Flambeau to receive DoE grant for Park Falls biofuel plant

Park Falls, Wis. — Flambeau River BioFuels announced today a federal Department of Energy grant toward the construction of a biofuels refinery at a pulp and paper mill in Park Falls. The grant could total $30 million pending negotiation of the final amount.

The firm's plans are for an $84 million plant that will produce 6 million gallons of sulfur-free diesel per year, as well as providing 1 trillion BTUs per year of heat to the adjoining pulp and paper mill, allowing the mill to operate without burning fossil fuels. This will be the first paper mill to be powered in this way, according to a press release from the company. The plant will burn byproducts from forest and agricultural sources, not feedstock.

The plant will first gasify forest and agricultural wastes at high temperature, then convert the gas to diesel using the Fischer-Tropsch process, which changes gases containing carbon monoxide and hydrogen into liquid hydrocarbons—substitutes for petroleum products. It is expected to open in 2010.