Synthesis Gas Technology for the Conversion of Organic Waste to Ethanol

A technology for converting organic municipal waste is being developed for commercialization by Integrated Environmental Technologies (IET) in the United States. Originally developed by researchers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Batelle Pacific Northwest National Labs (PNNL), the process involves heating organic wastes resulting in a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide, called synthesis gas or syngas. Syngas is then used as a starting material for producing “a wide variety of fuels and chemicals”. The report also says that the technology can be used to produce ethanol from agricultural residues.

Syngas is produced by heating the waste with small amounts of oxygen at 1200 oC. The charcoal-like residue after the process is then gasified. All inorganic materials are subsequently converted into a “pool of molten glass” which hardens and safely disposed in landfills. The syngas is processed in a catalytic reactor to produce ethanol and methanol. According to Jeff Surma (CEO and President of IET), the technology “makes it possible to produce fuels from the waste at competitive cost.”