Caltex, Mitsui explore first waste-to-fuel plant proposal for Australia

An Australian state government has signed a memorandum of understanding with five companies, including Caltex Australia and Japan’s Mitsui, to explore the possibility of building the country’s first plant to produce ethanol from household waste. “The proposed technology will be capable of producing 200 million liters of bioethanol a year, which could be blended into a fuel mix that the consortium says could be up to 85% ethanol and 15% regular fuel suitable for use in E85 flex-fuel vehicles,” the state of Victoria’s Industry and Trade Minister Jacinta Allan said in a statement. The output could reduce the state’s petrol consumption by 30%, she said. The estimated cost of the plant is A$400 million (US$367.85 million). (March 24, 2010)