Reclaim Resources plant to convert MSW to ethanol
October 6, 2008
BY Ryan C. Christiansen
Web exclusive posted Oct. 17, 2008 at 10:32 a.m. CST
Reclaim Resources Ltd. of Westerham, England, has announced it has secured a $21 million contract with the Province of Zambales, Philippines, to supply its trademarked Vantage Waste Processor technology to the province to convert municipal solid waste into ethanol. Located on the west coast of the Philippines, north of Manila, the province plans to install a system that will process 150,000 metric tons of MSW into 8 MMgy of ethanol annually, with an option to increase output to 300,000 metric tons and 16 MMgy.
Reclaim Resource's technology uses an acid pretreatment to produce ethanol from MSW. After plastics and metals have been separated from trash and the remaining material has been ground up, the company's Vantage Waste Processor technology hydrolyzes the MSW biomass using hot aqueous sulfuric acid, which is then neutralized using lime (calcium hydroxide). The fermentable byproduct is then subjected to yeast for the production of ethanol.
According to an independent report supplied by Reclaim Resources that was prepared in April for the company by Coventry University in the United Kingdom, the company's Vantage Waste Processor technology is less expensive than enzymatic hydrolysis for converting MSW to a fermentable product because both sulfuric acid and lime are plentiful and inexpensive, and also because the process requires less time and produces higher yields of fermentable carbohydrates. If the cellulose content of MSW is 70 percent or greater, the report said, the company's process will yield just under 80 gallons of ethanol per metric ton of MSW. The byproducts from the process are calcium sulphate or ypsuin.
According to Reclaim Resources, the equipment for the plant will be manufactured in the Philippines and the facility's construction will begin in 2009, with operations expected to begin in late 2009.
Reclaim Resources said it's also negotiating with the city of Manila to provide a system that will process over 1 million metric tons of MSW to produce more than 56 MMgy of ethanol. The company is in negotiations with a third Philippine city, as well as municipalities in India and Ukraine.
Reclaim Resources Ltd. of Westerham, England, has announced it has secured a $21 million contract with the Province of Zambales, Philippines, to supply its trademarked Vantage Waste Processor technology to the province to convert municipal solid waste into ethanol. Located on the west coast of the Philippines, north of Manila, the province plans to install a system that will process 150,000 metric tons of MSW into 8 MMgy of ethanol annually, with an option to increase output to 300,000 metric tons and 16 MMgy.
Reclaim Resource's technology uses an acid pretreatment to produce ethanol from MSW. After plastics and metals have been separated from trash and the remaining material has been ground up, the company's Vantage Waste Processor technology hydrolyzes the MSW biomass using hot aqueous sulfuric acid, which is then neutralized using lime (calcium hydroxide). The fermentable byproduct is then subjected to yeast for the production of ethanol.
According to an independent report supplied by Reclaim Resources that was prepared in April for the company by Coventry University in the United Kingdom, the company's Vantage Waste Processor technology is less expensive than enzymatic hydrolysis for converting MSW to a fermentable product because both sulfuric acid and lime are plentiful and inexpensive, and also because the process requires less time and produces higher yields of fermentable carbohydrates. If the cellulose content of MSW is 70 percent or greater, the report said, the company's process will yield just under 80 gallons of ethanol per metric ton of MSW. The byproducts from the process are calcium sulphate or ypsuin.
According to Reclaim Resources, the equipment for the plant will be manufactured in the Philippines and the facility's construction will begin in 2009, with operations expected to begin in late 2009.
Reclaim Resources said it's also negotiating with the city of Manila to provide a system that will process over 1 million metric tons of MSW to produce more than 56 MMgy of ethanol. The company is in negotiations with a third Philippine city, as well as municipalities in India and Ukraine.
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