Fulcrum BioEnergy starts making syngas from trash near Reno, Nevada

Fulcrum BioEnergy has taken a step toward its goal of making transportation fuels from garbage with the start-up of syngas production at its plant near Reno, Nevada. Fulcum makes the syngas—a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen—from municipal solid waste using a high-temperature, low-oxygen gasification process. The next step will be to commission the plant’s Fischer-Tropsch reaction system, which will convert the syngas to synthetic crude oil. The plant is intended to divert 175,000 metric tons of waste per year from landfills and produce 50 million L of renewable fuels.