AsianScientist (Feb. 7, 2012) – Biofuel technology being developed by Queensland University of Technology (QUT) researchers has caught the interest of the U.S. Navy, which is currently in Australia on an alternative fuel fact-finding mission.
The U.S. Navy intends to have a fleet of warships known as the “Great Green Fleet” running on biofuels by 2016, and by 2020 it plans to run half of its entire fleet on alternative fuels.
This plan translates to 80,000 barrels of biofuel for the Green Fleet voyage in 2016, says QUT’s Professor Sagadevan Mundree.
Mundree met with Chris Tindal, the U.S. Navy’s director for operational energy, yesterday afternoon for a tour and introduction of QUT’s Mackay Renewable Biocommodities Pilot Plant.
“QUT is the only institution in Australia with the capability of demonstrating a diverse range of waste to biofuel technologies at the pilot scale. The pilot plant has now been operational for over 14 months, so Mr. Tindal is here to find out more about how the technology is progressing,” Mundree said.
According to him, QUT may be able to satisfy a significant portion of the 80,000 required barrels with the help of industry partners such as global agri-business Syngenta, Leaf Energy, The Biofuels Partnership and Mackay Sugar Ltd., and by turning agricultural waste – such as bagasse from sugarcane – into biofuels.
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Source: Queensland University of Technology.
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#Australia #Australian Government Education Investment Fund #Biofuel #Great Green Fleet #Mackay Renewable Biocommodities Pilot Plant #National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy #Queensland University of Technology #Smart State Research Facilities Fund Queensland #Syngenta #The Biofuels Partnership
