Prospects for the development of sugarcane biorefineries

Sugarcane biorefineries co-producing fuels, green chemicals and bio-products offer great potential for improving the profitability and sustainability of sugarcane industries around the world. Sugarcane bagasse is widely regarded as one of the best biomass feedstocks for early adoption and commercialisation of biorefining technologies because of the large scale of the resource and its availability at sugar factories. Biomass biorefineries aim to convert bagasse through biochemical and thermochemical processes to produce low cost fermentable sugars which are a platform for value-adding. Through subsequent fermentation technologies or chemical synthesis, the sugars can be converted to fuels including ethanol and butanol, oils, organic acids such as succinic and levulinic and polymer precursors. Other biorefinery products can include food and animal feeds, plastics, fibre products and resins. Recent advances in biorefinery production technologies are being demonstrated in a unique research facility at the Queensland University of Technology’s Mackay Renewable Biocommodities Pilot Plant in Mackay, Australia. This pilot scale production facility located at Mackay Sugar Ltd’s Racecourse Mill is demonstrating the production of a range of fuels and other products from sugarcane bagasse. This paper will address the opportunities available for sugarcane biorefineries to contribute to future profitability and sustainability of the sugarcane industry.

Sweet sorghum : opportunities for a new, renewable fuel and food industry in Australia

Sweet sorghum is receiving significant global interest as an agro-industrial crop because of its capacity to co-produce energy, food, and feed products in integrated biorefineries. This report assesses the opportunities to develop a sweet sorghum industry in Australia, reports on research demonstrating the production of energy, food, and feed products, and assesses the potential economic and sustainability benefits of sweet sorghum biorefineries in the Australian context.

Biogas in Bangladesh : challenges and strategies

The people of Bangladesh are underprivileged from continuous grid electricity. Despite the plentiful supply of renewable sources of energy in Bangladesh, currently their contribution to the electricity supply remains inconsequential. Use of renewable energy is considered an indispensable component of sustainable energy systems, as renewable energy resources emit less greenhouse gas emissions compared to other non-renewable energy systems. Out of the various renewable sources, solar and biogas and to a limited extend, wind and hydro-power are effectively used. Though the biogas production was the leading and most appropriate renewable energy resource in our country, it has become notably insignificant due to the lack of appropriate strategies and institutional settings. To address this, this article examines Bangladesh's current energy strategies and institutional settings and investigates future strategies for the advancement of biogas production. This article argues that further significant efforts could be made toward energy sustainability in Bangladesh and the development for a national sustainable energy policy.

Relationship of lightning ground flashes to rainfall and wet bulb temperature

The close relationship between rain and lightning is well known. However, there are numerous documented observations of heavy rain accompanied by little or no lightning activity (Williams et al, 1992; Jayaratne, 1993). Kuleshov et al (2002) studied thunderstorm distribution and frequency in Australia and concluded that thunderstorm frequency (as expressed by number of thunder-days) in Australia does not, in general, appear to vary in any consistent way with rainfall. However, thunder-days describe occurrence of thunderstorms as heard by an observer, and therefore could be only proxy data to evaluate actual lightning activity (i.e. number of total or cloud-to-ground flashes). Field experiments have demonstrated a strong increase in lightning activity with convective available potential energy (CAPE). It has also been shown that CAPE increases linearly with potential wet bulb temperature, Tw (Williams et al, 1992). In this study, we examine the relationship between lightning ground flash incidence and the two parameters – surface rainfall and surface wet bulb maximum temperature for selected localities around Australia...

Amanda Gearing Queensland Flood Collection 2011-2012

A collection of oral history recordings, photographs, hand drawn maps, videos and speech notes relating to the 2011 Queensland floods and the major flood event that occurred in Toowoomba and the Lockyer Valley region on 10 January 2011: a flash flood (described as an 'inland tsunami') which devastatingly took 21 human lives. The collection, amassed by Toowoomba-based journalist Amanda Gearing for her Master of Arts degree, includes 86 oral history recordings of flood survivors and rescuers in Spring Bluff, Murphys Creek, Toowoomba, Withcott, Postmans Ridge, Helidon, Carpendale and Grantham as well as digital photographs and videos taken by a number of those interviewed including those taken by Amanda Gearing and other locals. The interviews are very personal and powerful recollections of the experience of the flood event. Some recall feelings of fear and despair and tell of trauma and loss which continues well after the flood event. All are stories of resilience and hope, of rebuilding lives, of lessons learnt, and recommendations in order to avoid the same devastating results in future disasters.

Queensland floods anniversary : Peter McCarron

"Today marks the one year anniversary of the devastating floods that hit Queensland. This is the second in our series of survival from the Toowoomba and Lockyer Valley floods on the 10th of January 2011. Today, Queensland Fire and Rescue officer Peter McCarron tells Amanda Gearing about the flood emergency in Toowoomba's central business district: torrential rain suddenly caused flash flooding of city streets and swept away dozens of people and hundreds of cars."

