A greener way to run your car: A local engineer is turning trash into fuel

April 25, 12:33 PMLA Top News ExaminerSogol Tehranizadeh

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Gas prices are high and the economy is not getting better, we all know that, but what if one engineer in California can turn it all around just by using trash?  

Arnold Klan has stirred up the world's first regulation passed by the Air Resources Board this week, to reduce the carbon footprint on fuel.

His company now, Blue Fire Ethanol Fuels plans to build a $100 million plant in Lancaster that would convert garbage into an alcohol-based mixture that could be used as fuel for cars and trucks.

California's proposal "is the first time anyone has attempted, for environmental purposes to change the content of what goes into cars and trucks," Mary D. Nichols, state Air Resources Board chairwoman told The L.A. Times.

So what does this all mean?

The regulation will force producers, refineries, and importers to reduce the "carbon intensity" of their fuel by 10 percent by the year 2020, and by increasing percentages after that, according to the Air Resources Board website, www.arb.ca.gov.  (On the website, you can also find a video called "low-carbon fuel standard" that explains in full detail what the state plans to do).

The proposal will favor ethanol - such as Klann's, that uses recycled sulfuric acid to transform paper, construction debris and grass clippings into ethanol.  Klann's form of fuel will even have a less carbon footprint than California's "low carbon" corn ethanol, according to the ARB website.

"The paradigm is changing from oil to sustainable fuels", Klann told The L.A. Times. "The ones with the lowest carbon footprint will be the winners"   

The new rule is expected to cut the state's gasoline consumption by a quarter in the next decade, The L.A. Times reports.

But corn ethanol investors are lobbying the new rule, arguing that it diminishes the value of their existing plants and puts a damper on their advanced bioful efforts.

If financing for Klann's Lancaster plant comes through the facility will process 170 tons of garbage a day to produce 3.7 million gallons of ethanol annually. Estimated cost per gallon will be $2, Klann says.