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Lake County, Indiana, is in the process of approving the first commercial-scale plant in the country to turn garbage into ethanol. The plant, proposed by Genahol-Powers 1 LLC of Evansville, would produce about 30 million gallons of ethanol per year using a process that turns solid waste to a gas, which is then converted to ethanol. "To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time full-scale plants would convert garbage to ethanol in this country," said Jeff Langbehn, executive director of the Lake County Waste Management District.
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Technology
The Genahol process takes a systems approach to converting solid waste/biomass into usable byproducts. The Genahol conversion process revolves around four basic technologies:
Hydrolysis - will convert the cellulose found in biomass into glucose (sugar). The glucose is then fermented and distilled into alcohol/ethanol.
Gasification - will convert the carbon element found in solid waste/biomass into alcohol and/or electricity.
Pyrolysis - normally used as a supplement to hydrolysis and gasification, however it can stand alone as a separate technology.
Anaerobic Digestion - there are instances when the waste feedstock can be converted into a valuable commodity or energy. In the instance of food processing, waste may also be converted into methane and even electricity.
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