NEWS RELEASE

Defense Logistics Agency 

Office of Public Affairs 

8725 John J. Kingman Road, Suite 2545

Fort Belvoir, VA 22060-6221

(703) 767-6200

www.dla.mil

For Immediate Release: October 2, 2008 

DLA 09-01 

Media Contact: Defense Energy Support Center / Kelly Widener, Comm: (703) 767-5042

 Kelly.Widener@dla.mil 

Defense Energy Support Center and Army test turning waste into fuel 

Ft. Belvoir, Va. – Going Green takes a scientific leap forward as the Defense Energy Support 

Center and Army team together to test a new initiative to turn waste into fuel. 

The prototype project involves a partnership with Bell BioEnergy Inc., Tifton, Ga., which is 

providing biomass test units to six participating Army installations and one Defense Logistics 

Agency site. The biomass test units employ new technologies to turn biodegradable waste into fuel, 

soil and other marketable products. DESC will test and evaluate these products to determine their 

potential use as diesel fuel. 

“The ability to turn biodegradable waste into fuel has the potential to significantly reduce the 

Army's logistical footprint,” said Paul Bollinger, deputy assistant secretary of the Army for Energy 

and Partnerships. “By reducing our energy requirements at installations or Forward Operating 

Bases, we will enhance our energy security and make the Army more expeditionary. That’s exactly 

what the Army requires to prevail in 21st century conflicts.” 

The units operate by breaking down biowaste products through a bacterial action with the potential 

capability of producing longer, unique hydrocarbon strands. This bacterial action occurs while 

releasing oil, which can then be processed to useable fuel; in this case diesel fuel is the target result. 

Additionally, one of the by products made from the process is potting soil that can be used on Army 

installations. 

“The Department of Defense is committed to reducing the U.S. military’s dependence on fossil 

fuels and reducing our operational footprint in the environment,” said DESC Director Kim Huntley. 

“This prototype project is an important step to achieving this goal. This shows that the Department 

of Defense is committed to pushing the frontiers of science to ensure energy security for our 

military and a clean environment for our country and, indeed, the world.” 

Each mobile test unit is comprised of a 45-foot trailer with 10 reactor units, 10 fuel receivers and a 

control office. The control office staff will record and analyze the biodegradable waste, bacterial 

strain, fuel output and energy inputs. 

DESC and BioEnergy specialists will oversee testing to ascertain and validate the hydrocarbon 

types produced by the test units and establish whether the fuel produced is usable. Testing will be 

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conducted for one year before determining if the fuel output and waste breakdown is successful and 

ready for equipment testing. 

DESC will reimburse the supporting Army installations for variable costs incurred with the new 

units, such as increased electricity and water charges for unit operations. However, installations will 

be able to provide the unit biowaste materials, which otherwise would be sent to landfills, thereby 

helping the Army to achieve its goal of environmental sustainability. 

“Ultimately, the biomass units will allow us to reduce what goes into our landfill, reduce 

greenhouse gases and, most importantly, reduce our operational footprint in the environment,” said 

Huntley. 

DESC and Army officials plan to place the first mobile biomass unit at Fort Stewart, Ga., in 

October. Other installations scheduled to participate are Fort A.P. Hill, Va., Fort Bragg, N.C., Fort 

Benning, Ga., Fort Lewis, Wash., and Fort Drum, N.Y. One unit will also operate at the Defense 

Fuel Support Point San Pedro, Calif. 

“There are, necessarily, calculated risks when developing any new technology,” Huntley said. “But 

it is through these types of forward-looking initiatives and calculated risks that great discoveries are 

made and progress is achieved. We owe it to our environment, our military forces, and future 

generations to keep moving forward in these efforts.” 

The Defense Energy Support Center is a field activity of the Defense Logistics Agency. DESC is 

responsible for providing the Department of Defense and other government agencies with 

comprehensive energy solutions and ensuring continuous energy support to America’s warfighters 

worldwide. 

The Defense Logistics Agency is DOD’s largest logistics combat support agency. It provides supply 

support and technical and logistics services to the U.S. military services and several federal civilian 

agencies. Headquartered at Fort Belvoir, Va., the agency is the one source for nearly every 

consumable item, whether for combat readiness, emergency preparedness or day-to-day operations, 

inside the Department of Defense. For more information on DLA, please visit www.dla.mil. 

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