One of the nation’s largest waste haulers thinks there is gold in them thar garbage cans.
Waste Management puts money into Texas based Terrabon
Houston based Waste Management said Friday it has agreed to invest in Terrabon, a Texas startup that hopes to convert organic garbage to high-octane gasoline.
The companies did not disclose the size of the investment. However they said it would help Terrabon expand the size of its conversion plant.
The joint venture puts another oar in the bio-fuel waters, where activity continues at an intense pace. Only recent, scientists at Ohio State disclosed a method of doubling the production of ethanol-alternative butanol, suggesting attractive alternatives to petroleum-based fuels are quickly emerging.
Waste Management said the new initiative would help it double its renewable energy production. The company will supply organic waste to Terrabon.
In press release, Terrabon said it uses an acid fermentation process to convert biomass into organic salts (or bio-crude), which it ships to a Valero refinery to be processed into gasoline. The company claims the resulting fuel is easier to mix with petroleum-based gasoline than ethanol. It claims to have recently convert sorghum biomass into gasoline at its Bryan, Texas, plant.
Valero also said Friday it added to an investment it made in Terrabon in April.
Posted by Mark Boslet 
