BIOFUEL:AS THE controversy rages over the Poolbeg incinerator, a Canadian company claims it will build the world's first industrial-sized plant to convert non-recyclable waste into biofuel.
Enerkem, a Quebec-based advanced biofuels company, will produce 10 million gallons of 5 per cent ethanol-petrol blend a year, providing enough fuel for 400,000 cars while also helping to meet renewable fuel standards set by the Canadian federal government and the province of Alberta.
The facility is expected to begin operating next year and will convert 100,000 tonnes of municipal waste into fuel each year and although some of the waste has to be pre-sorted, the company says that even materials unsuited to traditional recycling contain carbon molecules that can be chemically recycled.
Once extracted, the carbon residues are converted into transport fuel and other useful chemicals using a combination of pressure, heat and chemical catalysts.
Water and inert materials are also produced during the process, with the by products typically used to make construction aggregate.
Enerkem’s project partners, the City of Edmonton and Alberta Innovates, contributed $20 million (€15.35 million). In addition, the project has been selected by Alberta Energy to receive $3.35 million (€2.57 million) in funding as part of a programme to stimulate investment in bio-energy.
