Biofuels FAQ

The New South Wales Government is ensuring ethanol-blended petrol will become more widely available through a mandate requiring that 2% of the total volume of petrol sold in NSW is ethanol.

• Who is affected by the Biofuel (Ethanol Content) Act 2007 and the Regulation?
• Who is affected by the Biofuel (Ethanol Content) Amendment Act 2009?
• What are biofuels?
• What is ethanol?
• Is ethanol fuel just for cars?
• Will E10 work in my vehicle?
• Where can I buy E10?
• What about E85?
• Will I still be able to buy ethanol-free petrol?
• What is biodiesel?
• Will biodiesel work in my vehicle?
• Where can I buy biodiesel?
• What other biofuels are there?
• What is the future for biofuels in NSW?

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Who is affected by the Biofuel (Ethanol Content) Act 2007 and the Regulation?
The Act directly affects primary wholesalers who sell petrol in NSW or for delivery in NSW. Primary wholesalers are petrol wholesalers who sell from a refinery, shipping terminal or other major facility and any other wholesalers who blend petrol with ethanol. For detailed definitions see section 4 of the Act and the Regulation.

Who is affected by the Biofuel (Ethanol Content) Amendment Act 2009?
Primary wholesalers will now include wholesalers of petrol and/or diesel  who sell from a refinery, shipping terminal or other major facility and any other wholesalers who blend petrol with ethanol and/or diesel with biodiesel.   Major retailers that control more than twenty service stations will also be directly affected.   Primary wholsalers and major retailers are now collectively termed "volume sellers".  For detailed definitions see section 4 of the Act and the Regulation.

What are biofuels?
Biofuels are fuels made from renewable biological feedstocks, either crops or waste. The most common biofuels currently available are biodiesel and ethanol. Biofuels are generally blended with petroleum B5 is diesel containing 5% biodiesel; E10 is petrol containing 10% ethanol.

What is ethanol?
Ethanol is an alcohol. It is produced by fermenting sugar, grain (eg. wheat and corn) or other plant matter using yeasts. All solids and water are removed, leaving pure ethanol. The solid matter left after fermenting grains can be used as stock food and the water can be recycled.  Most of the ethanol produced in NSW is made from the waste starch left over after processing flour to produce gluten (wheat protein) and industrial starch.

Is ethanol fuel just for cars?
No. E10 (10% ethanol blended with unleaded petrol) is suitable for use in most petrol-fuelled cars and trucks sold in Australia since 1986. It is also suitable for use in many motorcycles. Consult your owner's manual, or look up manufacturers' recommendations for vehicles at the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries.

Ethanol-blend fuels are generally not recommended for marine engines due to the danger of water contaminating the fuel.  Further detailed advice is available from the NSW Maritime Authority.

For other small engines such as lawnmowers, leaf blowers and chainsaws refer to your owner's handbook or ask the manufacturer or distributor. Ethanol-blend fuel should not be left in the fuel tanks of small engines for more than a few weeks. 

Ethanol-blend fuels are not suitable for aircraft use.

Will E10 work in my vehicle?
For information on the suitability of E10 for particular vehicles and for links to manufacturers' web sites go to the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries' web site.  Depending on your vehicle's engine management system, you may experience a slight increase in fuel consumption of 1% to 3% when changing over to E10.  Modern vehicles that can take advantage of E10's higher octane rating (94-95) will experience little or no impact.  E10 is a cleaner-burning fuel that produces 33% less carbon particle emissions than regular petrol. More information.

Where can I buy E10?
E10 unleaded can be bought at an increasing number of service stations around the State. Go to your favourite fuel company's web site for the latest available information on E10 locations or ask your local service station when they will start selling E10. Fuel company web sites are listed on this page.

To compare petrol prices in your area of Sydney, go to Motormouth.com.au and select E10 as your preferred fuel type. E10 is usually cheaper than ULP.

What about E85?
E85 is a blend of up to 85% ethanol with unleaded petrol.  It is used in specially-designed "flex fuel" vehicles which are widely used in the USA and Sweden, and are now being introduced in Australia.  It is theoretically possible to convert a petrol-engine vehicle to flex fuel, but as such conversions necessarily require modification of the vehicle fuel management and emission control systems, an engineers certificate is required by the RTA for any conversion.  There are no approved conversion kits that obviate this requirement for certification. 

Will I still be able to buy ethanol-free petrol?
Yes. Because the volumetric mandate specifies only an average content across the total volume of petrol sold, not all petrol will have to contain ethanol. Service stations can still offer ordinary petrol for older cars, boats and other engines that aren't able to use ethanol.  After all regular grade unleaded petrol is phased out and replaced by E10, premium graded unleaded petrol will still be available without ethanol.

What is biodiesel?
Biodiesel is diesel fuel produced from tallow, waste cooking oil or other vegetable oils.  It may be blended in petroleum diesel at up to 5%,  sold as a higher biodiesel blend (B20 is 20% biodiesel), or even used straight (B100).  Its quality is now regulated by the Federal Biodiesel Fuel Quality Standard

Will biodiesel work in my vehicle?
Under the new Federal Diesel Fuel Quality Standard, up to 5% biodiesel may be blended in diesel fuel in Australia.  This diesel is suitable for use in any diesel vehicle.  B20 is also available that meets the diesel fuel quality standard in all other respects.  For information on the suitability of B20 or B100, refer to your vehicle manufacturer or dealer.  Advice for boat owners is available from the NSW Maritime Authority.

Where can I buy biodiesel?
Diesel containing up to 5% biodiesel is expected to become widely available.  A 2% biodiesel blend is already widely available in the Hunter region and northern NSW.  B20 biodiesel blend will also become more widely available from some fuel companies.  B100 is available from a limited number of sites.

What other biofuels are there?
Lignocellulosic ethanol is ethanol made from the fibrous or woody parts of plants rather than from sugar in cane juice or the starches in grain. The ethanol is the same, but technology to produce it efficiently from these cheap feedstocks is still being developed. Lignocellulosic ethanol will replace a large proportion of our petrol in the future. Its potential in using waste from agriculture, forestry and even our own gardens makes it an environmentally attractive form of ethanol.

Algal biodiesel is biodiesel made from algae grown in open ponds or enclosed photobioreactors.  Algae can be grown in fresh or salty water, or even waste water.  In large photobioreactors, algae can potentially capture the carbon dioxide emitted by a coal fired power station and turn it into high quality diesel or jet fuel.  The technologies to produce algal biodiesel are now being developed and scaled up to commercial size plants.

Butanol is another alcohol fuel that can be made from plant matter, but it is not yet widely available.

What is the future for biofuels in NSW?
The current mandates will support the development of a sustainable first generation biofuels industry base.  The 10% ethanol in regular unleaded and 5% biodiesel levels are optimal for the current vehicle fleet and can be produced sustainably using first generation technologiese integrated with food production.  From this base the NSW Government will develop and implement strategies to support the development of second generation biofuels technologies and feedstocks that will enable the production of much greater volumes of biofuels.