outputs
particularly to rural land scapes, locally and
globally
How to achieve improved/more stable GM Patenting/industry licencing in Australia 5
microbes for bioethanol production and overseas
Investment should be emphasised on 5
conversion technologies
Lignocellulosic degradation for Very broad - assist utilisation of whole 5
fermentation crops
Low cost transformation technologies for Industrial innovation, patent formation, 5
biofuel production licensing, land use change, formation of a
new industry
Maximize bio energy from waste paper New invention 5
'Modules' - i.e. smaller affordable 5
technologies that feed into more complex
and expensive ones.
Optimisation of second generation Public private partnerships fund research 5
processing methods (lignocellulosic and and share IP. Biofuels producers and waste
pyrolysis) for Australian feedstocks and creators commercialise technologies.
markets, especially utilising waste sources.
Possibility of oil production from biomass Commercialisation of Australian biomass 5
pyrolysis technology and development of
engineering capability to export technology
as well
Recovery of energy and char products from Commercialisation of Australian biomass 5
biomass pyrolysis technology and development of
engineering capability to export technology
as well
Reduced cost of power production from 5
biofuels.
Sustainable use, application & conversion Private sector investment once a value was 5
of biomass into high value products with placed on carbon. Pleased to help!
energy recovery only as a by-product
34
Technologies for & feasibility of 2nd Microbiogen and other Australian 5
generation ethanol production (demo plant) companies could help to commercialize
from lignocellulosic feedstocks in the near
term (3-5 years).
Prospects of ligno-cellulosics to ethanol Regular extension to primary producers 5,1
How to bring 2nd generation biofuel 5,2
technology online (and associated issues -
physical limitations of feedstock), economic
impacts, social changes required.
Assisting development of energy related Ethanol for wood - longer term steps to 5,3
products from woody crops (from pines, making commercial viability. Ethanol from
blue gums etc through to dryland species) wood a key aspect to overcome the using
'ethanol from wood' food crops for fuel issues
Improve the production method of biodiesel 5,3
which could be applied to cheaper
feedstocks.
Electricity and desalination from biomass, 5,4
eliminate roadblocks like harvesters
Integrating bioenergy production into 5,6
farming systems
Bio refineries using trees as feedstocks. 5,7
Biomass or Bio-oil based refinery concepts If possible the processes top get new fuels 5,7
and chemicals (biorefinery) must be
compatible with existing infrastructure. A
complete departure from existing concepts
will be very costly
Bio-products from trees (lignin, cellulose IP from researchers to industry or farmers 5,7
and terpene feedstocks) directly. Same for other questions
Development of sub-products from waste 5,7
streams of biomass processing (materials
fertilizers)
Non-ethanol bio-fuels since ethanol has 5,7
already been established. Butanol etc should
be the new focus.
Develop cost effective models for harvest, Only pathway is to be as commercially 6
processing and handling and sale of biomass realistic and responsive as possible and
from plantation management/harvest. Prove driven by commercial markets
economics at different scales to assist
commercial development by management
groups.
Funding new industries for MIS companies and mining companies 6
saline/waterlogged land invest and use product
What are the relative costs of the different 6
feedstocks, technologies, pathways, etc?
Agronomies of feedstocks, scale and Extension - workshops, brochures, skills 6,3
economics transfer
35
Base load electricity generation from There are exiting waste streams in major 6,3
woody crops and waste streams industry plantings that could be of
immediate use in providing biomass for
energy generation incl base load
Methods of recovery of timber residue from Increase use of residue timber instead of 6,4,3
native or plantation areas into usable burning in situ, reduction of GHG gas
feedstock
Development of bioenergy and biofuels 6,7
systems optimised for small-scale
application in rural Australia.
The economic viability of various crops for Economic viability studies will determine 6,8
the production of biofuels for: 1. farmers; 2. which path to follow and when.
biofuels manufacturers; 3. consumers
Ways to reduce the cost and improve the Commercialisation could be through the 6,8
total production of liquid bioenergy as a industry by way of incremental
petroleum replacement. improvements to the existing business or
new entrants.
Proof of concept trials / applied R&D for 6,9,10
demonstrating commercial and technical
viability in a local context.
Alternative glycerine uses in Australia - 7
particularly as a soil wetting agent
End-use testing of biochars 7
The development of uses and markets for 7
the by-products of the manufacture biofuels
Developing replacements for New industries and crops slotting into 7,1
petrochemicals (i.e. monomers/ polymers) existing high volume markets - no need to
from bio-based sources create market. Price driven regarding
replacement.
Adding value to agricultural waste material New industries based around recycling of 7,5
agricultural waste, novel technologies
developed/sold/leased
What does one do with glycerol General benefit to small producers 7,5
Accredit the use of native timber residues Increase use of residue timber instead of 8
for GHG reduction burning in situ, reduction of GHG
Money (government funding) and industry New fuels, infrastructure, vehicle systems 8
