A Bryan-based company has received $2.75 million from the state to expand its technology that turns garbage into gasoline.
The biofuel company Terrabon received the grant from the Texas' Emerging Technology Fund, which is given at the discretion of Gov. Rick Perry to create jobs and spark investment in technology fields.
The company compares its technology, called MixAlco, to a cow's stomach. Cows use organisms in soil to turn their food into vinegar, which gives them energy. MixAlco collects materials that go to a landfill -- sewage, food scraps, garbage, manure and agricultural residue -- and creates vinegar, which is then processed by traditional petrochemical technology into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and other products.
Terrabon, which has grown from one employee to 30 in the past 15 months, operates a demonstration facility in Bryan off Mumford Road that successfully produces the vinegar. It has obtained partnerships with Valero Energy Corporation and Waste Management in hopes of expanding the technology for mainstream use.
"It is the company's hope that Terrabon will be able to recruit and hire more employees in Bryan as it continues to grow, and the Texas Emerging Technology Fund investment will certainly help in their efforts to do so," said, Molly Smith, a Terrabon spokeswoman.
The grant also will allow the company -- which has an office in Houston and another in Bryan off Colson Road -- to perfect its processes and begin that expansion, Smith said.
"As our population grows by about 1,000 people a day, we must take steps to ensure our energy supply keeps up with increasing demand," Perry said in a statement. "Now is the time to tackle that challenge, and we're using the Texas Emerging Technology Fund and this investment in Terrabon's biofuels technology as a key tool in that effort."
Terrabon was formed in 1995 with the goal of commercializing technology developed by the Texas Engineering Experiment Station, officials said. A&M researchers still are involved in the project.
"The funding is Terrabon exclusive, but the company plans to use a portion of the funds to conduct more research with the Texas A&M System in the area of biofuel technology development," Smith said.
Perry made the announcement last week while in Laredo, where he touted the benefits of a water treatment project that is expected to purify 50,000 gallons per day of brackish water for potable use in the city's water supply system using Terrabon technology.
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