Mississippi Plant will Convert Landfill Waste to Ethanol
New plant expected to produce 20 million gallons of ethanol annually
June 2009
Pre-treatment, illustrated in this photo, is a step in the conversion of feedstock to biofuels, the focus of a facility being planned for Pontotoc, Mississippi.
Credit: Pat Corkery
A Canada-based corporation plans to spend $250 million to build and operate a plant in Pontotoc, Mississippi, to transform solid waste from a local landfill into biofuels. The landfill is located in the center of the state about 20 miles west of Tupelo.
Enerkem, Inc. of Montreal has signed a Memorandum of Intent with the Three Rivers Solid Waste Management Authority of Mississippi, stating that the authority will supply the plant with about 189,000 tons of unsorted solid waste annually from its Pontotoc landfill. The authority serves seven counties in northern Mississippi.
Once in operation, the plant will produce an estimated 20 million gallons of ethanol annually, using a feedstock mix of wood residue from regional agriculture and forests, in addition to construction debris and municipal solid waste.
The program will also include a solid waste recycling and pre-treatment center. Enerkem estimates that roughly 60% of the landfill's waste will be used; the majority will be converted to biofuels and the rest distributed for recycling.
The Pontotoc plant is Enerkem's first American venture. In Canada, the company has plans to begin construction of its third ethanol plant.
To learn more, read the Enerkem March 19 press release (PDF 114 KB), or read a related article in the March 27 online edition of the Memphis (Tennessee) Business Journal. Download Adobe Reader.
See more Mississippi project descriptions published in Conservation Update.
Read recent Mississippi news stories about state involvement in renewable energy and energy efficiency projects published on the EERE Web site.