ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT & ENGINEERING

8/Waste to Ethanol

PROBLEM

An alternate fuels manufacturing company intended to construct and operate several solid waste to bio-ethanol facilities, and needed assistance in obtaining environmental permits.

SMG'S APPROACH

SMG evaluated the process components and developed a permit strategy for multiple sites in the region. SMG developed a template to obtain a permit for air emissions and water discharges from the site. The operations proposed on site include receipt of the solid waste, recovering materials that can be recycled, waste handling and preparation, gasification of the feedstock, and synthesizing methanol from the gases.

In addition to coordination with the air and water permitting agencies, and development of the template permits, SMG developed appropriate calculations of emissions, permit forms, attachments, and other pertinent information.

RESULTS

The receipt of these permits will allow the owner to install and operate this technology without permitting delays.