Waste-to-fuel approach takes 2 steps forward

Fulcrum BioEnergy has begun converting trash into synthetic crude oil in Reno, Nevada, in what it describes as “the world’s first commercial-scale landfill waste-to-fuels plant.” United Airlines and Cathay Pacific Airways plan to buy sustainable aviation fuel made from the oil. Fulcrum plans more such plants in Indiana, Texas, and the UK. Separately, WtEnergy won an investment from Cemex, which says it will install WtEnergy’s waste-to-fuel system at cement plants in Europe and the Middle East. Both Fulcrum and WtEnergy gasify waste to produce syngas, a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen. Syngas can be turned into hydrocarbons using Fischer-Tropsch chemistry.