BioFuels Journal

Houston—Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE: WM) and Terrabon, L.L.C., announced August 26 an agreement by Waste Management to invest in Terrabon's unique waste-to-fuel conversion technology.

Waste Management is the leading provider of comprehensive waste management and environmental services in North America.

Waste Management joins Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE: VLO), the largest refiner in North America, which also invested in Terrabon in April 2009 and recently increased its investment in Terrabon.

This investment from Waste Management and Valero will be used by Terrabon to advance the scalability of their technology.

Waste Management will also assist Terrabon in securing organic waste streams, which Terrabon will use to produce high-octane gasoline using its MixAlco(TM) technology.

MixAlco is an acid fermentation process that converts biomass into organic salts.

The resulting non-hazardous organic salts, or bio-crude, would be then shipped by truck, rail or pipeline to a Valero refinery or other centralized processing facility where it would be converted to a high-octane gasoline that can be blended directly into a refiner's fuel pool, avoiding many of the blending and logistics challenges presented by ethanol.

Terrabon recently successfully completed the production of gasoline from sorghum biomass at its advanced biofuels research facility in Bryan, Texas.

"We see waste as a resource to be recovered in a way that protects and enhances the environment, and this investment in Terrabon, together with Waste Management's other renewable energy initiatives, will help move Waste Management toward meeting two of its sustainability goals: doubling its renewable energy production and investing in emerging technologies for managing waste," said Carl Rush, vice president of Organic Growth at Waste Management.

"We believe our technology, which allows for the deployment of smaller scale plants locally, combined with strategic partnerships in 'upstream' feedstock sourcing and 'downstream' gasoline off-take, establishes a framework for the first fully integrated biofuels company in the U.S.," said Gary W. Luce, chief executive officer for Terrabon.

"We are pleased to be working with investors who understand the value and urgency of finding new sources of renewable energy.

"We are committed to growing our business rapidly in order to make a significant impact in the production of renewable fuels."

The agreement, combining Waste Management's industry leadership and expertise in the collection and management of a wide range of segmented waste streams with Terrabon's promising technology is complementary to Waste Management's comprehensive waste services in the areas of recycling, landfill, and waste-to-energy and consulting services capabilities.

For more information, call 713-328-7053.

See Related Websites/Articles:

• Terrabon
• Waste Management

more TOP STORIES...