Assessment of Conversion Technologies for Bioalcohol Fuel ...

In 2000, Arkenol entered into a cooperative agreement with JGC Corp. of Yokohama,
Japan. With funding from the Japanese New Energy Development Organization
(NEDO), JGC first constructed and operated a 2 tons-per-day pilot test of the Arkenol
process for two years at JGC’s research center in Oharai, Japan, which demonstrated
the ability of the Arkenol technology to produce fermentable sugars. This led to an
expanded (up to 5 tons-per-day) pilot facility built and operated in conjunction with an
existing conventional ethanol plant in Izumi Japan from 2002 to 2006. The Izumi pilot
project involved a fully integrated demonstration of all Arkenol process components,
producing ethanol for use in a Japanese government vehicle test program. Lignin
combustion testing, involving 4 tons of lignin fuel, was also reportedly conducted.
Among the biomass feedstock materials said to have been tested with the Arkenol
process in the Japanese pilot projects are: rice straw, wheat straw, wood wastes,
green wastes, MSW, paper, residuals from Materials Recovery Facilities (MRFs), and
sugarcane bagasse.
Future Development Plans–BlueFire has partnered with Waste Management, Inc.,
a major U.S. waste management firm to develop plans for a series of projects
intended to produce ethanol from urban green waste at the partner company’s landfil
disposal sites. The first of these projects, planned for a Southern California landfill site,
would be designed to process 700 metric tons per day of material and produce 19
million gallons of ethanol per year. In February 2007, Blue Fire was awarded a grant
by the U.S. DOE for up to $40 million for this project. BlueFire is pursuing the
remaining funding and selecting equipment vendors and engineering providers for this
project and, subject to obtaining pending regulatory approvals, hopes to break ground
in 2007. Further projects at additional MSW landfill sites and at other possible venues
involving agricultural and forestry biomass feedstocks are also being explored. The
California Energy Commission awarded BlueFire a grant in April 2007 to support the
company’s technology development.
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