Historic sugar mill’s ethanol plant adds biofuel to the mix

By Ian Thomson

For 130 years, the Rocky Point sugar mill has dominated the landscape around the Woongoolba area near Beenleigh in south-eastern Queensland.

It is one of the oldest mills of its type in Australia and the only one that’s owned privately, coming down through five generations of the Heck family. Obviously there have been many changes to the mill over the years, including the installation of a co-generation plant in 2001.

The Rocky Point Green Power Plant – owned and operated by the progressive merchant banking company Babcock and Brown – uses bagasse, approved wood residue and other biomass materials to generate renewable electricity and steam as well as power the sugar mill and adjacent distillery.

And now it’s the distillery that’s at the centre of attention as the Rocky Point mill enters yet another phase of development. Since 1991, the distillery – just a short walk across a narrow road from the mill itself – has been producing ethanol for industrial, pharmaceutical and food manufacturing markets.

Come August/September, the Rocky Point Distillery will also be producing fuel ethanol – going online before the Dalby plant in Queensland’s Darling Downs to become the first new dry-grain ethanol facility in Australia.

Rocky Point aims to produce more than 35 million litres of fuel ethanol per year, initially using grain sorghum and molasses as duel feedstocks with the further ability to process barley, wheat, waste starch products and waste sugar stream as feedstocks.

The Heck Group’s Executive Director (Ethanol), Murray Heck, says the distillery’s expansion to fuel ethanol production is based on the Brazilian model.

“There is an ideal balance of production and energy use between the co-generation plant, sugar milling and ethanol that gives the greatest return across investments on the whole site,” he said. “The plant upgrade is all about quality, reliability, technology and capacity. We will retain our market share in the pharmaceutical, industrial and food manufacturing sectors, while at the same time produce cost-effective fuel grade ethanol.

“The USA plant design leverages the steam conditions with a medium cook process with high resonance time and greater process flexibility – going away from the superheated jet-cook system which was typical of plants out of the 90s.”

The fuel ethanol will go to the major oil companies, as well as independent operators. The upgraded ethanol facility at the Rocky Point Distillery represents just one of the ongoing projects that shows market leadership and a commitment to the sugar and fuel ethanol industries by the Heck Group.

“The new biomass industry created by the co-generation plant has extended the life of sugar farms in the Woongoolba region and has ensured the viability of the Rocky Point Sugar Mill for an additional 20 years,” Murray Heck says. “Electricity generated by the Rocky Point Green Power Plant helps to displace net greenhouse gas emissions from non-renewable power generation. All by-products generated by the plant are rejuvenated back into the environment, including the ash from the boiler which is used in the manufacture of soil compost.

“Rocky Point Green Power is completely committed to generating power with a clear focus on the environment and the impact it has on it. Now the co-gen plant is an integral part of the expanding ethanol plant. We’re very excited about what the future holds for the production of fuel ethanol in this country.”