Jan 31 2011
Enerkem, a waste-to-biofuel generating company, declared that Enerkem Corporation, its fully-owned auxiliary company in the USA, has received a conditional commitment from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), for a loan amount of US$ 80 million.
The loan guarantee is given for building a waste-to-biofuels plant in Pontotoc, Mississippi to convert the solid wastes generated from the municipality into ethanol.
The proposed biorefinery plant will be built over the Three Rivers landfill site owned by the municipality and utilize around 300 tons of solid wastes to generate around 10 million gallons of ethanol during the initial years. The project is anticipated to reduce the pressure on the landfill considerably and generate over 70 permanent job positions. The Biofuels Digest, an industry magazine, recognized the efforts of the Mississippi state and Enerkem in the project and feted them in its 2010 Awards.
Enerkem will utilize its patented technology to translate the solid wastes such as non-reusable garbage from households, debris received from demolition locations and leftovers from used utility poles into ethanol that can be utilized for transportation and other chemicals for use.