Ethanol from municipal solid waste at commercial scale

PLEASANTON, California - Fulcrum BioEnergy Inc is planning to build one of the first commercial-scale production facilities for converting municipal solid waste to ethanol. The use of municipal solid waste (household garbage) promises to revolutionize waste disposal while creating a new ethanol feedstock that avoids competition with food and feed.

When it begins operations in early 2010, the Sierra BioFuels plant is expected to produce approximately 10.5 million gallons of ethanol per year, and to process nearly 90,000 tons per year of municipal solid waste that would otherwise have been disposed of in landfills. Fulcrum BioEnergy will design, finance, construct, own and operate the plant, which will be located ten miles east of Reno at the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center in Storey County, Nevada. This late-stage development project is expected to cost approximately US$120 million and is set to enter construction by the end of this year.

"We have selected the best available technologies and applied our know-how from decades of experience in the energy, chemical and waste industries to create an efficient, reliable and environmentally responsible approach to producing ethanol that is cost competitive" said Fulcrum's President and CEO, E. James Macias.

The Sierra BioFuels plant is the first of several projects that Fulcrum is currently developing across the country. The plant will utilize gasification technology licensed from Integrated Environmental Technologies and a licensed proprietary catalytic technology for converting synthesis gas to ethanol jointly developed by Nipawin Biomass Ethanol New Generation Co-operative Ltd and Saskatchewan Research Council. Fulcrum expects its process to be environmentally benign because the company states that utilizing a gasification process does not create significant levels of emissions, unlike current waste-to-energy incineration technology.

Fulcrum BioEnergy is collaborating with waste hauling and disposal companies around the country to revolutionize the disposal of solid waste. Fulcrum converts post-recycled organic waste, which adds another layer of recovery and recycling to conventional processes and avoids competition with established recycling programs.

About Fulcrum BioEnergy

Based in Pleasanton, California, Fulcrum BioEnergy Inc is a privately-held company which focuses on developing, owning and operating efficient, environmentally responsible facilities for converting municipal solid waste and other waste products to ethanol. According to company President and CEO, E. James Macias, converting municipal solid waste into ethanol will help mitigate American dependence on imported oil, lower the price of gasoline, reduce the amount of waste landfilled, lower greenhouse gases and create a new industry of jobs and economic growth.

Website: http://www.fulcrum-bioenergy.com