Queensland floods anniversary : Angela Emmerson

"We're marking the anniversary of the destructive floods that hit Queensland a year ago this week with our series of interviews from survivors. Today's story is from Helidon teenager and university student Angela Emmerson, who tells Amanda Gearing how she and her sister scrambled to the roof to escape the dangerous flash flood which suddenly engulfed their house on the 10th of January last year. Tomorrow we'll hear from Grantham resident Rob Wilkin who rescued 31 local people using his car and boat. He helped them escape to safety as 138 houses in the town were destroyed. To mark the anniversary of the floods in Queensland, ABC Open has compiled Aftermath, an extensive look at the Queensland floods as well as floods in NSW, Victoria and remote Western Australia; Cyclone Yasi and the 2009 Victorian 'Black Saturday' bushfires. Australia certainly has been hit by a few disasters in the past two or so years. The site has a timeline showing content from these six disasters, with links to about 40 people effected by these disasters. If you go to that site you will be able to choose a person to watch videos about them."

Queensland floods anniversary : Rob Wilkin

"This week, we have been marking the anniversary of the destructive floods that hit Queensland a year ago this week with a series of interviews from survivors. Today's story comes from Grantham resident Rob Wilkin who helped save 31 people in the flash flood disaster on the 10th of January last year. 23 people in Toowoomba and the Lockyer Valley died and 138 houses in the town were destroyed.. To mark the anniversary of the floods in Queensland, ABC Open has compiled 'Aftermath', an extensive look at the Queensland floods as well as floods in NSW, Victoria and remote Western Australia, Cyclone Yasi and the 2009 Victorian 'Black Saturday' bushfires. Australia certainly has been hit by a few disasters in the past two or so years. The site has a timeline showing content from these six disasters, with links to about 40 people effected by these disasters. If you go to that site you will be able to choose a person to watch videos about them."

Toowoomba's 'miracle girl' surfaces after being feared drowned

Musician Hannah Reardon-Smith is the woman who came back from the dead after she and her mother were plunged into last week's catastrophic flash flood in Toowoomba...

Flood inquiry : Grantham victims’ patience wears thin

"Grief and loss are giving way to anger and frustration among flood survivors of the rural towns in the Lockyer Valley as the Queensland Flood Commission hears from senior police, disaster management staff and flood survivors. For bereaved families in the public gallery waiting for answers to why 22 people died in the catastrophic flash flooding in the Lockyer Valley on January 10, patience is wearing thin."

Warning signs to disaster

"As the inquiry into Queensland’s worst ever floods begins in Brisbane today, the families of those killed by the extreme flash flooding in Toowoomba and the Lockyer Valley are still severely traumatised by their experiences. The $15 million inquiry will examine the disaster, government preparedness and the emergency response."

Flood victim’s heartbreak : ‘don’t be complacent about the risk’

"No one had higher stakes in the findings of the Queensland Floods Commission of Inquiry than Grantham father Matthew Keep, whose mother, mother-in-law and baby daughter, Jessica, died at Grantham that terrible day in January. For seven months he has read every statement, submission, running log, disaster management plan and media article available. As he has comforted his grieving wife, Stacy, helped care for his two young children Madison, 5, and Jacob, 4, who amazingly survived the flood, and welcomed a new baby into the family, Matthew has searched for answers for himself and his community. Why were authorities not able to warn people in seven towns in Toowoomba and the Lockyer Valley that the worst flash flooding in at least a century was about to strike, killing 22 people? How could such a sudden and catastrophic flood claim three members of his family within minutes?"

Qld floods inquest : stories of courage, sacrifice in emotional replay

"The last acts of courage and sacrifice by parents desperately trying to save their children as a deadly flash flood ripped through south-east Queensland in January fell like repeated emotional hammer-blows on survivors in the public gallery of the Brisbane Coroners Court yesterday. The speed with which the disaster tore lives and homes apart on January 10 was replicated by the speed at which police summarised the circumstances of the deaths for the coroner. After months of investigation by hundreds of police, the final desperate minutes of 14 people’s lives were summed up for the court before the morning tea break, in as little as three minutes each."

Using DNA as a drug - bioprocessing and delivery strategies

DNA may take a leading role in a future generation of blockbuster therapeutics. DNA has inherent advantages over other biomolecules such as protein, RNA and virus-like particles including safety, production simplicity and higher stability at ambient temperatures. Vaccination is the principal measure for preventing influenza and reducing the impact of pandemics; however, vaccines take up to 8-9 months to produce, and the global production capacity is woefully low. With production times as short as 2 weeks, improved safety and stability, bioprocess engineering developments, and the ability to perform numerous therapeutic roles, DNA has the potential to meet the demands of emerging and existing diseases. DNA is experiencing sharp growths in demand as indicated by its use in gene therapy trials and DNA vaccine related patents. Of particular interest for therapeutic use is plasmid DNA (pDNA), a form of non-genomic DNA that makes use of cellular machinery to express proteins or antigens. The production stages of fermentation and downstream purification are considered in this article. Forward looking approaches to purifying and delivering DNA are reported, including affinity chromatography and nasal inhalation. The place that pDNA may take in the preparation for and protection against pandemics is considered. If DNA therapeutics and vaccines prove to be effective, the ultimate scale of production will be huge which shall require associated bioprocess engineering research and development for purification of this large, unique biomolecule.