Cardboard Used For Ethanol Fuel
very ton of paper that is recovered saves 3.3 cubic yards of landfill space. Photo: Flickr/arbyreed
Here’s a new word to add to your eco vocab: trashanol, an ethanol fuel made from cardboard.
International Paper and Fiberight have partnered to create an ethanol fuel from cardboard that is expected to emit 80 percent less carbon emissions that regular gasoline.
The International Paper Cedar River mill produces 1 million tons of recycled paper per year for corrugated packing from old corrugated containers.
However, about 5 percent of the fibers from old corrugated containers cannot be recycled, adding up to about 50,000 tons of fiber waste per year.
Fiberight approached the paper mill in late 2008 with its idea of using residual fiber to make ethanol, explains Todd Olstad, operations manager at Fiberight.
“Through Fiberight’s new facility, we can now be assured that whatever recycled fiber can’t be made into new packaging can be used to create green energy, while helping us offset our disposal costs,” Olstad says.
The Blairstown plant, where Fiberight will process the paper waste, expects to reach full capacity sometime in 2011, producing up to 6 million gallons of ethanol annually.
Every day, U.S. papermakers recycle enough paper to fill a 14 mile long train of boxcars. Every ton of paper that is recovered saves 3.3 cubic yards of landfill space, according to the American Forest and Paper Association.
Fiberight expects to introduce organic pulps made from residential trash to the waste stream this month.
Related articles:
The Best DIY Paper Projects
Cheat Sheet: Biofuel
- "Facts About Paper " American Forest and Paper Association http://www.afandpa.org/FunFacts.aspx.
- Fiberight (05/28/2010). "Fiber waste from International Paper being made into ethanol" http://www.istockanalyst.com/article/viewiStockNews/articleid/4162076. Press Release.
As of June 17th 2011 we have upgraded our comment system to use Facebook comments. The below comments are closed and are listed for historical purposes.
Heidi
posted on June 1st, 2010 at 3:07 pm
That’s so cool! I hope it works ..
Kimberly
posted on June 2nd, 2010 at 11:42 am
Steel drum recycle. I found a place to recycle my steel drums, instead of the land fill. DeWitt Barrels, Marne, Michigan 49435.
j
posted on August 31st, 2010 at 4:52 am
Problem with ethanol is that it is less efficent and stores less btu’s (energy) than pure gasoline. Thus, oxeygenated fuels actually take more volume of fuel to produce the same energy as 100% gasoline; meaning you will use more of it than 100% gasoline.
Example, the fuel stations I have used that contain 10% ethanol, I see a 2-3mpg drop in my combined city/hwy mileage. Add that up over the lifetime of your car (average car can go 250,000-300,000 miles if well maintained) and see the increased cost and how much more fuel you will consume over the life of your car. And if we need to use less oil/fuels and be more efficent, ethanol is not the answer.
Furthermore, growing corn for ethanol fuel is a waste. It takes more energy to produce than you get out of it, not to mention you’re taking food off folks tables in 3rd world countries.