Rentech's Integrated Bio-Refinery Project Mechanically Complete

The Wall Street Journal's MarketWatch
press release
Nov. 8, 2011, 9:00 a.m. EST

Cellulosic Fuels Production Expected by End of 2011

LOS ANGELES, Nov 08, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Rentech, Inc. /quotes/zigman/185313/quotes/nls/rtk RTK -4.38% announced today that all systems required to start up the Company's integrated bio-refinery (IBR) in Commerce City, Colorado are mechanically complete. Commissioning, validation and start-up of the renewable energy demonstration facility are underway. The project has reached this milestone within the original budget and schedule.

The IBR project was co-funded by a $23 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, to manufacture and install at the Rentech Energy Technology Center a 20 ton-per-day Rentech-ClearFuels biomass gasifier. The gasifier is designed to produce bio-synthesis gas from various high impact wood waste and sugar cane bagasse feedstocks. The gasifier has been integrated with Rentech's existing Product Demonstration Unit (PDU) at the site, which uses the Rentech Process and UOP's upgrading technologies to produce renewable drop-in synthetic jet and diesel fuels at demonstration scale. Rentech expects the integrated facility, which will have the flexibility to produce renewable syngas, hydrogen, and steam as well as biofuels, will be used to evaluate additional technology integration opportunities. Rentech funded the balance of the project's total cost of approximately $36 million, which includes the cost of building the gasifier, feedstock handling equipment, integration with Rentech's synthetic fuels plant, and operation of the facility for a period of 6 months to collect 2,000 hours of operating data. The project team responsible for meeting this important milestone for mechanical completion included URS Corporation, Linde Group/Hydro-Chem, Piper Electric Corporation and Ames Construction, Inc.

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