From Garbage to Ethanol

By Ed Martinez

Published in the Winter 2009 issue of MyTekLife Magazine

It’s often said that science-fiction writers can portray the future accurately. This is especially true when it comes to advancements in science and technology.

In the motion picture Back to the Future Part II, Dr. Emmett Brown, played by Christopher Lloyd, refuels the DeLorean time machine with garbage. Although the idea was intriguing back in the ‘80s when the movie debuted, it probably seemed too far-fetched to ever really happen.

Back in the present, BlueFire Ethanol can turn your garbage into clean energy. “We can tap into the waste stream that society values the least, which is trash. Most of the trash that we throw away ... from our grass and tree clippings, to our cereal boxes, lettuces—all of that is cellulose. Anything grown photosynthetically or processed from photosynthetic materials is a candidate feedstock for our process,” said Arnold Klann, chairman, president and CEO of BlueFire Ethanol.

BlueFire started developing the idea in 1991, incorporating process technology developed by Arkenol, a company Klann co-founded. The technology allows cellulose waste materials to be converted into ethanol. It has taken nearly two decades of research and development for BlueFire to get where it is today.

Klann learned that the Germans pioneered the use of wood waste to make ethanol during World War I. Two plants were built in Germany, where ethanol was produced by using a dilute sulfuric acid hydrolysis process. Unfortunately, the plants closed after the war because of the increased cost of wood residues.

In 1947, a similar plant was built in Oregon. Subsequently, a second plant, which produced ethanol from the fermentation of sugar, was constructed in the state of Washington. Klann’s team began researching the technology used at these plants and found that the process used acid to break down the cellulose.

“We discovered that the biggest problem was that the technology used acid as a way of breaking down the cellulose structure,” Klann said. “Everybody had taken the approach of using a weak acid process—1 percent concentration acid or less. It was a very slow process. It was clear to us that if you went to a concentrated acid hydrolysis—a higher concentration of acid—you could break down the cellulose much quicker. You get very clean sugar.”

The problem was, no one had figured out how to do the acid-sugar separation. Klann’s team of chemists eventually found a way. They used ion exchange resins to separate the components without diluting the sugar, which could then be turned into ethanol. “It was one of those ‘Ah ha! Eureka!’ moments,” Klann said.

BlueFire has completed its research and development work and has patented the technology, which Klann hopes will provide a viable alternative to fossil fuels on a global scale. The company has raised more than $22 million and has a licensed, ready-to-build plant in Lancaster, Calif. BlueFire estimates that the plant will be operational during the first quarter of 2011. A second, much larger plant is also being planned, and BlueFire recently received a U.S. Department of Energy grant for $40 million to make it happen.

The first plant, or biorefinery, will produce about 4 million gallons of ethanol on an annual basis, whereas the second plant will produce about 19 million gallons. Klann would like to add more plants near or adjacent to existing landfill operations, where feedstock comes in on a daily basis.

BlueFire has uniquely positioned itself to become a world leader in the development of this technology and the operation of these biorefineries. The firm’s research can help the U.S. reach its goal of becoming energy independent.