Ethanol Overview
About CSR Ethanol
CSR Ethanol (a division of CSR Limited) is Australia’s leading manufacturer of ethanol products. CSR Ethanol first begun distilling ethanol from molasses in 1901.
What is Ethanol
Ethanol is a an alcohol that is a clear, colourless and flammable liquid. Ethanol has a wide range of applications. Its most common use (in its pure state) is for alcoholic drinks. Other applications in industrial areas include perfume, aerosols, printing and paint applications.
Ethanol as a fuel
Ethanol is the most widely distributed alternative fuel in the world.
Ethanol is considered to be a renewable fuel because it is derived from natural products such as grain or in CSR Ethanol’s case, sugarcane crops.
Recently, we have seen huge growth for the use of ethanol as a renewable fuel for the transport industry. In fact over the past three years the demand for ethanol blended fuels has increased by 500%.
The most common fuel blend that is sold in Australia is E10. E10 contains 10% ethanol blended with 90% petrol and is now sold in more than 1,300 petrol stations across Australia. Countries such as Brazil and the United States have used ethanol blended petrol up to E85 (85% ethanol blended with 15% petrol) for many years. Australia is slowly adopting E85 blended fuel.
- Ethanol is produced by fermenting basic carbohydrates to produce ethanol, this is very similar to the process used to produce beer and wine.
- Once fermented the ethanol and water mixture is purified using a distillation process which separates the ethanol from the water and other impurities.
- Ethanol is commonly produced in two grades 96% strength mainly used for food and beverages, and 100% ethanol which is the product used in printing, paint and fuel blends.
Where is CSR Ethanol made
CSR Ethanol has two distilleries located on the east coast of Australia. CSR Ethanol’s Sarina distillery which is located in Queensland about 30 kilometres south of Mackay produces up to 60 million litres of ethanol annually. About half of this volume gets sold into the fuel market and the remainder gets transported to Yarraville, in Victoria where it is further upgraded to 100% strength or blended with other solvents to make products such as nail polish remover and household and industrial cleaners.
