Abengoa Opens Pilot Plant That Turns Waste Into Biofuels

Source: By Marc Roca, Bloomberg • Posted: Friday, June 28, 2013

Abengoa SA (ABG), Spain’s largest biofuels producer, inaugurated a demonstration plant that can make bioethanol from municipal solid waste, its first using the technology.

The facility in Babilafuente, central Spain, can treat 25,000 tons of municipal solid waste to generate as much as 1.5 million liters (396,000 gallons) of bioethanol, which can be used as an alternative fuel, Seville-based Abengoa said.

The plant is the largest globally than can produce biofuels from waste, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. Its technology involving enzymes can prevent more than 80 percent of the waste from going into landfills while also being a source of clean energy, Abengoa said in a statement.

The developer of solar and water desalination projects is also building a second-generation biofuel plant in Kansas that uses corn stalks and leaves as feedstock. Second-generation biofuels are made from plant waste or organic material rather than food crops.

Abengoa also has plans for a $110 million waste-to-energy facility in Arizona that will generate electricity from municipal waste.

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