Next-Generation Ethanol

Over the past decade, we have seen an increased awareness of and demand for alternative sources of transportation fuels as a result of constraints on global energy supplies, rising food prices and environmental concerns over global warming.

On December 19, 2007, President Bush signed into law the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007.  This comprehensive legislation amended an earlier national Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) and now calls for a significant increase in the use of ethanol and other biofuels by the end of 2022.

Over the past several years, the production of ethanol from agricultural feedstocks like corn and soybeans has grown rapidly.  In 2008, it is estimated that the United States will produce approximately 8.5 billion gallons of ethanol.  The current RFS mandates that 36 billion gallons of biofuels be produced annually by 2022.

Of this amount, 21 billion gallons were identified to come from advanced biofuels. The potential ethanol production from MSW is 18 billion gallons annually—85 percent of the advanced biofuels target.

Advanced biofuels:  A biofuel derived from non-food crops or inedible waste products that does not divert food away from the animal or human food chain and achieves a 50 percent greenhouse gas emissions reduction requirement.