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Printer FriendlyReprinted with permission from Popular Mechanics, December
1999.
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Paper waste to fuel additive
Sludge created making pulp and paper must be dried and composted, spread on land or hauled to landfills. In any case, it means a disposal bill.
Biofine of Waltham, Mass., has found an inexpensive way to turn this waste into levulinic acid. The common industrial acid is used, among other things, to make the fuel additive MTHF.
The basic reaction has been known for years. Biofine found a way to make it more efficient.
The technology could also be used to convert other wastes, including plastics and solvents, says Dennis Stiles of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. The lab helped Biofine perfect its equipment.
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