I must being this post with a disclaimer. MXI was founded and grown by my father and I currently work for him. While some can call this essentially a fluff piece about our company, I'm very proud of our distillation program and am honored to rave about it.
Our company takes waste streams containing alcohol, such a beer, wine, perfume, and mouth wash, captures the alcohol and refines it into FUEL GRADE ETHANOL. We take trash, most of which would be poured down a drain (like beer and wine) or incinerated, and turn it into a viable, DOMESTICALLY PRODUCED, fuel source. Unlike corn-based ethanol (which some researchers claim the processes uses more than 1 gallon of gas for each gallon of ethanol create) ours does not come at the expense of food production. We are recycling waste in a way never done before and prodiving our country with an additional stream of fuel production; something it needs desperately.
MXI began as a trucking company that specialized in transporting hazardous waste. In the mid-90's MXI began to diversify in the environmental management field which eventually led to the creation of the sister company MXI Environmental. MXI Environmental began recieving significant amounts of alcohol-based waste, mostly perfume, which it processed for disposal. But CEO Ron Potter saw more than just waste being prepared for incineration. "I saw all this alcohol in this perfume being thrown away, which, in my eyes, was a waste and a shame. I knew there was a way to use it and I knew there was a market developing for it. So I began to read about the process of distillation and started my journey to find a way to make it happen."
MXI began building a distillation column in early 2001 and was operation by September of that year. The column itself was purchased from a former distiller of rum in Puerto Rico. Tony Skeen, at the time local contractor who specialized in metalwork, was hired to install the distillation column and develop the complex piping system necessary to run it. After completion Tony was hired as the Head of Operations for the Ethanol Division. "After finishing the column I was hoping I could play some king of role, in maintainence or anywhere, because I thought this was such an innovative idea. I wanted to be a part of it. So, needless to say, I was floored when Ron asked me to oversee it."
The initial column had the capacity to produce 4000 gallons of 190 proof ethanol per day. That was initially sold to a refinery which processed it into fuel grade ethanol.
Despite some initially obstacles, Mr. Skeen had the column processing ethanol faster than we could find usable waste streams within two years of completing the project. "Every year we increased production until finally we were doing too well. When Ron told us we needed to cut back, I told him to get off the phone with me and find some more alcohol-based waste! So, after a 1 day stint on unemployment, Ron hired me back again!" But that's exactly what MXI did.
In 2005, MXI purchased a piece of equipment called a Molecular Sieve, a machine capable of processing our ethanol into 200 proof fuel grade ethanol. In 2007 a new column purchased and installed that more than doubled capacity to 8600 gallons of ethanol per day.
Today we are capable of holdings 112,000 gallons of raw material and 26,000 gallons of 200 proof storage. Our ethanol is sold to Wawa's fuel division, amongst others.
Not only is this a great way to domestically produce fuel, it is also a service to our customer. Since we use their waste as a fuel source, they are subject to large tax incentives and less regulatory hassles.
We are currently close to reaching our goal of operating at full capacity and we are excited about the future of what is in store for our Ethanol Division.
UPDATE: The calculations for our Hydrogen Fuel Cell question is in the process of being worked out.
Check out the site next week. I will be profiling Hemp and hemp oil a potential energy source!
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