British company finds trash the answer to fuel prices

A British chemical company, Ineos, has found a way to alleviate prices at the pump by converting ordinary household trash into ethanol. The process involves burning the trash to produce gas, then feeding the gas to bacteria which in turn produce ethanol. They purify the ethanol into fuel to be used in cars. Claims are that 100 gallons of fuel can be made from one metric ton of dry waste. Ineos plans for commercial quantities to be produced within two years.

“In North America and Europe we will see around 10 percent or more of petrol (gasoline) being replaced with [ethanol],” said Peter Williams, Bio chief executive officer. “Our technology will make a major contribution to reducing greenhouse gases and the world’s need for fossil fuels.” The heat that is recovered during the gasification and fermentation processes will be used to produce electricity.