support.
Re-allocation of absurd subsidies from State ownership of biofuels industry to 8
fossil diesel users to biofuels producers break the power of the multinationals
To examine the subsidies paid by Australian Change government policy with respect to 8
government to various forms of energy fossil fuel and renewable industries
production (fossil fuel, renewable fuel,
nuclear) and to calculate the subsidies paid
per tonne carbon emitted by these industries
What policy directions are required to assist 8
in development of a sustainable biofuels
industry
36
What policy instruments are needed to 8
facilitate the expansion of bioenergy in
Australia. Could examine successful schemes
in Europe etc
Price of certification in the market and mix Feeds into other independent studies that 8,2
of technologies that goes with that may use different parameters
Emergency mass planting for carbon Mass employment in seedling rearing and 8,3
sequestration worldwide planting - zero unemployment
Large-scale carbon bio-sequestration and Government or global insurance-industry 8,3
carbon-in-soil sequestration for immediate mandated carbon sequestration operations
GHG mitigation taken up by rural agribusinesses.
Carbon sequestration in soils Private sector investment once a value was 8,7
placed on carbon. Pleased to help!
How to produce higher value products at Patenting/industry licensing in Australia 8,9
commercial yields? and overseas
Identify strategies for stimulating & 8,9
expanding intermediate & final demand for
ethanol - e.g. clever incentives, cooperative
co-production, discounting, mandating, etc.
Commercialisation of bioenergy Helps industry commercialisation 8,9,1
Commercialisation & support for projects - N/A 9,1
operations and maintenance issues
Identifying viable social implementation of 9,1
such technologies and land systems.
Maximize bioenergy from wind 10
Social aspect of putting the above all 10
together for small country towns to stop
migration to the city
New technology N/A N/A
37
Appendix 2 Survey respondents
information on organisational R&D activity
and capacity
Table 1. Organisations represented by survey respondents, with a description of: the role of each
organisation in bioenergy/bioproducts; and the number of responses from each organisation.
Organisation Role in bioenergy/ bioproducts # of
responses
Association for the Study of 1
Peak Oil-Australia
Australian Renewable Fuels Biodiesel manufacturer 1
AVONGRO Wheatbelt Tree Looking for innovative uses for woody biomass. We need to plant 1
Cropping Incorporated vast areas of our region for environmental reasons but the
revegetation systems need to provide an income to farmers. We
have very low rainfall and so less appropriate to traditional sawlog
regimes.
CANEGROWERS Represents 82% of Queensland's cane growers. We support the 1
development of biofuels and bioproducts as providing
opportunities for our members.
Carbon Partners Pty Ltd Carbon Partners is a developer of bioenergy projects using 1
advanced German biogas technology.
Colley Consulting (for Assist members of red meat industry to identify and develop 1
AMPC) projects
CSIRO Marine and To better understand the economics of alternative transport fuels 1
Atmospheric Research, (including biofuels); and
Aspendale To develop a toolkit for applying principles of industrial ecology
(including bioenergy) to future urban & rural development
CSIRO Molecular and Health Research into new products and value added materials from bio- 2
Technologies based sources. E.g. research and development in the area of
biorefineries using native Australian plants (mainly trees) as
feedstocks to develop chemicals and plastics
Curtin University of Development of innovative technology for biomass and biofuels 1
Technology - Department of production
Chemical Engineering
CY O'Connor ERADE Expertise in eucalyptus oil applications as by-product of 1
Village plantations and watching brief on ethanol and biodiesel.
Department of Agriculture Developing new crops 3
and Food – Western Australia On farm land use - production
Research on the technical feasibility and profitability of biofuels
Department of Environment Research and development with the accent on development 1
and Conservation – Western
Australia
Department of Industry and Developing the business environment to allow bioenergy 1
Resources
Department of Industry Considering impacts of the technical and policy developments of 1
Tourism and Resources biofuels on Australian industry and the economy
Department of Primary Production of biomass, research into suitable species, use of 2
Industries - NSW biomass for bioenergy and bioproducts.
Dealing with policy and science especially in relation primary
production.
Department of Primary Industry development for private forestry, helping develop new 2
Industries - Victoria industries based around new forests
Energetix Biodiesel production. 1
38
Organisation Role in bioenergy/ bioproducts # of
responses
Gasification Australia Pty Ltd Small-scale gasification systems for power generation 2
Design, research and manufacture of gasifisers
Research of gasifier roles and applications
Research into land systems that best imbed the technology
Invest Australia Invest Australia was established in 1997 by the Australian 1
Government to attract productive foreign direct investment into
Australia, to support sustainable industry growth and development.
We achieve this by promoting Australia's competitive advantages
as an investment destination and actively facilitating investment
projects into Australia.
J&J Tucker Environmental Crops and manufacturing, trees for rehabilitation 1
Pty Ltd
Monash University Development of pyrolysis applied technologies 1
Oil Mallee Association Producer 1
