Qteros has entered into a joint development project with Applied CleanTech (ACT), a commodities recycling company based in Israel, to use ACT’s Recyllose™-based feedstock, produced from municipal wastewater solids, for even more efficient and low-cost ethanol production. ACT’s Sewage Recycling System (SRS), a revolutionary solution for recycling wastewater solids, produces high-quality alternative energy sources for the production of electricity or ethanol, while reducing sludge formation and lowering wastewater treatment plant costs and increasing plant capacity.

The companies said they are the first to demonstrate commercial success in creating ethanol from the cellulose in municipal and agricultural liquid waste, and to offer a process that all municipalities can use to help reduce expenses.

“Our customer is every municipality that has a wastewater treatment plant,” said Jeff Hausthor, Qteros co-founder and senior project manager. “It will provide a value-added product for municipal waste water plants, thereby making treatment plants much less expensive to run and helping local governments throughout the world with their constrained budgets.”

Israel Biran, ACT’s CEO, added, “It also helps answer the question of what municipalities can do with their sewage sludge, a major challenge now facing every wastewater treatment plant operator.”

ACT has spent six years developing its integrated sewage recycling solution. Its high quality Recyllose™-based feedstock offers high cellulose content and low moisture, facilitating more efficient ethanol production. The SRS is already in commercial use, with facilities in Israel and the United States currently making Recyllose™-based products from sewage sludge and other cellulose-rich waste while reducing sludge output and wastewater treatment plant costs.

By using ACT’s proprietary feedstock, Hausthor said Qteros and ACT’s researchers have found that an ethanol production plant can produce 120–135 gallons of ethanol per ton of Recyllose™.

Since Recyllose™ is low in lignin (a major component of plant cell walls that is difficult to degrade), and lignin can be inhibitory to efficient conversion to ethanol, Hausthor said the material improves cellulosic plant operational efficiency 20 percent over higher lignin content feedstocks.

Qteros’ CEO William Frey said that with previous technologies, a cellulosic ethanol plant would have to produce roughly 20-30 million gallons per year (MGY) in order to be profitable. With the proposed Qteros-ACT process, Frey said, production with these economics could be viable at a smaller scale.

ACT President Dr. Refael Aharon said that a wastewater plant that handles 150 million gallons a day (serving a population of about 2 million people) can be sufficient to supply a smaller-scale ethanol plant with cellulose.

Qteros and ACT said that by applying the proprietary one-step Qteros fermentation technology to ACT’s Recyllose™ feedstock, they have achieved a high-yield, waste-to-ethanol production process that is superior to other industrial-scale processes both technically and economically.

The research has been supported in part by a grant from the Binational Industrial Research and Development (BIRD) Foundation. The BIRD Foundation funds joint efforts between Israel and the United States, and their financial support has resulted in the very successful collaboration of Qteros’ and ACT’s technologies.

The U.S. government has set a goal of increasing annual production of alternative fuels like ethanol from today’s 10 billion gallons to 36 billion gallons by 2022. Qteros predicts that this announcement will move the country one step closer to realizing its goal. “Ethanol is the best next-generation fuel,” said Frey.

More can be found out about this technology at Qteros

Source: PRWeb

The car is made from woven flax, recycled carbon fibre, recycled resin and carrot pulp for the steering wheel. It runs on biofuel made from chocolate and animal fats and is lubricated with plant oils. But it’s not just an environmentally friendly car, it is also fast. The car has a top speed of 135 mph, can achieve 0-60 in 2.5 seconds and is turbo charged to give it more torque.

Having got the seal of approval from drivers such as Lewis Hamilton and Adam Carroll as well as F1 team boss Ross Brawn, the car will make its first competitive debut in the Formula 3 Championship final at Brands Hatch on 17th October. The team hope to prove that high performance, competitive cars can be built from sustainable materials.

According to Dr Kirwan the idea behind the project is to show that: “being sustainable and green can be incredibly sexy, fun and fast.” He goes on to say that even though people’s perception of motorsport is that it’s wasteful, this project is “aiming to show ways for the future, for people to race and be green.”

A video of the car in action can be found at IMPACT! World www.impactworld.org.uk The website also features a variety of other films and case studies highlighting the impact of science and research technology in the UK .

Source: EPSRC

Being tested to Technology Readiness Level (TRL 9) this programme for the US Army is currently in the system design, demonstration and testing phase. Plant commissioning and testing is due to commence next spring with delivery expected by mid year, followed by an extended US Army conducted testing and evaluation trial period, continuing through to early 2012. The programme is jointly funded by US Office of the Secretary of Defence (OSD) through the Foreign Comparative Testing (FCT) Programme and is expected to result in more than 10 systems eventually being acquired.

“The US Army’s introduction of the PyTEC Pyrolysis Waste Disposal System solution should provide a dramatic increase in sustainability and force protection,” stated Lt Col Daryl “Rick” Harger, Product Manager Force Sustainment Systems, part of Program Executive Office Combat Support and Combat Service Support (PEO CS&CSS). “The PEO’s mission is to focus on equipping and supporting the joint war fighter through the development and fielding of systems with increased capability which support DoD objectives and enable a more expeditionary force.”

“PyTEC reduces the need for outside contractors to access the secure base camp to dispose of solid waste, dramatically reducing potential threats,” added Pat McGlead, QinetiQ’s Business Development Manager for the PyTEC solution. “Not having to rely on local contractors for solid waste disposal gives commanders the flexibility to operate in terrain which would be otherwise unsupportable plus means they can proactively manage their environmental impact. The energy recovery aspect will also significantly reduce the amount of fuel needed to support the base camp and provide associated cost savings while reducing the number of trucks on the road and freeing logistics assets for more critical mission requirements. PyTEC will enable the US Army forward operating bases to move towards being more self sufficient in the management of their waste management requirements.”

QinetiQ’s PyTEC Pyrolysis Waste Disposal System is housed in two standard free standing interconnected 8ft x 8ft x 20ft skeleton ISO containers that are fitted with hinged opening sides. Based on the latest COTS technology PyTEC requires minimal operator training or involvement to operate by allowing unsorted waste to be continually fed into automated the closed loop system and super heated, with just 25 litres of inert ‘char’ being produced per 100kg or raw waste processed, subject to the proportion of organic waste mix.

To find out more visit QinetiQ