Assessment of Conversion Technologies for Bioalcohol Fuel ...

CATEGORY XI–INTEGRATED BIOREFINERY WITH
GENERATION OF ELECTRICITY AND HEAT FROM
WASTE MATERIALS
Waste-to-Energy, Paso Robles, California
Organizational Background–Waste-To-Energy (WTE) is a small California firm with
a background in the waste management field. Since 2000, WTE has been engaged in
the development of projects in California to produce ethanol from municipal waste
materials and from agricultural waste materials. Currently, WTE has strategic
partnerships with several other technology development companies and other public
and private organizations to develop and apply both thermochemical and biochemical
conversion processes for ethanol production from various biomass feedstocks. WTE
has identified four proposed projects it is actively pursuing at MSW and agricultural
sites in Southern and Central California. As a founding member of the Bioenergy
Producers Association, WTE is also a prominent participant in initiatives to revise
California’s curent state regulatory requirements to beter facilitate bioenergy
conversion projects.
Technology Characteristics–WTE’s technology approach is unique in that it seeks
to apply different technologies and combinations of technologies that best fit the
feedstock source characteristics and other site-specific features of its various planned
projects. For some projects and feedstocks, a dilute acid hydrolysis (biochemical)
process is intended for application, while a pyrolysis steam reformation and catalytic
(thermochemical) system would be applied for other projects, in which cases electricity
would also be generated. For example, one planned project would employ pre-sorted
MSW waste materials in a pyrolysis steam reformation system, with some of the
resulting syngas used to produce ethanol in a catalytic process and the remainder
used to generate electricity and/or process heat to serve the facility’s energy
requirements and/or to export. Another planned project, using agricultural wastes,
would employ a two-stage dilute acid hydrolysis process to produce ethanol along with
lignin for boiler fuel and other potential byproducts such as yeast, gypsum and furfural
for the plastics market. Integrated biochemical/thermochemical systems are also
included among the various technology designs under development by WTE and its
partners, which include a California technology engineering firm, BioEnergy
Development (BED).
Development Status–WTE reports that its partnership with BED has resulted in
several completed stages of testing of both its biochemical and thermochemical
technology processes (shown in Figure A22), leading to planned demonstration
projects in the San Francisco Bay area. Partial funding for these projects is being
provided under a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with
the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Testing to date has involved sorted MSW
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