DEMONSTRATION OF CELLULOSIC ETHANOL PRODUCTION FROM SUGARCANE BAGASSE IN AUSTRALIA: THE MACKAY RENEWABLE BIOCOMMODITIES PILOT PLANT

By I.M. O’HARA, L.A. EDYE, W.O.S. DOHERTY and G.A. KENT
Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia
i.ohara@qut.edu.au

KEYWORDS: Lignocellulose, Bioethanol,
Biorefinery, Biocommodities, Pilot Plant.

Abstract

THE READYavailability of sugarcane bagasse at an existing industrial facility and the potential availability of extra fibre through trash collection make sugarcane fibre the best candidate for early stage commercialisation of cellulosic ethanol technologies. The commercialisation of cellulosicethanol technologies in the sugar industry requires both development of novel technologies and the assessment of these technologies at a precommercial scale. In 2007, the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) received funding from the Australian and Queensland Governments to construct a pilot research
and development facility for the production of bioethanol and other renewable
biocommodities from biomass including sugarcane bagasse. This facility has been built on the site of the Racecourse Sugar Mill in Mackay, Queensland and is known as the Mackay Renewable Biocommodities Pilot Plant (MRBPP). This research facility is capable of processing cellulosic biomass by a variety of pretreatment technologies and includes equipment for enzymatic saccharification, fermentation and distillation to produce ethanol. Lignin and fermentation co-products can also be produced in the pilot facility.

Source http://www.issct.org/pdf/proceedings/2010/2010%20O%20Hara,%20DEMONSTRATION%20OF%20CELLULOSIC%20ETHANOL%20PRODUCTION%20FROM%20SUGARCANE%20BAGASSE%20IN%20AUSTRALIA%20T.pdf