Enerkem is nearing completion of the construction of a plant that will turn Edmonton’s municipal solid waste into methanol, and, eventually ethanol. The idea is to convert 100,000 tonnes of garbage that would otherwise be sitting in landfills into biofuel. Enerkem will sell the biofuel and share the profit with the city.
CBC.ca has the story:
The plant will be shut down for three months while Enerkem adds modules that convert the methanol the plant currently produces into ethanol.
The project, which was supposed to be completed in its entirety in 2012, is both overdue and over-budget.
At $80 million, the Enerkem project is partially funded by the province. That doesn't include the $40 million facility to prepare the waste for conversion.
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In 2014, Enerkem began producing methanol, but not a lot of it. Since a dryer was added to control moisture levels, the plant is ramping up to double the output.
But ethanol, with a higher market value, is more desirable.