Beyond biofuels - strengthening Australia’s fuel security

Recent announcements on bolstering Australia’s fuel sovereignty continue to highlight our reliance on imported fuels and the need for resilient domestic solutions.

With the crisis in the Middle East, some are calling for biodiesel to be made available at the pump. Others say new technologies are the way forward.

Professor Sankar Bhattacharya, head of Monash Chemical and Biological Engineering and his team have developed a pioneering pyrolysis process that converts end‑of‑life tyres and plastics into high‑value liquid hydrocarbons, a technology that could underpin domestic feedstock supply chains and directly support local refining capacity.

He says “The technology is already demonstrating strong momentum toward commercialisation. At the lab scale, we are processing end‑of‑life tyres and plastics at around 10 kg per hour, and the process has been patented and licensed to an industry partner preparing a large demonstration pyrolysis plant in Australia.”

Explaining the potential scale and impact of the process, Professor Bhattacharya says “At commercial scale, this could translate to facilities processing around 60 tonnes per day, producing diesel‑like liquids, solid carbon and chemical monomers…providing a practical and scalable way to diversify feedstocks, reduce reliance on imports and strengthen Australia’s fuel security.”

Read the full article in 7NEWS Australia here.