TGE Diesel
The Second Generation Distillate production involves taking Straw as feedstock and converting it to an environmentally friendly diesel fuel that burns cleaner and more efficiently than fossil diesel.
This is not Biodiesel. It is tested under the Australian Standards for diesel and you may claim back your fuel excise if your business is eligible.
The Straw to Diesel production facility uses state of the art patented technology to produce a diesel product that has the same active chemical structure as fossil diesel without the harmful elements. Further, the production and refinement process utilises less energy and is environmentally friendly when compared to the refinement of diesel from crude oil. Overall the facility will produce, in a clean and efficient way, a cleaner burning diesel fuel from renewable resources.
The production capacity of diesel of each project is 13,200,000 litres in year 1 increasing, through efficiency, to 17,600,000 litres within three years.
Feedstock
Fuels from residual substances and biologically regenerating raw materials represent the future of energy development without the centralised control that is exerted by large oil companies who exploit the worlds existing fossil fuel resources. The technology is now available to make fuel production a commercial and environmental reality.
The raw materials required to make second generation diesel are in abundance and include:
- Harvest residues (our current focus is on bales of straw, weed seeds and chaff from grain growing),
- Salt Trees,
- Plants generally,
- Green waste, and
- Animal wastes.
These items are usable because they have intrinsic energy content. In addition, these materials contain hydrocarbons which are captured in the conversion process to make fuel.
The Process
Feedstock is shredded down to small sizes and mixed with a catalyst into a slurry. This is pumped into a high speed turbine where it is rapidly heated, splitting the molecular structure. This condensates as water and diesel. The solid product remaining will go into broadacre composting..
Benefits
Economic
- Greater cash flow in the local community eg. Employees shopping etc.
- Provides another option for farmers to become self-sufficient, assisting in long term farming.
- Value adding to agricultural products and stabilising farm input costs.
- Purchasing TGE Agreements will create local involvement in the economic growth of your own community.
- An increase in new 'spin-off' businesses will stem from diesel projects eg. Bale Logistics, organic fertiliser production, biomass recycling, salt-tree harvesting.
- The use of salt-ridden land to produce tree’s for this project will be of environmental and economic benefit to all concerned.
- There will be more work for local contractors. Each site will require workers (including shift workers), thus more jobs will be created.
Environmental
- According to the diesel plant supplier each diesel project will save 48,000t of carbon dioxide being sent into the atmosphere annually – a reduction of 80-90% of CO2 emissions.
Social
- This project will provide jobs for the community.
- Increase in families to town – increased numbers in the local school, sporting groups etc.
- Job security for smaller businesses with the increase of dollars spent locally.
- A central business point in the community to address other agricultural and rural issues.
Regional Development
- This is a template for rural agricultural communities with the intention to construct similar projects in many other Agricultural areas.
Security
Securing sustainable and economical fuel supplies for agriculture is developing as a critical issue in a global sense and has a significant impact on the direct input costs of food production and logistics in Australia.
Diesel fuel is a vital component in all farming and ancillary operations in regional Australia. It is relied on for transport, machinery and power generation. The capital invested in diesel powered machinery runs second only to the land itself in the significant majority of agribusinesses.
However, after finance costs diesel fuel is one of the major input expenses in a broad acre farming enterprise.
Ready To Go Now
The key is to develop alternative fuels that in the short term:
- Are directly compatible with current engine technology.
- Do not rely on mainstream, high quality grains as feedstock.
- Provide immediate and sustainable benefits to agribusiness.
Where everyone else is clambering to produce biofuels from quality food grains, TGE is focused on the production of quality diesel fuel and in the process can add value to screenings and straw from growing grains along with other waste products.
Conclusion
TGE Diesel has been established to address the needs of securing fuel supplies for agricultural purposes well ahead of the issues that will arise when demand outstrips supply of fossil diesel.
With a strong desire to maintain agricultural viability in a climate where all elements of agribusiness are under pressure, investigation has taken place into a number of bio fuel production options. The selection of the second generation diesel production process for this project has been driven by a number of factors including:
- "Other" biofuel processes placing high demand on grains destined for food production;
- Second generation diesel is a direct substitute for fossil diesel requiring no engine modifications;
- Production of second generation diesel is a non emission process unlike normal petrol / diesel refining which consumes high levels of energy and emits significant greenhouse and toxic gases;
- Second generation diesel does not need to be blended;
- Second generation diesel burns cleaner;
- Second generation diesel is cleaner to produce;
- Second generation diesel has a higher cetane rating;
- Second generation diesel is a renewable fuel;
- Second generation diesel can utilise organic wastes and petroleum-based products such as plastic, tyres, and sump oil to produce a cleaner fuel.