Carnarvon Petroleum updates investors on wood-to-diesel project in Western Australia

Australia-based Carnarvon Petroleum Ltd. updated investors Sept. 30 on progress made on its wood-to-diesel joint venture with Frontier Impact Group. The biorefinery, still in the developing stages, is expected to be scaled at nearly 5 million gallons per year.

Front-end engineering and design for the initial manufacturing facility is planned to start next month. “In the meantime, detailed site assessments are being undertaken to determine the initial biorefinery location,” the company stated. “The planned biorefinery is expected to be the first in Australia to produce renewable diesel at commercial scale.”

The company stated the fuel, to be processed from woody biomass using the joint venture’s “preferred technology,” was recently tested and results are positive, showing higher cetane and lower NOx, CO2, and particulate-matter emissions compared to petroleum diesel.

“The joint venture is also awaiting the outcome of tender and EOI processes for feedstock, which are being managed through the WA Forest Products Commission,” Carnarvon Petroleum stated. “Low-quality or waste biomass such as ecological thinning and timber construction waste otherwise destined for landfill or burning is also being sourced for the project.”

Carnarvon Petroleum and Frontier Impact Group are currently working to secure feedstock supply in Western Australia, with several memorandums of understanding already signed with suppliers of wood waste.