Through its subsidiary, Attis Innovations, Inc., Meridian Waste Solutions, Inc. has announced the execution of a license agreement for proprietary biofuel process technology proven with initial testing to provide for significant improvements in conversion efficiency.

Biodiesel is one of the most abundant biofuels produced today, contributing more than 2 billion gallons in 2016 to the United States Renewable Fuel Standard. It is a renewable, clean-burning replacement for fossil fuels that is made from a diverse mix of virgin and waste feedstocks, including animal fats, vegetable oils, greases and other lipids. Existing biodiesel production methods require the use of multiple catalyst and purification steps that have innate inefficiencies that the Attis engineering team has targeted for reduction.

The new license involves technology designed to eliminate process steps that reduce raw material consumption while increasing feedstock tolerances and improving both product yield and quality. Subject to further verification and scale-up testing, the new approach is expected to reduce construction costs and improve profitability by an estimated $0.40 per gallon.

The company also plans to integrate the new technology into its growing ecosystem of biomass conversion and refining technologies, including Attis' patented and patent-pending AST-Organosolv process, which fractionates and converts cellulosic biomass into ethanol or butanol and a renewable alternative for petroleum-derived resins.

"We believe that the solid waste industry has overlooked compelling opportunities to extract significant value from large volumes of carbonaceous wastes and other by-products produced by several industries," said Jeff Cosman, CEO of Meridian Waste Solutions, in a statement. "We plan to harvest those opportunities to generate increased shareholder value as part of the continuing evolution of our approach to waste management in 2018, as exemplified to date by our expanding relationship with key agencies, our $3 million grant award from the USDA and recent and planned acquisitions. We're pleased to include the new license in our portfolio."