Company to Produce Synthetic Diesel

Cindy Zimmerman

A California company has announced plans to build a plant in Rialto, California for the production of ultra-clean synthetic fuels and electric power from renewable waste biomass feedstocks.

Rentech, Inc. is working on what they are calling the Rialto Renewable Energy Center, or Rialto Project, which is designed to produce approximately 600 barrels per day of pure renewable synthetic fuels and export approximately 35 megawatts of renewable electric power. According to the company, “RenDieselTM, the renewable synthetic diesel to be produced at the facility, meets all applicable fuels standards, is compatible with existing engines and pipelines and burns cleanly, with emissions of particulates and other regulated pollutants significantly lower than the emissions from the combustion of CARB ultra-low sulfur diesel.”

The primary feedstock for the Rialto Project will be urban woody green waste such as yard clippings, for which Rentech is currently negotiating supply agreements. The location of the project will provide local green waste haulers with a cost-effective alternative to increasingly scarce landfills for the disposal of woody green waste. The plant is designed to also use bio-solids for a portion of the feedstock which is expected to be provided under a supply agreement with EnerTech Environmental.

biomass, Energy