Volume I, Issue
24
-
August 8,
2011
Teru Talk
by Michael Theroux
(pronounced
"Terú")
Teru's Trash
Talk
What
is sustainable and how
do we get
it?
Ahhh
… there's the rub. To
get from the concept of
sustainability to the
implementation of
sustainable activities,
we need to compare
against something,
usually the status quo.
We need to develop
better, more
sustainable, ways
to manage what we are
trying to accomplish.
We need to establish
Best Management
Practices, fondly
referred to as
BMPs.
Now,
a BMP for erosion
control may be a
well-placed straw
wattle, while a BMP for
forest practices may
relate to the amount of
duff and down timber
left on the forest
floor. Waste Management
BMPs include an aspect
of timing:
things tend to rot
rather obnoxiously if
left in a pile for more
than three
days.
Gather
all those BMPs
together and you
have a Best
Practices Manual,
something to read,
to follow, and
against which to
weigh proposed
activities. Figure
out what the
priorities are, and
you should be able
to compile sets of
reasonable
Standards. Right
now, all around the
planet, everyone is
trying to develop
Sustainability
Standards for
transport fuels,
mostly for
biomass-sourced
fuels or
biofuels. We
may all be coming up
with different
command and control
approaches, but the
United Nations
comparison of the
23-or-so biofuel
sustainability
schemes show
that all aim for a
longer, more
sustainable
perspective on how
the world fuel
market operates. We
may not agree on
how, but we
agree that there
must be a better
way.
The
US EPA says, "The
traditional
definition of
sustainability calls
for policies and
strategies that meet
society’s present
needs without
compromising the
ability of future
generations to meet
their own needs …
Sustainable
development reflects
not the trade-off
between business and
the environment but
the synergy between
them."
Can
Good Business and
Environmentalism exist
synergistically?
It
must.
Hey
Rube!
Speaking of Sustainable
Biofuel Schemes, California
is not to be out-done
(surprise!). The Air
Resources Board is about
half way through the Low
Carbon Fuel Standard
(LCFS) and is seeking
stakeholder (that's
everybody) input. Read our
"Interim Guide to the LCFS"
(see link below), come up
with your own take on how
sustainable fuels
should play out
economically and
environmentally and … tell
'em.
The Week's Extra
Reading
Teru
submitted
comments
to the
ARB on LCFS
Sustainability
Principles 4, 5, 6, and
7 last Friday, and has
just finished an article
that you will want to
see,
Interim
Guide to the
LCFS,
Making
Sense of California's
Low Carbon Fuel
Standard.
Teru
is a member of the
California LCFS
Sustainability
Workgroup.
The Week's
News
Tool
Predicts Final Emissions
Toxicity Variations from
Biofuel Production
Methods
A computational chemist at
the University of
Copenhagen has developed a
mathematical model that
helps predict the fate of
biofuel molecules once they
enter the atmosphere.
08/06/2011
University of
Miami Scientists Track
Ethanol BioFuel
Emissions in the
Atmosphere
Scientists at the
Rosenstiel School of Marine
& Atmospheric Science,
University of Miami have
developed methods to track
individual molecules of
vehicular emissions in the
air by the unique isotopic
carbon signatures.
08/06/2011
Glycerine-Fueled
CHP Module Delivered for
28-Home Eco-Complex in
UK
The
first commercial module of
a glycerine-fired combined
heat and power (CHP) system
has been delivered by
Aquafuel Research to 28
"eco-homes" in Essex,
United Kingdom (UK).
08/06/2011
HECO
Signs Agreement with
Pacific Biodiesel for
250K GPY Biodiesel
Supply
Hawaiian Electric Company
(HECO) has signed a 3-year
contract with renewal
options with Pacific
Biodiesel, Inc to supply of
250,000 gallons per year
(GPY) of biodiesel.
08/06/2011
Oneida's
Waste Conversion to
Energy Project Passes
First Environmental
Hurdle
The US Department of Energy
(DOE) has found that there
will be no significant
negative impacts for the
waste conversion for energy
recovery project proposed
by the tribally-chartered
and owned Oneida Seven
Generations Corporation.
