The answer to the world’s future fuel requirements may be coming to light in the Narrabri district, with leading biodiesel research currently underway at the Plant Breeding Institute.
University of Sydney student and Narrabri local, Graeme Rapp, is delving into the possibility of north western farmers growing crops to produce biodiesel.
His work could help find a renewable alternative to the quickly diminishing oil and gas supplies underneath the earth’s surface, and ultimately limit the burning of fossil fuels into the future.
Graeme has recently harvested trial plots of Indian Mustard, a close relative of Canola, which is well know for its potential to be turned into biodiesel.
The three year project will explore whether the crop would be economic for farmers to grow, and also whether the biodiesel it produces can be developed to Australian diesel standards.
“I started here in 2008, testing different lines of Indian mustard from India, Pakistan and Australia, we grew about 400 lines and we’ve whittled that down now to half a dozen lines that we think are pretty good for making biodiesel,” Graeme explains.
“We take the oil from the Indian mustard plant, it produces about 40% oil so it’s a fairly high oil yielding plant, and then we put it through a mini-distillery on site which turns it into biodiesel.
“Biodiesel is an oxygenated type fuel, so it has much lower greenhouse gas emissions than petroleum based fuel.”
While nitrous oxide and sulphur dioxide emissions can be as high as petroleum diesel, the benefits of an Indian Mustard oil biodiesel appear to outweigh the negatives.
It actually cleans the engine, promoting less wear and tear in machinery, and looks set to be far cheaper than existing petrodiesel options.
Graeme hopes the biodiesel could one day be sold for a dollar a litre, the plant itself could also save money on farm by reducing the need for chemical spray.
It has biofumigation properties, which means it’s able to clean the soil non-chemically.
“A natural compound in the plant passes into the soil and removes weeds, soil borne disease, plant borne diseases and nematodes,” Graeme said.
“We want to be able to reduce two major costs that our farming community has, one is fuel and the other is chemical, so even though commodity prices are low, maybe we can improver farmers’ income base by reducing some of their costs.”
At two metres tall, Indian Mustard is an awkward height for conventional farming machinery, but in all other aspects it’s well suited to the climate of Northern NSW cropping regions.
“The reason for Indian Mustard is that it has the ability to withstand very hot and dry conditions, so even as our continent and agricultural areas heat up, we will still be able to grow it hopefully,” Graeme said.
“There is anecdotal evidence of an increase in yields in wheat crops that follow an Indian Mustard crop in crop rotation.
“It’s also yielding up to 3 tonnes to the hectare in this climate which is good.”
The production of biofuel is not new to Australia, and has an even longer history of use in Europe and America.
Since the early 1990s the French have been successfully producing biodiesel from Rapeseed, and while biodiesel works in theory, the economic viability of alternative fuel continues to be a sticking point.
Biodiesel plants in Australia to date haven’t been able stay economically viable, but Graeme hopes to change this.
“I would envisage farmers growing Indian Mustard in their rotation with wheat and legumes, and as they harvested the seed they would bring the seed to a centralised distillery where it would be crushed and turned into oil and the oil turned into biodiesel,” he said.
While Indian Mustard biodiesel has already been used in vehicles at the Plant Breeding Institute, a few hurdles remain in terms of meeting Australian standards.
The biodiesel can develop high viscosity over time, and has 6% less power than normal diesel.
Graeme admits the project has a long way to go, but is committed to finding the best variety of Indian Mustard to produce biodiesel.
He’ll continue testing alternative, sustainable production methods, and other possible uses of the plant.
“There is so much potential for Indian Mustard, the biomass of plant may also be used in ethanol production and we’re also looking at the possibility of using it in land reclamation in mining situations,” Graeme said.
“There are also a number of industrial uses, it’s rather unique in what it has to offer.”