 |
| Photo courtesy Tourism Queensland |
A groundbreaking genetic technology that enhances the production of ethanol from sugarcane without compromising its commercial sugar potential has been developed by Brisbane-based Farmacule Bioindustries.
Farmacule, in collaboration with researchers from Queensland University of Technology (QUT), has modified sugarcane plants to include a patented gene activation technology called In-Plant Activation Technology – INPACT.
INPACT allows the insertion of a molecular switch into the basic operating machinery of a plant which can control the way proteins are produced.
This ultimately allows large-scale, high value, protein production.
The technology can also be used to produce bioplastics and difficult-to-produce enzymes in plants, such as cellulases which are generally toxic to plants.
INPACT is used to produce cellulases in the leaf material at the completion of the growth phase.
The cellulases are aimed at converting all sugarcane plant waste into cellulose after crushing – the cellulose is in turn processed into fermentable sugars from which ethanol is produced.
The technology is seen as the next generation of ethanol production techniques, Greg Baynton, a Farmacule director, said.
“The interest in ethanol as a transport fuel in the United States is intense as world oil prices soar and world oil supplies look vulnerable to disruption,” he said.
“We believe we can increase ethanol production from each plant by 50 per cent or more, while preserving intact the commercial sugar output.
“Our approach ensures that the sucrose used for consumer sugar is not sacrificed in any way – we would just be using the waste that’s left after the sucrose is extracted.”
Mr Baynton said the technology attracted worldwide interest after its unveiling at the Bio 2006 convention in Chicago in April.
Farmacule was formed in 2001 to develop, and bring to the market, the INPACT technology, which Professor James Dale and his team had already been investigating for six years.
The company’s shareholders include QUT, TeQstart, key plant molecular biologists and a group of private investors arranged by Orbit Capital, a venture capital specialist of which Mr Baynton is managing director.
Orbit is currently arranging an injection of equity capital for Farmacule and Mr Baynton said the company planned to list on the Australian Stock Exchange within the next 18 months.
Commercial use of INPACT in ethanol production is six years away.
“We’ll have to obtain regulatory approvals and we’ll be conducting extensive field trials in that time,” he said.
Interest in ethanol as a transport fuel is rising in Queensland and plants are being constructed or are under consideration that would more than double existing capacity of about 63 megalitres of the fuel each year.
Last reviewed 24 June 2006