Macquarie plans Tasmania poppy biodiesel unit

21 February 2008 08:44  [Source: ICIS news]

SINGAPORE (ICIS News)--Macquarie Oil will open Tasmania’s first poppy biodiesel plant in July, which is expected to produce 5m litres/year of biofuels for use in the local transport and marine industry, the firm’s director Rob Henry said on Thursday.

 

The A$0.50m ($0.49m) facility would produce biodiesel suitable for use in cars, buses, boats and ferries without the need for any engine modifications, he added.

 

“We will be obtaining our feedstock from two local pharmaceutical firms as the oil-rich seeds are a by-product of their medicine production process,” Henry said.

 

In recent months, the price of the widely used canola oil feedstock has surged on the back of increasing global demand and unpredictable weather conditions in Australia.

“In the event where canola prices fall, our biodiesel plant is well equipped to switch to using canola oil feedstock as it is a more efficient producer of biofuel”, he added.

 

($1 = A$1.09)

 

For more on biodiesel read Simon Robinson's Big Biofuels Blog

By: Serene Cheong
+65 6780 4359

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