Part 1: What To Do With All This Waste? (biofuel)

http://www.renewableaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=50652

The holiday season is upon us -- a time of thanks, celebration and tons of trash.

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One company, California-based BlueFire Ethanol, views the issue of residential and commercial waste not as a downside to American consumerism, but as a lucrative business opportunity.

“We're running out of landfill space in this country and in certain areas it is getting much more difficult to site new ones. We saw this problem and now, by using a lot of the waste entering a landfill, we can extend the longevity of existing landfills while creating a high-quality fuel,” says BlueFire CEO Arnold Klann.

BlueFire uses concentrated acid hydrolysis to make cellulosic ethanol out of wood scraps, paper, agricultural residues and other organic materials. High concentrations of sulfuric acid break down these materials into sugars that are then fermented and purified into fuel for trucks and cars.

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