Peter Cameron & Associates Consulting to the power and resource industries. 1
Queensland University of Research provider and consulting engineer. Plant biotechnology, 1
Technology biomass process and product development, energy minimisation in
sugar processing, pyrolysis
Renewed Fuels Pty Ltd Project (BOO(T)) initiator & developer. 1
Research Institute for Test alternate fuels. Demonstrate vehicles using alternate fuels. 1
Sustainable Energy Research new fuels. Provide education programs.
(Murdoch)
Simcoa Operations Charcoal manufacture 1
SMARTimbers marketing Private forestry (farm sawlog woodlots) marketing cooperative 1
cooperative (and Central developing outlets for thinnings and harvest waste
Victorian Farm Plantations
PFDC and Victorian Timber
Industry Council)
South Australian Government Reducing greenhouse emissions. 1
South Australian Research The SARDI Sustainable Systems Division has developed a new 1
and Development Institute program of Biofuels research (with an initial focus on Biodiesel).
(SARDI) This program is led by Principal Scientist Dr Kevin Williams. The
primary role of the program is to use existing and new SARDI
expertise and infrastructure to research and develop feedstocks for
biofuel production. Reliable, affordable sources of feedstock are
needed to underpin the rapidly developing Biofuels industry. The
SARDI Biofuels group will initially comprise two subprograms
focusing on biodiesel feedstock research – oilseed breeding and
microalgae cultivation.
Sustainable Transport 1
Coalition WA
UJL Pty Ltd 1
University of Melbourne R&D in the area of thermochemical conversion. 1
University of NSW Research into use of raw materials including biomass for 2
bioethanol production; use of GM microbes for C5/C6 conversion
University of Sydney - Method development and problem solving for biodiesel 1
School of Chemistry production. Winterinization of biodiesel.
University of Western Research and development of alternate oilseed crops as potential 1
Australia – Centre for feedstock for biodiesel.
Legumes in Mediterranean
Agriculture (CLIMA)
39
Table 2. Projects on bioenergy and bioproducts currently being conducted by participants’ organisations.
Project Outline People Involved Organisation/s Involved Contact details
Test plant for biodiesel from tallow, canola etc Andrew Warton andrew@bluediesel.com.au
Pot growing trials using digestate as a soil amendment Wolfgang Schwartz Carbon Partners Wolfgang.Schwarz@dpi.vic.gov.au
Agriculture Services Victoria
(part of DPI)
Carbon Partners Energy From Organic Waste (via Thermal Hydrolysis / John Chiodo Carbon Partners john.chiodo@carbonpartners.net
Anaerobic Digestion) Melbourne Water
ASIRC
Products from glycerol Andrew Warden CSIRO andrew.warden@csiro.au
Lignin degradation Michael Zachariou CSIRO michael.zachariou@csiro.au
Bio-Products from lignin Michael Zachariou CSIRO michael.zachariou@csiro.au
Bio-Products from cineole Michael Zachariou CSIRO michael.zachariou@csiro.au
Bio-products from terpenes Michael Zachariou CSIRO michael.zachariou@csiro.au
Cellulases for ethanol production Michael Zachariou CSIRO michael.zachariou@csiro.au
Environmental impacts CSIRO
CSIRO Alternative Transport Fuels calculator, etc. Tom Beer et al. CSIRO Tom.beer@csiro.au
RIRDC Study into Bioenergy/Biofuels Deb O'Connell et al. CSIRO Deborah.o’connell@csiro.au
40
A life cycle analysis of bioenergy production from mallee Dr Hongwei Wu Curtin University of h.wu@curtin.edu.au
Mr John Bartle Technology John.Bartle@dec.wa.gov.au
Roles of inorganic species in mallee biomass gasification Dr Hongwei Wu Curtin University of h.wu@curtin.edu.au
Technology
Hydrogen Production from Biomass through integrated hydrolysis and Dr Hongwei Wu Curtin University of h.wu@curtin.edu.au
aqueous phase reforming in hot-compressed water Technology
Eucalyptus oil applications Dr Geoff Pain CY O'Connor ERADE geoff.pain@excite.com
Village
Recycling asphalt with eucalyptus oil Dr Geoff Pain CY O'Connor ERADE geoff.pain@excite.com
Village
Salt bricks from waste plastic and eucalyptus oil Dr Geoff Pain CY O'Connor ERADE geoff.pain@excite.com
Village
Clean coal by eucalyptus oil flotation Dr Geoff Pain CY O'Connor ERADE geoff.pain@excite.com
Village
The energy millennium: Bioenergy in Victoria Graeme Allinon Department of Primary graeme.allinson@dpi.vic.gov.au
Industries - Victoria
Conversion of emissions to biofuels through microalgae Jonathon Green Energetix jgreen@vicfam.com.au
Development of a cold flow improvement process for tallow based Mark Fisher Flinders University mark.fisher@flinders.edu.au
biodiesel
Resource availability FT, External consultants
Gasifier feedstock performance benchmarking John Sanderson Gasification Australia gasifierjohn@gmail.com
Research on land systems based on native ecosystems for reinstatement on Mark Feltrin Gasification Australia mark@gasificationauastralia.com
degrading agricultural landscapes for gasification outcomes [exclusively
and non-exclusively], locally and globally
Research and development of small scale gasifier [Gasification Australia Mark Feltrin Gasification Australia mark@gasificationauastralia.com
-Tasman class] John Sanderson gasifierjohn@gmail.com
Practical implementation of small scale gasifier in conjunction with Mark Feltrin Gasification Australia mark@gasificationauastralia.com
sustainable forestry on private property in Central Victoria John Sanderson gasifierjohn@gmail.com
Investigate plant species to reduce salinity Jim and Joy Tucker J&J Tucker Environmental tuckeres@bigpond.net.au
Pty Ltd
Plant for greenhouse gas sequestration Jim and Joy Tucker J&J Tucker Environmental tuckeres@bigpond.net.au
Pty Ltd
FloraSearch JVAP
CRC PBMDS
41
Biodiesel from tallow MLA

