Avatar Sustainable Technologies is commercializing a patented process developed in State University of New York | College of Environmental Science and Forestry which enables highly cost-efective production of fermentable cellulosic sugars from refuse of local industries. The byproduct produced can be sold to agricultural related industries. The feed stock itself is a revenue source -- tipping fees for accepting solid waste) -- while the sugars are sold at on commodity market and to sugar based industries. Avatar Sustainable Technologies has developed a way to economically use waste from paper mills to produce industrial grade fermentable sugars. This paper mill waste could offer cost reductions of 30 percent in capital and 40 percent in operating costs compared to current methods, according to a recent National Renewable Energy Laboratory study. Sugars derived from this waste can be used to produce an array of biochemical products currently manufactured using petroleum. This project could divert a significant solid waste stream of approximately 103 tons per day from landfills to sustainably produce biofuels and other biochemicals. Avatar has demonstrated the efficient production of sugars, and their conversion to ethanol and polyhydroxyalkanoates at laboratory and pre-pilot scale. Partnering with the lab would allow the company to pair its hydrolysis of fine particles process with CeIA enzymes developed by the lab's team. With its unique capability, CelA will be able to hydrolyze through the more crystalline nature of waste.
