Masada Resources aims for Alabama waste-to-ethanol project; local officials interested, skeptical
In Alabama, officials from the city of Florence and Colbert County report that they have entered into renewed discussions with Masada Resources regarding options to convert municipal solid waste (MSW) to ethanol. Masada had proposed a facility to the city of Florence a number of years ago.
City Councilman Dick Jordan told the Times Daily “They wanted us to form a waste authority and float bonds of $150 million to build the plant, with them setting the rates for residents. I didn’t feel comfortable with that. I didn’t know how the city of Florence could guarantee enough garbage to amortize a $150 million debt.”
City and county officials have been scrambling for alternatives to building a new landfill, which reached new levels of local controversy when the city announced a plan to purchase the Florence Golf and Country Club and convert part of that land to support a landfill. Masada has stated in discussions, according to town officials, that they could reduce the landfill waste flow by up to 70 percent. Shoals Solid Waste Authority has scheduled a February 19th meeting with the group.
Last October, Masada Resource Group announced a partnership with California-based entrepreneur Robert Lee in a proposal to build “hundreds” of municipal solid waste-to-ethanol production facilities. The company said that it would target facilities in China, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Japan, Ghana, South Korea, Denmark and France.
The company said that its patented CES OxyNol process, converts municipal solid waste (MSW) and sewer sludge to ethanol and other commercial byproducts. More than 90% of the waste process in a CES OxyNol facility is recycled or converted to beneficial use, according to the company. Masada’s first waste-to-ethanol facility in development in the United States is located in Orange County, New York. Masada has international projects in development in the Dominican Republic and Switzerland. The company produces yields of 85 gallons of ethanol per dry ton of MSW.
In April 2008 Masada said it was 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. The construction cost of the plant there has risen to an estimated $285 million.
In December 2007 Dominican Republic, Masada Resource Group and RJ Zapata announced that they would develop commercial-scale waste-based ethanol plant. The venture will dispose of the solid waste from the City of San Domingo East and create 30 Mgy of ethanol.
Masada Resources aims for Alabama waste-to-ethanol project; local officials interested, skeptical is a post from: Biofuels Digest