Midfield Meat
Bioenergy MLA
Biogas capture from anaerobic ponds MLA
Bioreactor using solid wastes from meat processing MLA
Flexible biomass gasification for distributed electricity generation Prof Chun-Zhu Li Monash University chun-zhu.li@eng.monash.edu.au
Dr Hongwei Wu Curtin University of h.wu@curtin.edu.au
Technology
Production of bio-oils from Mallee oil for fuel applications Dr. Chun-Zhu Li Monash University chun-zhu.li@eng.monash.edu.au
GHG stuff Annette Cowie et al NSW Department of Primary annettec@sf.nsw.gov.au
Industries
Carbon turnover rate of agrichar Bhupinderpal Singh NSW Department of Primary bp.singh@sf.nsw.gov.au
Industries
Greenhouse gas balance of char as a soil amendment Annette Cowie NSW Department of Primary annettec@sf.nsw.gov.au
Industries
Agronomic benefits of char as a soil amendment Lukas van Zwieten NSW Department of Primary lukas.van.zwieten@dpi.nsw.gov.au
Industries
Mallee development Oil Mallee Association
Oil Mallee Company
VerveJVAP
CRC PBMDS
Biomass inputs to Orica Mining Services Dr Geoff Brent Orica Australia Pty Ltd geoff.brent@orica.com
Liquid bio-fuels in Orica Mining Services products Dr Geoff Brent Orica Australia Pty Ltd geoff.brent@orica.com
Mineral carbonation Dr Geoff Brent Orica Australia Pty Ltd geoff.brent@orica.com
Elimination of N2O from ammonium nitrate manufacture Dr Geoff Brent Orica Australia Pty Ltd geoff.brent@orica.com
Renewable energy in ammonium nitrate manufacture Dr Geoff Brent Orica Australia Pty Ltd geoff.brent@orica.com
Biological routes to fuel gases Dr Geoff Brent Orica Australia Pty Ltd geoff.brent@orica.com
Cellulose expression in biomass crops Les Edye Queensland University of l.edye@qut.edu.au
Technology
Lignocellulosic fractionation processes Les Edye Queensland University of l.edye@qut.edu.au
Technology
Lignin applications Les Edye Queensland University of l.edye@qut.edu.au
Technology
Test alternate fuels - sustainability/renewables. Focus on remote area Sandie Rawnsley Research Institute for srawsley@rise.murdoch.edu.au
42
power systems. Sustainable Energy

