Goal is process to convert WM’s waste into chemicals and fuels.
Houston-based Waste Management Inc. (www.wastemanagement.com) and Renmatix, King of Prussia, Pa., (www.renmatix.com) a manufacturer of bio-based sugar intermediates for chemical and fuel markets, have entered into a joint development agreement (JDA) to explore the possibility of converting post-consumer waste into sugars for manufacturing bio-based materials.
The investment and alliance aims to expand the feedstock flexibility of Renmatix's Plantrose process beyond rural biomass to include materials derived from urban waste material such as that managed by Waste Management.
"This collaboration is a continuation of our commitment to extract the value we see in waste and convert it into valuable resources," says William Caesar, president of Waste Management Recycling Services. "We are working with Renmatix to further scale its technology, which has quickly emerged as the lowest-cost conversion method for producing the bio-based sugar intermediates demanded by global markets."
Under the agreement, Renmatix will explore multiple waste streams currently collected and processed by Waste Management and its service subsidiaries, including: source-separated recyclables, food scraps, construction and demolition debris and pulp and paper waste. The JDA aims to determine how the materials can be reduced to sugar and leveraged for production of renewable chemicals and fuels.
"Creating a JDA with Waste Management is an example of how we are working to extend our technology platform to meet industry demand. This initiative has the potential to harness post-consumer biomass from urban communities as a source for cellulosic sugars," notes Mike Hamilton, CEO of Renmatix. "Together we are exploring a new pathway to renewing waste. If this approach proves compatible with the Plantrose process, it effectively expands our basket of available feedstocks and increases our footprint to serve the market for low-cost petrochemical alternatives."
Renmatix's Plantrose process uses "supercritical" water —a state in which water acts as a solvent—to deconstruct non-food plant material in a continuous reaction down to the base sugars that enable a high-volume, low-volatility renewable material.
Renmatix says that one of its core cost advantages is its feedstock flexibility. Using very little consumables in rapid reactions, Renmatix says it can convert a variety of non-food biomass into the building blocks of the bio-economy.
Renmatix currently has operations in Gerogia that is says are capable of converting three dry tons of cellulosic biomass to Plantro sugar per day.
A video describing the Pantro process is available by clicking here.