FURFURAL–A VALUE ADDING OPPORTUNITY FOR THE AUSTRALIAN SUGAR INDUSTRY

FURFURAL IS a liquid chemical that is produced from the hemi-cellulose fraction of vegetable matter. The current world demand for furfural is about 230 000 tonnes. Using current production techniques up to 17 000 t of furfural can be produced from one million tonnes of cane. With sugarcane factories producing large amounts of bagasse it is perhaps not surprising that the two largest furfural production plants in the world are both alongside sugarcane factories. As the world changes to rely less on fossil fuels and more on renewable resources a new set of platform chemicals is required, furfural is one such chemical. In the past furfural has been used to produce nylon, spandex and other products but was replaced with oil derived chemicals. In the near future these trends can be reversed. New uses for furfural are also emerging which if successful can increase the demand for furfural many times over. With a furfural plant starting this year at Proserpine Sugar Mill the Australian sugar industry is in a unique position to take up this value adding opportunity and make Australia one of the major producers of furfural in the world.