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Last Update: Wednesday, February 14, 2007. 6:23pm (AEDT) Darwin to host 'clean oil' facility
Darwin's Shoal Bay area will be the first in Australia to host a new green energy production facility that will be in operation by the end of 2008.
The Melbourne-based company Renewable Oil Corporation will build the country's first plant that turns green waste into oil using a technique called pyrolysis.
It was developed in Canada and a plant has been operating successfully in Toronto for two years.
The corporation's Col Stucley says pyrolysis is a simple process.
"It really just means using heat to break green waste or other woody material down into oil or charcoal," he said.
Mr Stucley says the oil that results is a truly clean fuel and the process produces no waste output or emissions.
He says from 100,000 tonnes of green waste, 45,000 tonnes of oil can be produced.
At the Darwin plant, this will be turned into seven megawatts of electricity to power remote mine sites.
Mr Stucley says it was an easy decision to locate it in the territory's capital.
"You've got a great green waste collection scheme, you've got a good site and you've got mining companies down the road that can take the oil we produce to make electricity," he said.
OK, sounds wonderful (good sound bite), but just how much heat (energy) is required to produce 45,000 tons of oils from 100,000 tons of green waste? and the heat required for Pyrolysis is coming from where?
Michael
Last Update: Wednesday, February 14, 2007. 6:23pm (AEDT) Darwin to host 'clean oil' facility
Darwin's Shoal Bay area will be the first in Australia to host a new green energy production facility that will be in operation by the end of 2008.
The Melbourne-based company Renewable Oil Corporation will build the country's first plant that turns green waste into oil using a technique called pyrolysis.
It was developed in Canada and a plant has been operating successfully in Toronto for two years.
The corporation's Col Stucley says pyrolysis is a simple process.
"It really just means using heat to break green waste or other woody material down into oil or charcoal," he said.
Mr Stucley says the oil that results is a truly clean fuel and the process produces no waste output or emissions.
He says from 100,000 tonnes of green waste, 45,000 tonnes of oil can be produced.
At the Darwin plant, this will be turned into seven megawatts of electricity to power remote mine sites.
Mr Stucley says it was an easy decision to locate it in the territory's capital.
"You've got a great green waste collection scheme, you've got a good site and you've got mining companies down the road that can take the oil we produce to make electricity," he said.
OK, sounds wonderful (good sound bite), but just how much heat (energy) is required to produce 45,000 tons of oils from 100,000 tons of green waste? and the heat required for Pyrolysis is coming from where?
Michael
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