Evaluation and development of new crops as feedstocks for biodiesel Trent Potter SARDI potter.trent@saugov.sa.gov.au
production
Sustainable production of biodiesel from microalgae Dr Sasi Nayar SARDI nayar.sasi@saugov.sa.gov.au
NCRIS National Photobioreactor research facility Dr Kevin Williams SARDI williams.kevin@saugov.sa.gov.au
Oilseeds fro biodiesel Kevin Williams SARDI Williams.Kevin@saugov.sa.gov.au
Oil for biodiesel from Microalgae Kevin Williams SARDI Williams.Kevin@saugov.sa.gov.au
CVFP PFDCV thinnings project Andrew Lang SMARTimbers andrewlang@smartimbers.com.au
Develop Victorian bioenergy association Andrew Lang SMARTimbers andrewlang@smartimbers.com.au
Pyrolytic derivation of phenols and furfural David Butt University of Melbourne davidb@unimelb.edu.au
Pilot scale development and evaluation of an improved process for David Butt University of Melbourne davidb@unimelb.edu.au
furfural and fuel production from bagasse
Policy - facilitate development William Woodward University of NSW w.woodward@student.unsw.edu.au
Economics - cost, life-cycle assessment, viability William Woodward University of NSW w.woodward@student.unsw.edu.au
Resource assessment - bioenergy's contribution to Australia's future William Woodward University of NSW w.woodward@student.unsw.edu.au
energy mix, modelling, cost etc
Winterization of biodiesel Prof Thomas University of Sydney
Maschmeyer
A/Prof Tony Masters
Dr Chris Guo chris_g@chem.usyd.edu.au
Dr Bill Rowlands
Dr Thiyakesan
Development of Mustards for Biodiesel Margaret Campbell University of WA mcc@cyllene.uwa.edu.au
Development of herbicide tolerance in mustards. Margaret Campbell University of WA mcc@cyllene.uwa.edu.au
Mallee charcoal placed at depth to help with nutrient and moisture Dr Paul Blackwell WA Department of 0429102105
retention. Agriculture and Food
Biofuels working group Anne Wilkins WA Department of awilkins@agric.wa.gov.au
Agriculture and Food
Developing new industries/crops for saline land. Dr Henry Brockman WA Department of hbrockman@agric.wa.gov.au
Developing new industries (bio-diesel) for the Rangelands (pastoral area) Dr Henry Brockman WA Department of hbrockman@agric.wa.gov.au
Biomass Market Intelligence Report Australian and state
43
governments, industry
associations and individual
players
Biomass Foreign Investment Lead reports Australian and state
governments, industry
associations and individual
players
Development of a continuous flow transesterification process for
biodiesel production
Development of a continuous flow acid esterification process for
biodiesel production
Biomass as fuel & reductant in modern pyrometallurgical processes
Biomass in iron and Steel industry
Utilisation of waste biomass in base metals smelting
Develop alternative biomass feedstocks - low cost, sealable, closed
nutrient cycle algal biomass production
Table 3 Projects on bioenergy and bioproducts currently being funded by participants’ organisations. Italics indicate that the project is also mentioned in Table 2
Project outline Who manages the Organisation/s Contact details
project
Carbon Partners Energy From Organic Waste (via Thermal Carbon Partners john.chiodo@carbonpartners.net
Hydrolysis / Anaerobic Digestion) Melbourne Water
ASIRC
Pot growing trials using digestate as a soil amendment Wolfgang Schwartz Carbon Partners, Wolfgang.Schwarz@dpi.vic.gov.au
Agriculture Services
Victoria (part of DPI)
Metallurgical charcoal CRC SMP
CSIRO Minerals
Curtin Uni Chem Eng
Glycerol products Andrew Warden CSIRO andrew.warden@csiro.au
CSIRO Alternative Transport Fuels calculator, etc. Tom Beer et al. CSIRO Tom.beer@csiro.au
RIRDC Study into Bioenergy/Biofuels Deb O'Connell et al CSIRO Deborah.o’connell@csiro.au
biofuels working group Anne Wilkins Department of Agriculture awilkins@agric.wa.gov.au
WA
44
Joint partner (with MLA and others) providing funding for the Mark Fisher Flinders University mark.fisher@flinders.edu.au
development of a cold flow improvement additive and/or process for MLA
tallow based biodiesel
Research on land systems based on native ecosystems for Gasification Australia 4 Finch St, Notting Hill , VIC
reinstatement on degrading agricultural landscapes for gasification
outcomes[exclusively and non-exclusively], locally and globally
Practical implementation of small scale gasifier [Gasification Gasification Australia 4 Finch St, Notting Hill , VIC
Australia -Tasman class] in conjunction with sustainable forestry on
private property in Central Victoria
Research and development of small scale gasifier Gasification Australia 4 Finch St, Notting Hill , VIC
Biomass supply chain (paddock to processor) JVAP
FFI
CRC
OMA/OMC
Carbon turnover rate of agrichar Bhupinderpal Singh NSW Department of bp.singh@sf.nsw.gov.au
Primary Industries
Greenhouse gas balance of char as a soil amendment Annette Cowie NSW Department of annettec@sf.nsw.gov.au
Primary Industries
Project outline Who manages the Organisation/s Contact details
project
Agronomic benefits of char as a soil amendment Lukas van Zwieten NSW Department of lukas.van.zwieten@dpi.nsw.gov.au
Primary Industries
SARDI Biofuels Group Program Dr Kevin Williams SARDI williams.kevin@saugov.sa.gov.au
Oilseeds fro biodiesel Dr Kevin Williams SARDI Williams.Kevin@saugov.sa.gov.au

