IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--BlueFire Ethanol Fuels, Inc. (OTC BB:BFRE - News), a company changing the world's transportation fuel paradigm through the production of ethanol from non-food cellulosic wastes, today announced a Technology Development Services Agreement with Dr. William Farone and his company Applied Power Concepts, Inc. Under the agreement, Dr. Farone will work with BlueFire Ethanol to continue the advancement of BlueFire's patented Arkenol technology for the production of cellulosic biofuel.

In 1997, Arkenol, Inc. patented a commercially viable system of transforming cellulosic waste into usable ethanol. BlueFire Ethanol is currently the holder of the exclusive North American license to employ this technology; as such the company is uniquely positioned to set the industry standard in converting waste materials - such as sorted municipal waste, wood waste, green waste, straws, switchgrass and corn stover - into biofuels.

As one of the author's of Arkenol's ten U.S. patents covering the concentrated acid hydrolysis technology, Dr. Farone rejoins co-author, BlueFire Ethanol Chief Technology Officer John Cuzens, to reestablish the original development team and further enhance the technology. The reunited team is planning several projects to further develop and enhance the Arkenol process to produce higher value cellulosic derived products for the biofuel market even as BlueFire's first commercial projects move forward to construction.

Dr. Farone has served as president and CEO of Applied Power Concepts (APC) since 1987 and has 40 years of experience in the development of commercial processes from laboratory and pilot plant studies. Previously, he served for sixteen years as director of research for two large multinational companies supervising hundreds of scientists and engineers. He has over 100 technical publications and patents in diverse areas such as electromagnetic phenomena, spectroscopy, chemical engineering and chemistry. He is the inventor of several products and processes in energy, biochemical and chemical technology.

BlueFire will conduct its development work at the APC facility lead by Dr. Farone. APC currently produces a variety of higher-value sugar-based chemicals in its 52,000 square foot facility housing many small scale chemical unit operations and a 3,000 square foot analytical laboratory fully staffed and instrumented to continue research projects for multiple clients.

John Cuzens said recently, "We are excited to bring the original process development team back together. Recent advancements in several technological areas offer the prospect of dramatic improvements to the base technology. This team is well suited to test and optimize these opportunities for a commercial advantage in today's biofuels market."

BlueFire is one of four ethanol companies awarded funding from the U.S. Department of Energy to construct ethanol production facilities and has received the first installment of its $40 million award for the development of the BlueFire Mecca, LLC plant. Unlike remote corn ethanol production plants, BlueFire's biorefineries will be located in markets with the highest demand for ethanol. This dramatically reduces delivery costs and increases biofuels supply, while providing a unique waste processing technology that helps cities better manage the problem of overflowing landfills.