Programs & Services

Waste to Biofuels and Chemicals Facility

Turning Garbage into Fuel

Edmonton’s Waste to Biofuels and Chemicals Facility is the first industrial scale waste to biofuels facility of its kind to turn household garbage into biofuels and biochemicals.

The facility was built and is owned and operated by Enerkem Alberta Biofuels, a subsidiary of Enerkem. Using Enerkem's proprietary technology, it will convert 140,000 tonnes of municipal solid waste into 38 million litres of biofuels and chemicals annually and help Alberta reduce its green house gas (GHG) emissions. (Waste-based biofuels can reduce GHG emissions by more than 60% when compared with fossil fuel production and landfill operations.)

The City of Edmonton is currently diverting over 50% of residential waste from landfill primarily through recycling and composting. The Waste to Biofuels and Chemicals Facility will enable the City to increase that diversion rate to 90%.

The feedstock for producing biofuels is municipal solid waste that cannot be recycled or composted and has traditionally been sent to landfill. Using waste to produce cleaner burning fuels is a major leap forward in Edmonton's commitment to using waste as a resource and becoming an energy sustainable city.

Initially the facility will produce methanol, followed by ethanol. The goal of producing methanol and subsequently ethanol has both environmental and economic benefits since it supports the increasing demand for biofuels.

The Waste to Biofuels and Chemicals Facility is part of a larger initiative between Enerkem, Alberta Innovates – Energy and Environment Solutions and the City of Edmonton. This waste to biofuels initiative also includes a waste preparation facility and an Advanced Energy Research Facility.

Using waste as a resource for fuel will contribute to GHG reduction, reduce the need for food crops as feedstock for ethanol and enable Alberta to lead the way in advanced biofuels production.