I was watching a programme called “How Things are Made” on ABCs iView. Episode three showed how Ginger Beer is made at the Bundaberg Brewery in Queensland.
The programme was very interesting but there was a fascinating aside about one of the products used (sugar).
Australia grows sugar cane by the millions of tonnes (I even tried being a cane cutter when I was young and foolish when the job was done by hand). The cane produces a waste product called bagasse in very large amounts, until recently it was just burned as a fuel to generate power.
There is a plant in NSW which takes this bagasse and does exactly what nature takes 20 million years to do and converts it into oil in, I think they said, 20 minutes. Currently it is used to produce biofuels for aviation etc. I think that there might be a few plants now.
It was so interesting, if you get a chance to watch the program I highly recommend it.
