Enerkem to build N.America's first waste-to-biofuel plant

Montreal, Canada-based biofuel and biochemical producer Enerkem said today it received environmental approval to build a commercial facility to turn municipal solid waste into ethanol and chemicals.

The C$70 million (US$61.25 million) plant is a joint effort with Toronto-based GreenField Ethanol, Canada’s leading ethanol producer, which is contributing capital to the project. It's the first such project in North America to receive unconditional permits to build and operate, and it will be the only such commercial facility in the world when it's completed, according to Enerkem CEO Vincent Chornet.

"I think it's really setting a precedent in the cleantech world, as well as in the fuels world," Chornet told the Cleantech Group today. "It's the first time a credible Western permitting agency has officially screened a technology like this one and permitted a waste-to-fuel project."

The Edmonton, Alberta, plant is expected to be built with the capacity to produce 36 million liters (9.5 million U.S. gallons) of ethanol annually. Enerkem is now moving into detailed engineering, with construction slated to begin in the fall or early winter and last for approximately 18 months. Full production capacity could be reached a few months later, Chornet said.

Enerkem developed a proprietary gasification process to use a variety of materials as a feedstock to create synthetic gas. The company then uses off-the-shelf catalysts to rearrange the syngas into ethanol, methanol, diesel, or a variety of high-value biochemicals, such as acetic acid or acetate.

Alberta Environment decided to grant the permit to build and operate the plant based on meetings and studies that examined the technology's environmental footprint, including carbon dioxide emissions, air and water quality, and impact on the land.

"There are other projects elsewhere than North America that were permitted on a conditional basis and never made it. Ours is unconditional," Chornet said. "We satisfied the air limits, the environmental footprint, and we are now authorized unconditionally to move ahead."

Enerkem expects to receive about 100,000 tons of presorted waste from the city of Edmonton under a 25-year contract the two signed in 2008 (see GreenField, Enerkem to build waste to ethanol plant in Edmonton). Enerkem and GreenField plan to build the plant on municipal-owned land.

Edmonton plans to sort 200,000 tons of its waste, removing recyclables and compostables before giving the remaining 100,000 tons to Enerkem. The project is expected to increase the city's waste diversion rate from 60 percent to 90 percent.

The city of Edmonton and province of Alberta, through the Alberta Energy Research Institute, have pledged a combined C$20 million to the project. The city is also investing in a waste-sorting system, Chornet said.

Municipal waste isn't the only feedstock Enerkem is using to produce ethanol and other biochemicals. The company's new facility in Westbury, Quebec, is now producing syngas on a continuous basis from discarded utility poles, Chornet said (see Utility poles make cheap ethanol feedstock for Enerkem).

"Now we're getting satisfied with the type of gas we see there and the stability and continuous operation of the plant, so later this year we'll bolt in the equipment to convert the syngas to methanol and ethanol," Chornet said.

Both facilities are expected to produce ethanol to be sold in the Canadian market to meet a July 2008 government mandate, C-33, that requires refiners to blend 5 percent ethanol with gasoline by 2010.

Enerkem is operating the project through its subsidiary Enerkem GreenField Alberta Biofuels.

Enerkem has raised about C$30 million (US$24.48 million) in venture backing, including C$8.6 million from Rho Ventures, Braemar Energy Ventures, Solidarity Fund QFL and Innovatech Sud du Quebec in February 2007 (see Know the name Imperium? You will...). BDR Capital is also an investor. 

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