Meridian Waste Solutions subsidiary executes license for biofuel process

Meridian Waste Solutions Inc., Atlanta, announces that the company’s subsidiary, Attis Innovations Inc., has executed a license agreement for proprietary biofuel process technology proven with initial testing to provide improvements in conversion efficiency.

Biodiesel is one of the most abundant biofuels produced today, contributing more than 2 billion gallons in 2016 to the United States Renewable Fuel Standard. It is a renewable, clean-burning replacement for fossil fuels that is made from a diverse mix of virgin and waste feedstocks, including animal fats, vegetable oils, greases and other lipids. Existing biodiesel production methods require the use of multiple catalyst and purification steps that have innate inefficiencies that the Attis engineering team has targeted for reduction, the company says.

The new license involves technology designed to achieve that objective by eliminating process steps that reduce raw material consumption while increasing feedstock tolerances, improving both product yield and quality. Subject to further verification and scale-up testing, the new approach is expected to reduce construction costs and improve profitability by an estimated $0.40 per gallon, according to the company's estimates.

The company also expects to integrate the new technology into its growing ecosystem of biomass conversion and refining technologies, including Attis’ patented and patent-pending AST-Organosolv process, which fractionates and converts cellulosic biomass into ethanol or butanol and a renewable alternative for petroleum-derived resins.

“We believe that the solid waste industry has overlooked compelling opportunities to extract significant value from large volumes of carbonaceous wastes and other byproducts produced by several industries,” Jeff Cosman, Meridian’s CEO, says. “We plan to harvest those opportunities to generate increased shareholder value as part of the continuing evolution of our approach to waste management in 2018, as exemplified to date by our expanding relationship with key agencies, our $3 million grant award from the USDA, and recent and planned acquisitions. We’re pleased to include the new license in our portfolio.”