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Volume I, Issue 20 -  July 11, 2011 
Teru Talk by Michael Theroux (pronounced "Terú") 

 

Teru's Trash Talk 
 

In a previous life, er, career, I was a Field Botanist, a plant ecologist, a plant taxonomist. I learned that a "weed" was best described as "a plant out of place". Following that idea, perhaps "waste" is a resource out of place. Now, a Plant Ecologist doesn't spend time moving a weed to its proper "place”. Yard Service (at my house, that's still me) comes along and puts that weed in its proper place: in the trash heap or at best, in the compost pile. At my house, the veggie part of what to others might be called Food Waste also goes into the compost; those radish tops aren't waste around here, they are food for the Compost Beasties. Next year, they'll be "repurposed" as mulch for the garden, to grow … more radishes.

 

Last week's Trash Talk ruminated on the ruckus to be raised by applying for a residential biogas plant permit. No such animal, but consider: the weed seeds I add will tend to go right through my meager composting process, but they'd never make it out the back end of a small digester. We've got 5.67 kWe of solar panels on our roof, spinning our meter backwards on sunny days; why not add a few more kilowatts on a 24/7 basis, cranking electrons out of a generator fueled with Biogas? Seems to work for a lot of less "sophisticated" folks than we … Like I've said before: we're not there yet. But we're getting there, we're getting there.

 

Hey Rube!

 

Keep an eye on California's under-construction Cap and Trade mechanism. We hear that pages A-64 thru A-66 (Section 95852.2 Emissions without a Compliance Obligation) of ARB's proposed regulations contain some serious discrepancies related to clean conversion of municipal solid waste sourced feedstock. Here we go again. 

 

The Week's Extra Reading 

 

Conversion technology: A complement to plastic recycling, an April 2011 publication funded by the American Chemical Council.

 

The Week's News 

 

Nipawin Biomass to Convert Mine Clearance Timber Waste to Ethanol A Memorandum of Understanding has been signed between Canadian companies Shore Gold Inc. and Nipawin Biomass Ethanol New Generation Co-operative Ltd., providing a feedstock supply to Nipawin Biomass for their cellulose-to-ethanol operations. 07/10/2011

 

CEC Awards $29+ Million to 7 Transportation Biofuels Projects

The California Energy Commission (CEC) has approved the award of more than $29 million for seven biofuels for transportation projects, totaling $29,675,072 funded through the Commission's Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program (AB 118). 07/10/2011

 

DOE Schedules Webinar on Renewable CHP Using Biomass Feedstock The US Department of Energy's (DOE) Gulf Coast Clean Energy Center (GC RAC) is hosting free webinars focused on Combined Heat and Power (CHP). 07/09/2011

 

MW Power Supplies Waste Heat Recovery Boiler to Vantaa WtE Plant

The Metso Corporation – Wärtsilä joint venture MW Power has been selected by Vantaan Energia to provide the heat recovery and steam generator (HRSG) for their 62 megawatt electric (MWe), 99 MW thermal waste-to-energy (WtE) plant under construction near Vantaa, Finland. 07/09/2011

 

AE Biofuels Acquires Zymetis and Z-microbe for Direct Biomass Conversion Cupertino, California based AE Biofuels has completed acquisition of Maryland-based Zymetis Inc., including their patented "Z-microbe". 07/09/2011 

 

Dynamotive, ROC, and CRC Partner with Virgin Australia for Aviation Biofuel Canadian pyrolysis specialist Dynamotive has announced their partnership with Virgin Australia airlines for development of sustainable aviation biofuel. 07/09/2011

 

Viridor Celebrates Transition to "Next Generation" Waste Management Viridor just celebrated the opening of the final landfill gas system installation as their turning point toward "next generation" waste management. 07/08/2011 

 

UK Organizations Launch Global Biogas Program

The trade organization Anaerobic Digestion and Biogas Association (ADBA) and the registered charitable organization Raleigh International Trust have teamed to launch a global biogas initiative promoting anaerobic digestion (AD) of organic household and farm waste for biogas production. 07/08/2011

 

Cambi THP Plant at Washington, DC WWTP Will Be World's Largest

Norwegian company Cambi AS will construct the first Cambi Thermal Hydrolysis Processing (THP) plant in the United States and their largest to date at the Blue Plains advanced wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in Washington, DC. 07/07/2011

 

ASTM Issues Bio-derived Component Revisions to Aviation Fuel Standard ASTM International (ASTM), formerly known as the American Society for Testing and Materials, has revised ASTM D7566-11, Specification for Aviation Turbine Fuel Containing Synthesized Hydrocarbons. 07/07/2011

 

French Enzyme Breakthrough for Continuous Biodiesel Production

Continuous economical production of biodiesel is now achievable, thanks to breakthrough enzyme work at the Paul Pascal research center of France's Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS). 07/07/2011

 

EPA Signs Final Biogenic CO2 Rule with Three Year Deferral

On July 1, 2011, the US Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson signed the "Deferral for CO2 Emissions from Bioenergy and Other Biogenic Sources under the Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) and Title V Programs: Final Rule", and has released the pre-publication version. 07/06/2011

 

Japanese Deep Sea Discovery May Impact Rare Earth Metals Recovery Prospects Japanese researchers published results of deep sea bed exploration in the current issue of the journal Nature Geoscience, showing that deep-sea mud (around 20,000 feet below the surface) contains high concentrations of rare-earth elements and yttrium at numerous sites throughout the eastern South and central North Pacific. 07/06/2011

 

New European Energy Fund to Support Small-Scale Renewable Projects The European Energy Efficiency Fund (EEEF) was launched July 1, 2011 in Bussels collaboratively by the European Commission, the European Investment Bank (EIB), the Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP), and Deutsche Bank. 07/06/2011

 

Vadxx Energy and Greenstar Recycling JV for Waste Plastics to Crude Ohio-based Vadxx Energy and Texas company Greenstar Recycling are forming a joint venture (JV) for conversion of post-recycling waste plastics to synthetic crude oil. 07/05/2011

 

Tetronics Targeting Precious Metal Recovery from E-Waste through Plasma UK's Tetronics Ltd has entered into a partnership with Taiwan precious metal refining company Solar Applied Materials Technology Corporation to investigate opportunities to use plasma for extraction of precious metals from electronic wastes and industrial / automotive catalysts. 07/05/2011

 

Neutral Fuels to Make Biodiesel from McDonald's UAE Waste Cooking Oil McDonald's used cooking oil from across the United Arab Emirate (UAE) will be collected for Dubai-based Neutral Fuels LLC to convert into biodiesel under a long-term contract. McDonald's UAE will use the 100% biodiesel in their fleet vehicles. 07/05/2011

 

The Week's Action Items

 

Due 07/21/2011: Intent to Offer on SCE ES&M 2011 All Source RFO

Southern California Edison has issued a 2011 Energy Source and Management Power (ES&M) All Source Request for Offer (RFO) with participation requirements, documents to be submitted, and a detailed schedule of required submittals. 07/08/2011

 

Due 08/19/2011: Project Proposals with New Emissions Reduction Technologies The San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District (SJVAPCD) in California has released a Request for Proposals (RFP) under their Technology Advancement Program (TAP). 07/10/2011


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Teru Talk is an online publication of JDMT, Inc with the goal of opening the dialogue and providing current news and commentary on issues and successes associated with waste conversion to renewable energy, biofuels and other bio-based products for resource recovery.

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