Dive Brief:
- Iowa, known as one of the top states for the creation of corn ethanol, is considering trying its hand at producing other alternative biofuels — including "trashanol."
- Trashanol is the term coined for converting landfill waste into fuel. In Iowa City alone, 400 tons of trash is accepted at the local landfill daily, which could potentially be transformed into fuel.
- Fiberight, a Virginia-based waste-to-ethanol producer, is considering a project worth an estimated $9 million in Marion, IA. The pre-processing plant would separate waste from the municipal landfill and convert it into biofuel.
Dive Insight:
Trashanol may become commonplace in the near future, as companies explore different technologies and as a greater number of bio-refineries start production — companies like Fiberight, which is currently testing its process.
The biggest barrier to entry for trashanol is finding a car that uses the fuel and a consumer that wants to drive it. Currently, only a handful of models use ethanol.
