Production of Ethanol from the Cellulosic Fraction of Municipal Solid Waste, The City of Baltimore (Maryland)

This commercialization study evaluated the technical and economic feasibility of producing ethanol from the cellulosic fraction of municipal solid waste, called refuse-derived fuel (RDF), at a suitable site in Baltimore. An idle, large-scale fermentation facility (a brewery) was chosen for retrofit analysis based on using an enzymatic hydrolysis process. The evaluation included an RDF resource availability analysis; budget estimates of plant capital investment, working capital, and operating costs; and a complete commercialization potential analysis on the environmental, socioeconomic, and technology transfer potential of the process in addition to return on investment.