Arnold Klann, chief executive of BlueFire, says that DOE support will allow it to provide cellulosic biofuels to densely populated US urban centers.

The proposed plant, to be located in the state’s northeast, a region rich in biomass resource, will be designed to produce 18 million gallons of ethanol a year.

BlueFire has also completed a 20-month licensing process and is currently awaiting completion of a financing agreement to begin work on an ethanol biorefinery in Lancaster, California, north of Los Angeles.

The Lancaster project will use cellulosic wastes diverted from Southern California landfills to produce 3.9 million gallons a year of fuel-grade ethanol.

In both cases, the company will use its patented Concentrated Acid Hydrolysis Technology Process for conversion of cellulosic waste into cellulosic ethanol.

The technology enables cellulosic materials to be converted into sugar in an economically viable manner. This provides an inexpensive raw material for fermentation or chemical conversion into any of a hundred different specialty and/or commodity chemicals.

Derived from non-foodstock urban, forestry and agricultural residues, this form of ethanol is a completely renewable and highly-economical alternative to gasoline and other types of ethanol.

BlueFire is based in Irvine, California.