Linde and waste management to highlight biofuel benefits at apec
exhibition
Houston and murray hill, n.j., u.s.--(business wire)--waste management (nyse: wm) and linde north america will highlight how clean, renewable liquefied natural gas (lng) made from landfill gas and other biofuel sources can benefit the asia-pacific economies at the upcoming california apec 2011. under a joint venture company, linde and waste management own and operate the world’s largest biofuel plant, producing near-zero carbon liquid natural gas from landfill gas at the altamont landfill in northern california. the plant’s design production capacity of 13,000 gallons a day fuels nearly 300 of waste management’s lng collection trucks operating throughout california. linde north america is part of the linde group, a world leading gases and engineering company. waste management is north america’s largest waste management and environmental solutions company. the companies will be participating in a sustainable transportation exhibition being held today, at fedex field at the oakland airport. the event, hosted by the apec 2011 usa host committee, is part of the apec joint transport/energy ministerial meeting currently underway in san francisco. waste management and linde will discuss the benefits of the biofuel, including reductions in emissions and fossil fuel consumption. biofuel produced from landfill gas has been identified by argonne national labs as one of the lowest carbon emitting transport fuels; producing up to 98 percent fewer emissions than fossil fuel. “linde and waste management’s plant is a leading example of how advanced biofuels can be converted to transportation fuels right now and could displace billions of gallons of gasoline and diesel every year,” said earl lawson, head of energy solutions, linde north america. the biofuel displaces nearly 2.5 million gallons of diesel a year and eliminates an estimated 30,000 tons a year of transportation greenhouse gases – the equivalent of removing over 5,000 passenger cars from the road. nitrogen oxides (nox) are reduced by nearly 200 tons and particulate matter emissions by over four tons a year. lawson said, “linde is committed to developing environmental solutions that reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions. we believe our presence in many of the apec member economies, combined with our expertise in developing reliable alternative fuel solutions, can help build successful public-private partnerships that deliver efficient and sustainable alternatives to fossil fuels.” duane woods, senior vice president of waste management’s western group, said, “the altamont landfill lng plant reflects waste management’s commitment to extracting value from the waste stream to create higher use from waste materials. we are turning landfilled waste into the lowest carbon vehicle fuel. “by closing the loop on waste, we are reducing our demand for foreign fossil fuel and generating a clean, domestic fuel source for our collection fleet. reducing fleet emissions by 15 percent and increasing fuel efficiencies by 15 percent by 2020 is one of our corporate sustainability goals,” woods said. based on the success of this joint venture, waste management and linde north america are seeking to develop a second landfill gas to lng plant in southern california. woods said, “the lng plant is just one example of waste management’s ongoing sustainability initiatives. other renewable energy projects include waste-to-energy plants in apec-member countries china and the united states as well as investing in emerging thermal chemical and fermentation conversion technologies for managing waste.” about waste management waste management, inc., based in houston, texas, is the leading provider of comprehensive waste management services in north america. through its subsidiaries, the company provides collection, transfer, recycling and resource recovery, and disposal services. it is the largest residential recycler in north america and a leading developer, operator and owner of waste-to-energy and landfill gas-to-energy facilities in the united states. the company’s customers include residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers throughout north america. to learn more information about waste management, visit www.wm.com or www.thinkgreen.com. about linde the linde group is a world-leading gases and engineering company with around 49,100 employees working in more than 100 countries worldwide. in the 2010 financial year, it achieved sales of eur 12.9 billion (usd 17.9 billion). the strategy of the linde group is geared towards long-term profitable growth and focuses on the expansion of its international business with forward-looking products and services. linde acts responsibly towards its shareholders, business partners, employees, society and the environment – in every one of its business areas, regions and locations across the globe. linde is committed to technologies and products that unite the goals of customer value and sustainable development.
