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Teru Talk News

Teru Talk Newsletter

Volume II, Issue 15, April 9, 2012 
Teru Talk by Michael Theroux (pronounced "Terú")  

Teru's Trash Talk

New York grabs an idea, puts some serious money to it, and pretty soon, another waste problem becomes an energy-fuel-commodity benefit. California gets a waste conversion program going, and then finds ways to either study the thing to death or so complicate the pathway that nobody can make it through to project completion. Now, is that really necessary? Californians live in such a pretty place; too bad it is almost impossible to get anything done.

 

Ah, well, we learn to work with what's at hand, I suppose. And at hand, still, are veritable mountains of waste generated by the megaton in our teeming cities, resources we all pay for when we purchase, and continue to pay for after disposal. Now, a lot of people are seriously struggling to make ends meet and have been for quite some time. Before these same people have to break up the furniture to feed the furnace, all of us need to ask our Leaders why we aren't communally converting every last scrap of waste back into Goods or Energy. Here's one for you to consider: India is busy putting in literally hundreds of thousands of small-scale anaerobic digesters at farms and residences, converting veggie waste and poop to cooking fuel and power. Try getting THAT past your local planning department.

 

The technical tools are out there to turn just about anything we're done using back into stuff we need. And we can't continue the old gripe that "nobody does this" when global communications let us watch over our neighbor's shoulder to see indeed how they are converting their waste and residues into heat and power, fuel and chemicals, whether that neighbor is in Edinburgh or East Lansing. Let's face it. The only thing missing is Political Will.

Hey Rube!

Agencies around the San Francisco Bay have been trying to figure out what can be done with the left-overs from their wastewater treatment plants, pushing for conversion of the residues into energy, while getting pushed to cut greenhouse gas emissions. The Bay Area Biosolids to Energy (BAB2E) Coalition now tallies over 20 sewage plant agencies. They have gathered their collective wits and issued a Request for Qualifications (see Action Items below) to see what companies and methods might be brought to bear on the quandary. If that many agencies are willing to sit around a table and seek common solutions, our industrial sector needs to respond whole-heartedly. Think Big: we have the opportunity here to envision and implement a world-class example of integrated, collaborative Waste Conversion.

The Week's News

USDA, DOE, Navy Will Host Advanced Biofuels Industry Roundtable

US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack has announced an Advanced Biofuels Industry Roundtable in Washington D.C. on May 18, 2012 being hosted by the USDA, the Department of Energy, and the Department of Navy. 04/07/2012

 

Oregon DEQ Releases Agenda for April 12th Meeting on CT Rulemaking

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is engaged in a Rulemaking to define and establish guidelines for Conversion Technologies, or CTs, and has posted an Agenda and supportive documents in preparation for its April 12, 2012 Advisory Meeting. 04/07/2012

 

Rentricity Receives NYSERDA Funds for Wastewater to Energy Recovery Designs  New York City-based renewable energy company Rentricity Inc. has announced receipt of funding from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) to further develop energy recovery systems for wastewater treatment plants. 04/06/2012

 

Viridor Starts Construction Phase for Trident Park WtE Facility in Wales

The United Kingdom (UK) waste management and resource recovery firm Viridor has announced signing an agreement with a joint venture between the French waste-to-energy (WtE) specialist firm CNIM and UK/Irish company Lagan Construction for construction of the Trident Park WtE combined heat and power (CHP) plant in Cardiff, Wales. 04/05/2012

 

SITA UK Awarded Long-Term Supply Contract for RWE's Scotland Biomass Plant  SITA UK has announced securing a long-term recovered wood supply contract to provide up to 50% of demand to RWE's £200 million biomass combined heat and power (CHP) plant near the town of Markinch, at Fife, Scotland. 04/05/2012

 

WRAP Launches Wood Waste Quality Standards

The United Kingdom (UK) Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) has announced completion and release of the country's first quality guidance for recovered wood waste) in collaboration with the UK's Wood Recycler's Association (WRA) and many other agencies, industries and associations. 04/05/2012

 

Technip and CIMV Sign Collaboration Agreement for Biomass to Chemicals

France's engineering and construction global giant Technip has signed an agreement with the Compagnie Industrielle de la Matière Végétale (CIMV) to collaborate on commercialization of CIMV's non- food biomass-sourced green chemistry process. 04/05/2012

 

Some Questions Answered on CEC Suspension of RPS Eligibility of Biomethane

The California Energy Commission (CEC) has published the final version of Resolution No. 12-0328-3 documenting the March 28, 2012 suspension of Renewables Portfolio Standard (RPS) eligibility of biomethane. 04/04/2012

 

Lakeside Energy Makes Strategic Equity Investment in InEnTec

Oregon based InEnTec, Inc has announced that Lakeside Energy LLC of Chicago has made a strategic equity investment in the company, and is now a significant shareholder in InEnTec. 04/04/2012

 

Cereplast Bioplastic Receives 3rd Party LCA Validation of Low Impact

California based Cereplast has announced that a third-party Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of its Hybrid 101 Bioplastic finds the environmental impact of energy and materials used, wastes generated and emissions released to be substantially less than for all petroleum-sourced "conventional" plastics. 04/03/2012

 

Wheelabrator, SSE form JV for Waste to Combined Heat and Power Plant

United Kingdom energy company Scottish Southern Energy plc (SSE) has announced formation of Multifuel Energy Ltd (MFE), a 50/50% joint venture (JV) with US-based Wheelabrator Technologies Inc. to develop a £300m, 68 megawatt electric (MWe) waste to combined heat and power (CHP) plant. 04/03/2012

 

Viridor Starts Construction on £10 million Food Waste Plant

United Kingdom waste management and recycling company Viridor has announced start of construction on a food waste processing and anaerobic digestion (AD) conversion facility at the company's Walpole landfill site near Bridgewater. 04/02/2012

 

Sapphire Energy Raises $144MM in Series C Funding Round

San Diego-based algae-to-biofuel company Sapphire Energy, Inc has announced it has secured the final tranche of a $144 million Series C funding from investors including Arrowpoint Partners, Monsanto, and all of its major Series B investors. 04/02/2012

The Week's Action Items

Due 05/01/2012: LOI to DOE for Bio-Oil Stabilization and Commoditization R

The US Department of Energy (DOE) has announced the availability of up to $15 million for support of research and development (R&D) of thermochemical liquefaction technologies to produce a bio-oil that can be blended with traditional petroleum fuel products and integrated into existing oil refinery processes. 04/06/2012

Due 06/19/2012: Qualifications for Bay Area Biosolids to Energy Project
The Bay Area Biosolids to Energy (BAB2E) Coalition has released a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) to pre-qualify proposers for one or more design-build-own-operate (DBOO) contracts at Coalition facilities. 04/06/2012

Due 06/19/2012: IIP-SBIR Proposals to NSF for Bioenergy, Biomaterials

The National Science Foundation issued Request for Proposals 12-548 on March 22, 2012 under the Industrial Innovations and Partnerships (IIP), Small Business Innovative Research program (SBIR). 04/02/2012

 

 

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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.