Jackson firm to be distributor for waste-to-fuel technology

Business and community leaders learned about a new system a Jackson company is bringing to the United States to convert waste into synthetic diesel fuel.

About 50 attended the Tuesday night meeting at Southeast Missouri State University's River Campus for a presentation by 49 Green, the sole U.S. distributor for Denmark-based company Organic Fuel Technology.

"Denmark is the world leader in alternative fuel technology while the United States is the champion of the world in producing waste," said Henning Bollerslev, president of 49 Green, who moved to Jackson 14 years ago from Denmark.

Organic Fuel Technology CEO Erik Andersen came from Denmark to show how his test plant works. It has been operating in Denmark for more than a year.

"Household waste is full of energy," Andersen said. "Instead of sticking it in the ground or burning it, we can make very nice green oil out of it."

Using microwaves, Andersen's plant turns a variety of materials, including straw, wood chips, plastics, tires and household trash, into diesel fuel.

The materials are compressed into pellets, then put into a reactor where minerals are added to start a chemical reaction. Microwaves are then used to heat the material until it turns into a gas, which goes through a condenser and turns into a liquid. The fuel is then refined. There are no emissions from the process and when natural materials are used, the ash produced can be reused as fertilizer, Andersen said.

A Dexter, Mo., biodiesel manufacturer, Global Fuels LLC, is considering building the first full-scale plant in the world to use the technology.

Global Fuels, which uses chicken fat to make biodiesel, no longer receives the federal subsidies it did when it first opened three years ago, making it harder to sell fuel for a profit. This led Global Fuels owner Jerry Bagby to look into technologies like those offered by 49 Green that could use cellulose, such as wood and crop waste, to make fuel.

Bagby has been working with 49 Green for the past five months on converting his facility to use its technology.

"Biodiesel has limitations and has to be blended with other fuel," said Global Fuels plant manager Jason Harris. "This green fuel can replace foreign oil without relying on subsidies. It should cost consumers the same price as other fuel, if not less."

Robinson Construction in Perryville, Mo., has expressed interest in producing the parts for 49 Green's waste-to-fuel systems.

mmiller@semissourian.com

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