Recent biorefinery contracts to produce biofuels from MSW in the USA

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An exclusive new from WTE sector come to light last May. Abengoa had been selected by Fulcrum BioEnergy Inc. to build a biorefinery using gasification technology to convert municipal solid waste (MSW) into syncrude and upgrade it into jet fuel (press release). The contract is worth approximately US $200 million and the facility will be located in the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center, approximately 20 miles east of Reno (Nevada, USA). Abengoa will be responsible for the turnkey execution of the plant including engineering, design and construction. The Sierra BioFuels Plant is scheduled to begin commercial operations in 2017 with the production of more than 10 million gallons of renewable transportation fuel.

And, only a few days ago, it was announced that Green3Power Operations Inc. (G3P), wholly owned subsidiary company of BioPower Operations Corporation, has won an award to build a plant that will convert waste into ultra-low sulfur synthetic green No. 2 diesel fuel. The biorefinery will be erected at the existing St. Lucie County Solid Waste Management Facility in Florida (USA) and will transform approximately 1,000 tons per day of municipal solid waste, construction and demolition debris, used tires and yard waste to synthetic diesel fuel. The contract amounts to US $175 million. G3P together with its strategic partner Vanderweil Engineers will be paid for providing EPC services during 18 months while the facility is being permitted and built. G3P will also provide operations and maintenance for the plant for 20 years with a 10-year extension.

Both facilities will be based on two main pillars:
  • Gasification technology. Synthesis gas (syngas), a mixture of mainly carbon monoxide and hydrogen, will be produced by subjecting the municipal solid waste to a partial oxidation process (gasification) at high temperatures. In the case of Sierra BioFuels Plant, Fulcrum BioEnergy has licensed the gasification system from ThermoChem Recovery International. G3P will use its exclusively licensed gasification technology.
  • Fischer-Tropsch process. The companies will utilize the conventional Fischer-Tropsch process that has been commercially operational at projects around the world for several decades. The conversion of the synthesis gas to aliphatic hydrocarbons over metal catalysts was discovered by Franz Fischer and Hans Tropsch at the "Kaiser-Wilhelm-Institut für Kohlenforschung" in Mülheim an der Ruhr (Germany) in the 1920s and many refinements and adjustments were made after its invention. The diesel fuel produced by the Fischer-Tropsch process has high cetane value and presents very low aromaticity and sulfur content.
The disposal of MSW in landfills is a big concern because of the chemical pollutants released into the air and the ground water pollution. As the population grows, the amount of waste generated is increased proportionately. This initiatives provide a sustainable alternative for the large volumes of MSW generated every year, which would otherwise be disposed of in a landfill.

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