By Luci Scott | Arizona Builder’s Exchange
A $15M fuel-refining tower could be built near Snowflake using a newly patented process that converts coal to crude oil without completely destroying the coal, a technology that the inventor calls “a major breakthrough” that could spread worldwide.
Another $5M would go toward design, engineering and permitting for the project.
The new structure, which would be roughly the size of the new State Farm building on Tempe Town Lake, would be built next to the existing biomass plant that converts wood waste to energy. That plant is owned by Novo BioPower, a renewable energy company.
The new plant is a joint venture between Novo and Scottsdale-based Frontier Applied Sciences, or FAS. The two companies would build and operate the new structure, which would be a commercial prototype that could be replicated around the world. Once the new plant is built, venture officials hope to use part of the existing plant as a research and development center.
