Chemrec AB, a Sweden-based biofuels innovation company, has opened a U.S. subsidiary, Chemrec USA, Inc., headquartered in Deerfield, Ill. Chemrec USA will develop Chemrec patented fuels-from-the-forest biorefineries in North America.
Chemrec USA biorefineries transform a pulp and paper milling waste product called black liquor into ultra-clean alternative motor fuels methanol and dimethyl ether or DME. Because the farmed forestry used by the mills is a renewable resource, the DME fuel produced through the Chemrec fuels from the forest process is carbon neutral.
DME, often used as an aerosol propellant, when used as motor fuel offers superior alternatives -- little to no climate impact, greater energy efficiency, greater land use efficiency, easy vehicle adaptation and competitive fuel costs -- to other biofuels like ethanol, methanol, biodiesel, and synthetic diesel or their combinations. When used in slightly modified diesel engines, DME offers smokeless combustion and far lower emissions than standard automotive fuels. Major diesel and truck engine manufacturers have plans for using DME in vehicles, especially for municipal and corporate fleets.
Aside from its ability to replace a significant portion of petroleum-based fuels and its neutral impact on the environment, DME forest-based fuels produced through a Chemrec biorefinery enable paper mills to generate a high-margin revenue stream from their production of black liquor wastes.
Chemrec currently operates DME fuels from the forest biorefineries in Sweden and Michigan.