Oil for biodiesel from Microalgae Dr Kevin Williams SARDI Williams.Kevin@saugov.sa.gov.au
Bioenergy Technology Study SMEC
Pyrolytic derivation of phenols and furfural David Butt University of Melbourne davidb@unimelb.edu.au
Pilot scale development and evaluation of an improved process for David Butt University of Melbourne davidb@unimelb.edu.au
furfural and fuel production from bagasse
Eucalyptus oil extraction Verve

45
Appendix 3 Feedback on R&D framework
from Bioenergy Australia forum
Feedback on R&D Priorities, a presentation by Deborah O’Connell (CSIRO) and Roslyn Prinsley
(RIRDC)
Attendees at the Bioenergy Australia Quarterly Forum, held at CSIRO Gungahlin on 21 June
2007, were invited to make responses and comments on the R&D Priorities as presented. The
following summaries are based on notes recorded on the day by Will Woodward and Michael
O’Connor. Similar responses are grouped together under one of four headings.
Strategic Research Investment

• Amazed at the impetus and activity that is occurring in the USA not Australia. The research
focus is quite ‘newish’ in Australia. Time to get going on this now.
• Bioenergy is diverse, and diverse research can be piecemeal so we must pick winners. There is
risk in diluting our effort if we try and do all things — so we must pick a few winners instead.
• Don’t duplicate research on which others have a huge lead. Got to be more strategic about
what we do in Australia. Ethanol is important but from 2011 there may be threats from
imports.
• Don’t duplicate research, be strategic.
• How we can compete with the dollars invested in research by US when they put in billions?
• Involve other R&D groups. More interaction across R&D commissions is required.
• Need to focus on research priorities specific to Australia. No point doing what USDA, DOE is
doing and duplicate research — they also have far more money.
• R&D focus is geographically-specific - therefore it is difficult to focus at the national scale
rather than regional.
• Suggest picking representatives from industry and to hold workshops to form focus questions.
• We have to remain aware that we do this in a commoditized world. Find breakthrough areas
and focus on them first.
• Work out Australia’s comparative advantage and put research money there.
Science and Sustainability

