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VK2AAB > FUEL 15.11.07 05:46l 35 Lines 1641 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 50956_VK2AAB
Read: GUEST
Subj: Re: Fuel for thought
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Sent: 071115/0418Z @:VK2AAB.#SYD.NSW.AUS.OC #:50956 [SYDNEY] FBB7.00i
From: VK2AAB@VK2AAB.#SYD.NSW.AUS.OC
To : FUEL@WW
Frank G4ETZ made comment on ethanol from sugar cane.
Yes, it is very practical to make ethanol from sugar cane and in fact sugar
cane is one of the best crops to use for ethanol.
Brazil of course uses more probably than any other country.
But, notice how there is always a "but" in this business, there is still the
difficulty with the Energy Return on Energy Invested. It is similar to that
from the Canadian Tar sands but it has the disadvantage that it cannot be put
through pipelines due to corrosion problems. This pushes up the distribution
costs. It has the advantage that it does not need enormous amounts of natural
gas to produce it but the processing plants do use significant energy in the
process.
It provides less milage than petrol and requires large amounts of oil or
natural gas based fertiliser. The tractors used in the cultivation of the
crop use diesal and the transport of the fuel reqires specially designed road
and rail tankers. Not that would be a problem but the costs in transporting
it from Northern Queensland or Wesrern Australia to Sydney, Mebourne or Perth
would not be insignificant.
It does raise the question of can the rail system cope with such large
shipments when the switch from long distance road transport to rail transport
will be happening at the same time.
I know that at present the freight on the Northern line is at near maximium
capacity as it has to stop in peak hours and is held back at Newcastle until
the end of the evening peak hour. Then they go all night.
As I said lots of buts.
73 Barry VK2AAB
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