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Teru Talk News

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Volume I, Issue 29, September 12, 2011
Teru Talk by Michael Theroux (pronounced "TerĂº") 

Teru's Trash Talk

Consider bacteria and fungi that live happily in panda guts, elephant intestines, water buffalo bellies, and don't forget to mention the Active Ingredient in termites. It's all "intestinal flora", the specialized microbes that eat wood and break it down to sugar-food that its host critter can use for fuel. Now we've figured out that we should be training those same bugs to work for us, taking the non-fermentable cellulose in plant cell walls and churning out things like butanol and succinic acid, bio-sourced foundation chemicals and drop-in fuel components. OK, I'm amazed.

 

So, that got me thinking about "wild" burros who were actually surviving escapees from pack trains dating back to the Spaniards in the 1500's. I've watched them eat their way right through waist-high cactus plants, inch-long spines and all. Scientifically dubbed Equus asinus, burros are apparently just about immune to most internal parasites. Jacks and Jennies tend to be less destructive than cattle, horses, humans, to fragile desert environs, but aren't "native", so have long been on the federal Hit-List for elimination from our southwest desert National Parks. As sure as there is Panda Poop, those hardy burros must have some serious wood-eating microbes inside, super-bugs capable of turning cactus thorns into desert candy.

 

You've seen it here first: Teru predicts the Next Big Source for finding those amazing bio-conversion microbes will be in steamin' heaps of Donkey Doo.

Hey Rube!

You probably did already, but if you didn't, take your hat off. Sunday was 9/11.

The Week's News

CEC Adopts 2011-2012 Investment Plan for Alternative and Renewable Fuels The California Energy Commission (CEC) last week unanimously adopted the state's third annual transportation energy Investment Plan (2011-2012) for the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program. 09/11/2011

 

EPA Bioresources Alliance Symposium – September 13-14 in Sacramento Region 9 of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will present the California Bioresources Alliance 6th Annual Symposium (formerly the "Pacific Southwest Organic Residuals Symposium") in Sacramento on September 13 and 14, 2011; Teru will cover the event. 09/11/2011

 

UK Seeks "Informal Evidence" from Stakeholders for Bio-Energy Strategy The United Kingdom's Department for Transport's September Newsletter has announced that they are assisting the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) in seeking stakeholder views over the coming months on the development of a formal bioenergy strategy. 09/11/2011

 

Gevo's 2nd Off-Take Agreement Part of Strategic Alliance with Mansfield Oil Colorado based isobutanol specialist company Gevo has entered a three-part strategic alliance with privately-held downstream oil firm Mansfield Oil Company (Mansfield). 09/09/2011

 

New Hampshire PUC Expands Program for Wood Pellet Central Heating Rebates The New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has expanded their residential Bulk-Fuel Wood Pellet Central Boilers and Furnaces program to include central heating systems that are housed outdoors. 09/09/2011

 

SITA UK Gets Approval for Integrated Recycling / Waste to Energy and Fuel Plant The integrated waste management firm SITA UK  has received approval from the Development Control (North) committee of the Bristol City Council to build an end-of-life plastics to diesel facility in Avonmouth, a port and suburb of Bristol, England, and to double the capacity of a previously approved recycling facility. 09/09/2011

 

New Earth Solutions Opens Solid Waste Treatment Facility in Avonmouth Dorset-based New Earth Solutions Group Ltd has announced formal opening of their largest waste treatment and resource recovery facility, located in Avonmouth near Bristol, England. 09/09/2011

 

Pursuit Dynamics to Install PDX ERS at 2nd Marquis Energy Ethanol Plant United Kingdom based Pursuit Dynamics (PDX) has announced its second agreement with Marquis Energy for installation of its Ethanol Reactor System (PDX ERS), this time in Marquis' Necedah, Wisconsin plant, which produces 70 million gallon/year corn ethanol, 181,000 ton/year dry distiller's grain solute (DDGS), and 1.4 million gallon per year corn oil. 09/08/2011

 

Primus Green Energy Expands Hillsborough Plant Drop-in Biofuels Capacity Primus Green Energy has expanded its main facility in Hillsborough, New Jersey, allowing scale-up completion of its biomass gasification and syngas upgrading processing train for production of drop-in bio-gasoline fuel. 09/08/2011

 

UK All-Party Group Releases "Rubbish to Resource" Report

The Associate Parliamentary Sustainable Resource Group (APSRG), an "all-party" organization established to encourage non-partisan debate in the United Kingdom (UK), has released its new research report "Rubbish to Resource: Financing New Waste Infrastructure". 09/08/2011

 

Microbes Generate Electricity While Cleaning Up Nuclear Waste

AgBioResearch microbiologists at Michigan State University have released their findings on research into how Geobacter bacteria can generate harvestable electricity while decontaminating nuclear waste. 09/08/2011

 

MagneGas to Supply Waste-Sourced Industrial Gas to Michigan Fabrication Plant Florida-based plasma arc company MagneGas Corporation will start supplying its liquid waste-sourced MagneGas to Mayo Welding and Fabrication in Royal Oak, Michigan, through its strategic partner, Blue Water Industrial Products. 09/07/2011

 

Diageo Submits Plans for 3rd Scotch Distillery Bioenergy Plant

Premium alcoholic drink company Diageo PLC announced expansion of their "sustainable scotch whisky" development with their third distillery-based bioenergy facility, upon submission of their planning application to Moray Council, Scotland. 09/07/2011

 

E.ON and Wheelabrator to Develop Sustainable Waste to Energy Plant At Kemsley Mill DS Smith Paper, the United Kingdom's (UK) largest waste paper recycling and paper manufacturing company, has announced that E.ON and Wheelabrator will develop and operate a new Sustainable Energy Plant that will be fueled with non-recyclable waste. 09/06/2011

 

Pacific Pyrolysis Accepts $4.5MM AU Support for Melbourne Biochar Plant The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) has announced that the Victorian Ministry for Energy and Resources (Agency) has offered conditional funding of $4.5 million AU to Pacific Pyrolysis Pty Ltd (PacPyro) under the Agency's Sustainable Energy Pilot Demonstration Program, implementing part of its Energy Technology Innovation Strategy. 09/06/2011

The Week's Action Items

Due 12/02/2011: Proposals to NSF for SBIR Program Phase I

The National Science Foundation (NSF) requests proposals for its Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program Phase I. 09/06/2011

 

Due 10/06/2011: Abstracts for PIER Emerging Technology

Due 12/22/2011: Final Proposals for PIER Emerging Technology

The California Energy Commission (CEC) through its Public Interest Energy Research (PIER) program is requesting proposals for the 2011 Emerging Technology Demonstration Grant Program, focusing on improving both electricity and natural gas energy efficiency for industrial, agricultural, water and wastewater, data centers, and customer-side energy storage applications and services. 09/06/2011

 

 

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Featured Events:

2011CHP Combined Heat and Power Conference & Trade Show  
CHP2011 COMBINED HEAT AND POWER CONFERENCE AND TRADE SHOW
October 17-19, 2011
Houston, Texas

Sacramento Clean Tech Showcase 
Clean Tech Showcase
October 24, 2011
Sacramento, California

 

 

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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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The Teru Talk Newsletter is published weekly or more or less frequently, primarily depending on what is going on in the world of waste conversion or ours.