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Teru Talk News

Teru Talk Newsletter

Volume I, Issue 38, November 14, 2011 
Teru Talk by Michael Theroux (pronounced "Terú")  

Teru's Trash Talk

You have to pick your battles. Ask two questions: (1) What can I actually DO, in my time, to make a difference, and (2) How can I tell if I'm just spittin' into the wind? Allow me to lay one decision-point before you, and call it Carbon Marketing vs Resource Recovery.

 

Financial Magnates now make Carbon the new Gold Standard, charging industry and the citizenry for what they throw away into the air. Remember: we all are sources of carbon emissions, just some of us more than others … Meanwhile BofA sets up a whole new enterprise to be among the first in California's Carbon Market; I guess that's a good thing, right? Nobody's making much fuss about ground-disposal of our precious resources, not compared to the drive for reduction in air-borne carbon loading. I'll give you this: whatever else Climate Change really is, by now, it’s all about the Money.

 

Now, for MY money, I'd like to see us reducing "emission" of resources, slowing down and maybe reversing decades of "Waste Disposal." We've been doing our level best to use-once-and-throw-away everything we can get our grubby hands on, for several generations now. Reduce the manufacture of goods from virgin resources, and increase the manufacture of goods from recycled materials and recovered foundation molecules. Reuse and recovery could shift the paradigm, if we approached the task with as much zeal as is being expended on curtailing Carbon. I choose to focus on a different Carbon gambit: Stop Trashing Our Resources, and put 'em back into the market cycle instead of in holes in the ground. You gotta pick your battles… 

Hey Rube!

If you are planning to attend the West Coast Waste Conversion Congress in San Jose on December 6-7, give Teru a shout out: he'll be there, looking for those tasty News tid-bits to post and tweet. If you are going to be there, plan to say Howdy, and if you happen to be sittin' on a world-class Announcement, let's pre-plan a sit-down interview. Going or not, consider us your Ground Troops, and keep an eye on our coverage.

The Week's News

Update: Toilet Bike NEO Completes 1400 Kilometer Tour of Japan

Japanese toilet maker TOTO designed and built a motorcycle called NEO fueled by on-board generated biogas with a toilet for a seat, and Teru Talk covered the kick-off of the cross-Japan tour the day NEO's pictures became available. 11/13/2011

 

INEOS Bio Rolls Out Global Licensing for Waste-to-Bioenergy Technology Illinois-based INEOS Bio has announced the selection of the international engineering firm AMEC to provide engineering support for a global licensing program of its advanced thermal-to-microbial waste conversion processing technology platform. 11/12/2011

 

BlueFire Forms SucreSource to Supply Cellulosic Sugars for Advanced Biofuels California's BlueFire Renewables Inc. (BFRE) has announced formation of the wholly-owned subsidiary SucreSource, LLC to respond to increasing market demand for cellulosic sugars. 11/12/2011

 

The Waste Conversion Congress - West Coast, December 6-7, 2011 The Waste Conversion Congress - West Coast is the fourth in a global series of waste-focused events and will be held in San Jose, California on December 6 and 7, 2011. 11/11/2011

 

Rentech Meets Key Milestone for Colorado Integrated Biorefinery  California-based waste conversion firm Rentech Inc. has announced that its demonstration-scale Integrated Biorefinery (IBR) project in Commerce City, Colorado has been deemed "mechanically complete," and the commissioning phase is now underway. 11/10/2011

 

Carbon Matters: US Energy and Forest Policy Should be Based on Science   The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service's Pacific Northwest Research Station has released a study outlining new ideas and approaches to forest management for carbon sequestration, biomass use for energy, and climate benefits. 11/10/2011

 

IEA Releases 2011 Task 37 Reports on Energy from Biogas and Landfill Gas   The International Energy Agency (IEA) Task 37 working group focuses on the collection, sorting, biological treatment, gas upgrading, and gas utilization from digestion of the organic fraction of municipal solid waste and wastewater. 11/10/2011

 

City of Palo Alto Voters Approve Green Energy Bioconversion Plant   In a move designed to keep organic waste conversion local and decrease transport-related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, proponents announced that Measure E, the Palo Alto Green Energy and Compost Initiative, was approved by ballot vote. 11/10/2011

 

JEQ Publishes 16 New Articles on Environmental Benefits of Biochar The American Society of Agronomy's latest issue of the Journal of Environmental Quality (JEQ) has developed a special New Articles section this month on the Environmental Benefits of Biochar, providing free access to the pre-publication abstracts and full text of sixteen new professional papers covering the subject. 11/09/2011

 

ZooShare Hosts Open House to Seek Investors for Toronto Zoo Biogas Plant  The ZooShare Biogas Co-operative (ZooShare) is hosting an Open House on November 22, 2011 to provide information on investment opportunities in its innovative program supporting zoo waste conversion to renewable energy for the Toronto Zoo. 11/09/2011

 

ARC Starts Construction to Double GDiesel® Production Capacity

Nevada-based Advanced Refining Concepts (  ARC ) held a ground breaking ceremony this week to celebrate start of construction on Phases 3 and 4 of the firm's Peru Heights green-blend fuels refinery just south of Reno. 11/09/2011

 

GE's J316 Engines Turn Syngas from Italy's Wood Waste to Renewable Energy  General Electric (GE) has announced that two of its Jenbacher J316 gas engines are now generating electricity from synthetic fuel gas (syngas) at the new biomass cogeneration plant near Torino, Italy. 1 1/09/2011

 

DoD Releases Report on Alternative Fuels Use and Future Demand to Congress The US Department of Defense (DoD) has announced the release of "Opportunities for DoD Use of Alternative and Renewable Fuels: FY10 NDAA Section 334 Congressional Study". 11/08/2011

 

Algenol Builds Integrated Algae-to-Ethanol Pilot Biorefinery in Florida  Florida-based Algenol Biofuels' 36-acre pilot scale integrated biorefinery in Lee's County, Florida is under construction adjacent to its existing research and development complex. 11/08/2011

 

Dynamis Plans Spring Construction Start of Ada County Waste to Energy Plant  Idaho-based thermal conversion company Dynamis Energy was awarded a $2 million contract last year by Ada County to plan and design a waste to energy gasification plant with a capacity of not less than 250 tons per day.  11/08/2011

 

First License of LanzaTech's Waste Gas to Energy Technology Goes to CES  With demonstration projects and joint ventures around the globe, New Zealand-based LanzaTech has announced its first  commercial license agreement. 11/08/2011

 

MagneGas Completes Private Placement for Over $3 Million

MagneGas announced a $2.7 million private placement last month and Teru Talk reported on it. 11/08/2011

 

Australian School Bus Runs on Community Sourced Biodiesel

In Australia’s Upper Lachan region, the Gunning Public School bus is now running on biodiesel from conversion of locally-sourced waste vegetable oil (WVO), thanks to the assistance of resident engineer Ned Stojadinovic and contributions of about 400 litres of fish & chip WVO from one of the tiny community’s restaurants. 11/07/2011

The Week's Action Items

Due Now to 12/15/2015: Applications to NYSERDA for AD Biogas to Power Projects The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) announced dedication last week of up to $57 million in additional support of anaerobic digestion (AD) technology and project development. 11/12/2011

 

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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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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.