Proposed Indiana waste-to-energy plant said to produce deadly dioxins

In Indiana, the Post-Tribune is reporting that a proposed Lake County garbage-to-ethanol facility will release highly toxic chlorinated dioxins. The developers of the proposed facility, Genahol-Powers 1, say that they can eliminate most of the pollutants before they reach the atmosphere. though the company says it can virtually eliminate their escape into the environment. Two companies are competing for a 20-year waste disposal contract. One, Genehol, will use a gasification process to produce ethanol from garbage.

The other competitor, Indiana Ethanol Power, has commenced contract negotiations with Lake County Solid Waste Management District for its proposed 20 Mgy waste-to-ethanol plant. The plant will use the GeneSyst process to convert solid waste to ethanol. Construction is expected to commence in 2008, and production in 2010.

Waste-to-ethanol background

• In New York, Masada said it is awaiting a green light from the the city council of Middletown to proceed with a 10 Mgy waste-to-ethanol plant. The plant, which was originally proposed in 1996, has cost more than $40 million in its development phase, according to the Times-Record. The plant is scheduled for completion this December but the relationship between the city and Masada has deteriorated, with the city filing a lawsuit and Masada filing for arbitration.

• In Canada, the city of Edmonton has proposed a gasification plant for the Clover Bar landfill that will convert trash into ethanol. The facility is expected to convert 100,000 tonnes of waste material into methanol, and to develop a process to convert methanol into ethanol for fuel markets. The proposed plant would open in 2010.

• In New Jersey, a 10 Mgy corn and fruit waste ethanol plant has been proposed by New Jersey Ethanol. A $6 million facility would be constructed near Bridgeton with an initial capacity of 3 Mgy, and the company said they have completed permitting and will now proceed with construction.

• BlueFire Ethanol Fuels is ready to break ground this month on its 3.1 Mgy waste-to-ethanol plant near Lancaster, California. The company is awaiting its air permit before commencing construction, after securing additional financing to supplement a cellulosic ethanol grant from the Department of Energy received last year. The company, which plans to erect a number of waste-to-ethanol plants near landfills, has a 16.6 Mgy plant on the drawing board that would be built near Corona. Bluefire holds the exclusive North American license to employ the Arkenol Process Technology, a patented system that transforms cellulosic waste into usable ethanol.

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