New Partnership Helps Commercial Kitchens Recycle Trap Grease, Save Money

PHILADELPHIA, Jan. 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Through a partnership between BlackGold Biofuels and SLM Facility Solutions Nationwide, restaurants around the country will soon be able to more easily recycle greasy kitchen waste while saving money.

BlackGold and SLM have formed a strategic partnership to provide more cost effective recycling options for hospitality-industry wastes. The relationship will enable restaurants, food processors, and other buildings with food service to send liquid waste from their kitchen drains and grease traps to be recycled into biofuels, with no additional cost or operational complexity.

BlackGold Biofuels operates liquid waste recycling facilities that use a patented process to extract and recycle residual fats, oils, and greases from kitchen wastewater into biodiesel. SLM is positioned nationwide within the hospitality industry, providing the management and consolidation of grease trap and jetting services for commercial kitchens, including the management and diversion of waste streams. Through the partnership, SLM's clients are able to recycle their grease trap waste, advancing client sustainability initiatives and community stewardship programs without increasing costs.

"This partnership streamlines the recycling process for restaurants by increasing access to BlackGold's innovative wastewater service," said Emily Landsburg, CEO of BlackGold Biofuels. "In partnership with SLM, we have identified both the most cost effective and best use for wastewater materials, eliminating confusion and headaches for kitchens and waste-haulers."

Currently in the U.S., grease trap waste is often landfilled or spread on fields. The material can be sent to anaerobic digestion to produce biogas for energy use, but the digestion process results in the loss of more than 70% of the energy contained in the grease, and few facilities have the expensive infrastructure to convert it into energy. While the grease can be used in limited applications as a heavy industrial fuel, EPA limits on fuel sulfur concentrations will soon make it obsolete.

BlackGold developed a breakthrough chemical process to convert the trash-ridden and highly variable waste into biodiesel that meets the national ASTM specifications and the EPA's ultra low sulfur requirements. Approximately 80% of the energy content in the waste is recovered. Biodiesel is a low-carbon, low-emission, nontoxic renewable diesel fuel that can be used anywhere petroleum diesel is used, including vehicles, home heating, boilers, and construction equipment.

"Our clients have long sought ways to further increase sustainability, and SLM has a successful track record of helping them achieve this in a cost-effective manner," said Susan Daywitt, CEO and Founder of SLM. "We selected BlackGold as our recycling partner because of their focus on sustainability paired with the technology, financing, and reach to offer this on a national scale to our clients."

SLM has over 15,000 clients throughout the country. SLM will direct its vendors to recycle their clients' waste with BlackGold in areas where BlackGold has established recycling facilities that are close enough to SLM clients to be cost-effective. BlackGold is building a network of recycling facilities throughout the U.S, with initial focus on the southeast and mid-Atlantic. BlackGold's receiving facilities process the material into an intermediate product, which is then converted into biodiesel at centralized facilities, allowing waste to be aggregated from a broad geographic area while minimizing environmental and financial freight costs. As threshold volumes are achieved in the receiving facilities, more conversion facilities will be built and the network will grow. As new facilities are built, more of SLM's clients will be able to access to this innovative recycling program.

About SLM – Facilities Solutions Nationwide:

SLM provides facilities management services in the areas of waste and recycling, including  infectious waste; grease trap pumping and jetting, cooking oil grease; kitchen exhaust; and parking lot power washing/sweeping.  Available nationwide, SLM's services reduce client costs an average of 25%. SLM partners with facility managers to assure their properties run smoother to enhance profitability, and, because SLM is available 24/7/365, ultimately helps de-stress clients' lives. For more information, call 888-847-4449 or visit www.slmwaste.com.

About BlackGold Biofuels: BlackGold Biofuels specializes in resource recovery from wastewater streams, focusing on the recycling of fat, oil, and grease-laden wastewaters from commercial kitchens, food processors, and sewers. BlackGold developed and patented a chemical process to convert these greases into biodiesel, a low-carbon diesel fuel. The company's first customer, the City of San Francisco, installed the first sewer grease to biodiesel facility in the country at its municipal wastewater treatment plant in 2010. BlackGold is headquartered in Philadelphia, PA. More information can be found at www.BlackGoldbiofuels.com, by calling 215-253-5844, or by e-mailing [email protected].

SOURCE BlackGold Biofuels