• Do some research on effects of globalisation and effect on ethanol trade ie how would the
importation of ethanol of Brazil affect Australia.
• Focus on sustainability as this issue underpins bioenergy. Sustainability must be emphasized.
• Need to include further work on use of char as soil amendment.
• Should not focus on ethanol or biodiesel but perhaps butanol.
• Sustainability is also relevant.
• Sustainability is critically important
• Useful to focus on thermo-chemical pathways.
Economics and markets

• As we are not producing biofuels to capacity, we need work on policy issues to increase our
production to meet existing capacity.
• Distributed resource means that we won’t be viable for at least 20 years as there is a scale
issue — can’t have large processing facilities with economic transport distances if there is a
distributed resource.
• More focus on products to market.
• No one solution. Focus on the process of products to market.
• Not sufficient emphasis on markets in R&D priorities framework. Need to start with markets
and track back (look at associated markets etc). Globalisation means we should focus on
46
exports. We need to know how to defend an industry we build, focus on mandates. Oil
monopolies will not accept biofuels produced in Australia until there are mandates. If
mandated, supply will follow, need demand. Would like to see in the years ahead an ethanol
industry. Fuel industry is highly monopolised and at present they have much bigger issues.
Need a sustainable market.
• Products to market is more important than anything else.
• Products to markets!! It is so important. Must understand access to markets.
• We have done quite a bit of work of economics and it is uneconomic. Economics will however
change eg. with peak oil. The R&D approach presented here is excellent.
Comments on the Framework

• R&D framework is great. I like what was presented today.
• Good use of ‘think tank’ approach to raise and explore these issues.
• I like the R&D framework presented.
47

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Bioenergy, Bioproducts and Energy

A Framework for research and development

A report for the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation

RIRDC Publication No 07/178

ISBN 1 74151 573 4

Researcher Contact Details

Phone: 02 6242 1600

RIRDC Contact Details

Phone: 02 6271 4100

Published in November 2007

Who is the report targeted at?

1. R&D Investment Framework or “Roadmap”

3. Biomass resources 4. Supply 5. Conversion 7a. Product 7b. Market analysis

7c. Pathways for products to markets

10. Capacity building

Current snapshot of biofuels

The Australian context

Table 1 Australian production of ethanol and biodiesel for 2006/7

Total 471 159.9

BIODIESEL TOTAL 323 1122

Current snapshot of bioenergy (heat and power) from biomass

The Australian context

Cogen = cogeneration; FBC = Fluidised Bed Combustion; Gasn = Gasification; PV -= Photovoltaics; RE =

Bioproducts and biorefineries

The Australian context

3. Biomass resources 4. Supply 5. Conversion 7a. Product 7b. Market analysis

7c. Pathways for products to markets

10. Capacity building

Comments from survey

• Development of a research investment framework or ‘roadmap’ to identify the most likely

Sustainability is, however, a difficult concept to operationalise. It contains elements of scientific

Comments from survey and forum

Current production base

Comments from survey

Comments from survey

• Identify and implement appropriate outreach activities

Box 10 Capacity building

The Academy of Technological Science and Engineering

CSIRO Energy Transformed Flagship Future Fuels Forum

The Clean Energy Council Bioenergy Roadmapping project

Research question Adoption/ commercialisation pathways Box ref

Net economic benefit of biofuels 1

How to use indigenous Australian sources 3,7

New technology N/A N/A

Biodiesel from tallow MLA

power systems. Sustainable Energy

Oilseeds fro biodiesel Dr Kevin Williams SARDI Williams.Kevin@saugov.sa.gov.au

Eucalyptus oil extraction Verve

Strategic Research Investment

Science and Sustainability

Economics and markets

Comments on the Framework

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