Australia to double ethanol production

13 Comments on "Australia to double ethanol production"

makati1 on Mon, 2nd May 2016 9:05 pm 



They will probably also increase their bodily consumption of ethanol* too. In the form of rum, vodka, etc.

*Ethanol /ˈɛθənɒl/, also commonly called ethyl alcohol, drinking alcohol, or simply alcohol is the principal type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages. WIKI

Anonymous on Tue, 3rd May 2016 4:03 am 



Alcohol based liquids are perfectly capable of being made into ‘fuel’. It burns just fine. But why would you? Alcohol-based fuel is not ‘free-energy’. Not in the way, Hydro-power, or low-depth, high grade crude is. You actually have to WORK to make ethanol, quite a lot really. Not like sticking a pipe in the ground and out comes free-ethanol. Takes a lot of time and energy to fuel-alcohol.Not very profitable…

Maybe it will be once formal slavery comes back into fashion all those former account executives, apps designers and soccer moms are toiling away in fields where their cardboard and plastic suburban dream-homes used to stand. Who knows?

So good luck to Australia on doubling production of a fuel that takes as much energy to make, as it does burning it.

dooma on Tue, 3rd May 2016 4:55 am 



Yes, we will need all the luck we can get.

Just another example of environmental stupidity on a grand scale to try and continue living an unstainable lifestyle.

We live on the second driest continent on the planet and what do decide to devote what precious little water we do have? Yes! Biofuels-that makes sense.

It is as bad as growing cotton here, which is such a water-intensive crop. When we could readily import it from countries that specialise in growing it.

As many parts of this place continue or return to drought, all I can do is shake my head at the sheer lunacy and greed of some people.

Davy on Tue, 3rd May 2016 7:34 am 



More instability and lies uncovered in a commodity republics.
“Unexpected” Australian Rate Cut To Record Low Unleashes FX Havoc, Global “Risk Off”
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-05-03/unexpected-australian-rate-cut-record-low-unleashes-fx-havoc-global-risk

“Three months ago, when Australia unexpectedly revealed that its recent “stellar” job numbers had in fact been cooked we asked, rhetorically, why the sudden admission it was all a lie? Simple: weakness in commodity prices “is far greater than people had been expecting,” the nation’s top economist said. Australia is now “swimming against the tide” because of uncertainties in the global economy, he added. Which we translated as follows: “we need more easing, and to do that, the economy has to go from strong to crap.” And with the Australian economy suddenly desperate for lower rates from the RBA, one can ignore the propaganda lies, and focus once again on the far uglier truth.”

Kenz300 on Tue, 3rd May 2016 7:52 am 



The world is in transition to electric vehicles powered by wind and solar …………

Electric cars, bikes and mass transit are the future…..fossil fuel ICE cars are the past…………..
Think teen agers vs your grand father…………………. cell phones vs land lines…….

NO EMISSIONS……..climate change is real………

Save money……no stopping at gas stations…..no oil changes……..less overall maintenance……

Lawfish1964 on Tue, 3rd May 2016 10:43 am 



Ethanol is a dead loser. Takes more energy to make it than it returns when burned. Must be a fat subsidy in there somewhere. I wish they would quit putting ethanol in gas here in the states. It screws up lawn tools and boat motors something terrible.

GregT on Tue, 3rd May 2016 10:59 am 



@kenz,

“The world is in transition to electric vehicles powered by wind and solar ”

Wrong. The world is in transition to a much less hospitable place. Expecting human technology to save us from the consequences of human technology, is a fools errand. More of the same Kenz. We either stop, or we will be stopped. Permanently.

PracticalMaina on Tue, 3rd May 2016 11:54 am 



I am assuming this is sugar cane ethanol which has a better EROEI but sugar cane is usually burned in the field as the first step of processing, not very environmentally friendly. They are saying co-generation though so I am wondering if they are going to try to avoid burning it in the fields. That ethanol does suck for small motors…

Anonymous on Tue, 3rd May 2016 12:54 pm 



You know, the whole ethanol wrecks my has far less to with the ethanol itself, and almost evrything to do with the ‘system’, is designed to burn one thing, leaded gaz-o-leen. Whatever mechanical issues burning alcohol in a motor cause, are not insurmountable. But the system was designed to make sure you burn GAZoLEen in everything. And, here and there, diesel. But thats it.

Does change the facts around eth production any of course. But when you consider how lossy eth production is. THEN add the fact its kind of hard on engines solely designed to encourage the burning of specifically formulated gas, well…the whole enterprise starts to look really questionable doesn’t it?

And lastly, its not like ethanol is designed to ‘fuel’ anything at all. Its intended to be MIXED of course, with gaz-o-leen.

To top off the absurdity of it …

Bob Owens on Tue, 3rd May 2016 3:20 pm 



Why would you spend $800 million on bio-fuels when you can buy a nice wind or solar plant for that? Don’t understand it at all.

antaris on Tue, 3rd May 2016 5:46 pm 



Bob, my mates have bio-fuel companies not wind or solar.

Shaved Monkey on Wed, 4th May 2016 9:48 am 



Conservative Climate Change denying government trying to please the sugar growers to get some more Queensland votes in the up coming election

Kenz300 on Fri, 6th May 2016 9:14 am 



100% electric transportation and 100% solar by 2030

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBkND76J91k