First Commercial-Scale Waste-to-Biofuel Plant Operational Within a Month
Enerkem’s plant outside Montreal, Quebec is now mechanically complete and ready to enter the start-up phase of biofuel production. At capacity, 1.3 million gallons of biofuels will be generated annually. The company has not disclosed the price of the ethanol but says it is cheaper than the corn-based ethanol currently on the market.
Waste wood from used electricity poles will be the negative-cost feedstock used. One metric ton is required to produce 95 gallons of ethanol. Compared to other feedstock, wood does not have a high energy density.
Enerkem has developed a proprietary gasification process that allows biofuels to be produced from non-homogeneous materials. It is important however to ensure that contaminants such as arsenic are not present, which is a challenge when using such feedstock.