08/05/2011
United
Nations FAO Releases
Compilation of Biofuels
Sustainability
Initiatives
The United Nations Food and
Agriculture Organization
(FAO) "Bioenergy and Food
Security Criteria and
Indicators (BEFSCI)"
project has developed and
released a detailed
Compilation of Bioenergy
Sustainability Initiatives
associated with the
production of biofuels or
of specific biofuel
feedstocks.
08/05/2011
Amyris
Partners with Kuraray
for Bio-Polymer
Development
California-based
bioproducts company Amyris
Inc. has signed a
collaboration agreement
with Japanese polymer
chemistry specialists
Kuraray Co. Ltd to develop
petroleum-replacement uses
for Amyris' renewable
hydrocarbon building block
product
BiofeneTM.
08/05/2011
PowerHouse
Intends to Acquire
Pyromex' Thermal
Conversion
Technology
United Kingdom based
PowerHouse Energy Group
plc, licensee and 30%
equity holder in Swiss
company Pyromex Holdings
AG, has announced their
intent to acquire the
remaining equity interest
in Pyromex in a structured
buy-out.
08/04/2011
EESI
Holds Briefing on
Defense Department's
Renewable Energy
Usage
The Environmental and
Energy Study Institute
(EESI) in collaboration
with E3G and Operation Free
staged a briefing last week
in Washington DC entitled,
"More Fight, Less Fuel: The
Defense Department's
Deployment of Energy
Efficiency and Renewable
Energy."
08/03/2011
MagneGas
JV to Build $29.8MM
Liquid Waste to Syngas
Plant in
China
Florida-based plasma
company MagneGas
Corporation's joint venture
with Chinese firm DDI
Industry International,
MagneGas Technology Beijing
Company Ltd., signed a
letter of intent ("LOI")
with Nanjing City
Industrial Park for
construction of a $29.8
million fuel gas production
center in Nanjing City
within the next two years.
08/03/2011
Future
Biogas Evaluates PDX
Pre-Treatment for New UK
Biogas
Plant
The German anaerobic
digestion firm Future
Biogas has entered into an
agreement with Pursuit
Dynamics (PDX) to use their
supersonic vaporization /
shockwave technology for
pre-treatment of dedicated
energy crop biomass.
08/02/2011
WRAP
Compares Cost of
Alternative Waste
Treatment Options in New
Report
The United Kingdom's (UK)
Waste & Resources
Action Programme (WRAP) has
released their 2011 Gate
Fees report, this year
focused on Comparing the
Cost of Alternative Waste
Treatment Options.
08/02/2011
Researchers
Develop New Catalyst for
Single-Step Bio-Ethanol
to
Isobutene
US Department of Energy's
Pacific Northwest National
Laboratory (PNNL) and
Washington State University
(WSU) researchers have
developed a new catalyst
material for single-step
conversion of biomass
sourced ethanol to
isobutene, a high-octane
fuel additive also critical
for manufacturing many
green chemicals
(biochemicals).
08/02/2011
Sustainable
Development Technology
Canada Funds Clean Tech
Projects
The non-profit foundation
Sustainable Development
Technology Canada (SDTC)
has announced 17 companies
that will be receiving
funding for clean
technology development.
08/01/2011
VärmlandsMetanol
Selects Uhde for Swedish
Biomass-to-Methanol
Plant
Uhde, a ThyssenKrupp
company specializing in the
PRENFLO gasification
process, has been selected
by VärmlandsMetanol AB as
technology supplier and
turnkey engineering,
contracting and procurement
(EPC) contractor for a
planned 100,000 annual
tonnes fuel grade methanol
plant in Hagsfors, in the
forest-rich Värmlands
region of Sweden.
08/01/2011
Enerkem
Closes Another Financing
Round for $29
Million
Canadian waste-to-fuels
company Enerkem has
completed another round of
equity and debt financing
totaling C$29 million.
08/01/2011
The
Week's Action
Items
Due
08/15/2011: Stakeholder
Comments to ARB LCFS
Workplan Version
2
The
California Air Resources
Board (ARB) has requested
public comment toward a key
document of the Low Carbon
Fuel Standard (LCFS), the
Version 2 Workplan
developed by the LCFS
Advisory Panel.
08/05/2011
