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Teru Talk News

Teru Talk Newsletter

Volume II, Issue 19, May 7, 2012 
Teru Talk by Michael Theroux (pronounced "TerĂº")  

Teru's Trash Talk

Let's consider some of the most common characteristics for industrial application of waste / biomass-fueled, small-scale distributed systems for generation of combined heating, cooling, power and/or other commodities. Industries, institutions and agencies with most of the following conditions should be thinking hard about the sustainability gains and money to be saved by implementing high-efficiency, low-emissions waste and biomass driven systems:

  • Operations regularly generate significant volumes of degradable organic wastes and/or bi-products which require costly management;
  • Options for waste/bi-product recovery as a resource are limited, while incentives (economic or otherwise) would encourage increased recovery;
  • The costs of transport of waste/bi-product from the industrial operation to other means of waste management dictate the need for close proximity of feedstock source to conversion system;
  • The generation of the wastes and/or bi-products can be characterized and audited for variability in composition and management costs;
  • The costs and/or availability of energy (electricity and/or heat) are presently substantial and restrictive;
  • Distributed generation systems capable of providing 25 kilowatts to perhaps one megawatt of electricity from conversion of organic wastes and residuals are available, and could be integrated with existing operations;
  • A need for heat production is inherent to one or more stages of the industrial operation, and the waste conversion / power generation systems can be co-located with demand for this heat;
  • There exists a willingness to investigate alternative sources of energy, fuels and commodities.

Think about it: To accomplish the mechanics of Waste Conversion, you need to follow an Input-Process-Output model ... waste feedstock converts to commodity. But figuring out how, where and when to apply that seemingly simple Pathway takes Market Knowledge. The above Characteristics can act as a first-cut filter when we look over our own business and agency conditions for possible applications, and certainly should be considered when we start seeking Waste Conversion Jobs We Can Do.

Hey Rube!

Comments are due 05/14/2012 (before 05/15/2012) to the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels on the issue of indirect land use change (iLUC). See our Action Item posted 4/17/2012, the links take you to a Background Paper and an easy-to-use comment form. One topic to address: Option 2 in that backgrounder mentions that use of Waste feedstock instead of virgin materials for conversion to biofuel is recognized as resulting in low iLUC, but we feel more emphasis should be placed on this factor. If you do also, say so please, and add your filed comments to our own by the due date.

The Week's News

UA Researchers Extract Chitin from Waste Shrimp Shells for New Bandage

The University of Alabama reports that researchers have made significant progress in extraction of pure long-chain molecular chitin from waste shrimp shells to develop a new type of antibacterial bandage. 05/06/2012

Lignol Energy Joins Oak Ridge Carbon Fiber Composites Consortium

Canadian biomass fractionation specialist Lignol Energy Corporation has announced it is now a member of the Carbon Fiber Composites Consortium. 05/05/2012

Solazyme to Supply Dow with Algae-Sourced Dielectric Oil

San Francisco's heterotrophic algae company Solazyme announced it has entered into a four-year contingent offtake agreement to supply Dow Chemical Company with non-vegetable, microbially produced oils for use as bio-sourced dielectric fluids. 05/05/2012

OriginOil and Algasol Partner for Algal Growth and Harvesting System

California based OriginOil has announced its intent to create a new collaborative partnership with the Spanish firm Algasol Renewables to accelerate both company's algal cultivation and harvesting. 05/05/2012

EERC, DenYon Energy Test Poultry Waste Gasifier to Energy System

The University of North Dakota, Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) has announced a project to test the EERC's proprietary Advanced Fixed Bed Gasification (AFBG) for conversion of poultry waste to energy and products. 05/04/2012

Ribbon Cut for First Landfill Gas Fueling Station in Louisiana

BioCNG, LLC has completed commissioning of a turnkey landfill gas conversion system producing biomethane compressed natural gas for vehicle fueling at the St. Landry Parish Solid Waste Disposal Landfill, Washington, Louisiana. 05/04/2012

TMO Moves 2G Ethanol Produced from Cassava Stalks to Demo Scale Testing

The United Kingdom company TMO Renewables Ltd has announced progress from bench to demonstration scale in use of cassava stalks, a cheap and abundant agricultural residue in China, as feedstock for its proprietary cellulosic biomass to fuel process. 05/04/2012

APP Licenses Plasma Green Energy for Global Construction and Operation

United Kingdom-based Advanced Plasma Power (APP) has announced an exclusive global licensing agreement with Plasma Green Energy LLP (PGE) to construct and operate Gasplasma® plants for conversion of certain industrial wastes. 05/04/2012

Biogas-CHP Upgrade Starts Up at Schenectady Wastewater Plant

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) has announced that the City of Schenectady has unveiled its $7 million biogas to combined heat and power upgrade to the city's wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). 05/03/2012

Babcock & Wilcox Receives Full Notice to Proceed on Florida WtE Plant

The Babcock & Wilcox Company (B&W) has announced that its subsidiary Babcock & Wilcox Power Generation Group, Inc. (B&W PGG) has received Full Notice to Proceed (FNTP) for the remainder of the design/build contract for the 95 megawatt, 3,000 ton per day municipal solid waste to energy (WtE) plant in West Palm Beach, Florida. 05/03/2012

Pratt & Whitney Advances Biomass Heat Recovery and Power in UK, Canada

Connecticut based Pratt & Whitney Power Systems has announced receipt of a contract award from West Fraser Timber Company in British Columbia, Canada to furnish a 13 megawatt biomass heat recovery to renewable power system. 05/02/2012

Core BioFuel Selects Technip for Biomass to Gasoline Refinery Build-Out

Canadian drop-in biofuel specialist CORE BioFuel Inc. has announced selection of Technip to complete the construction engineering on its first commercial scale, 67 million litre (about 18 million gallon) renewable gasoline biorefinery. 05/02/2012

ACC Study: Conversion of Waste to Energy Offers Environmental, Cost Benefits

The American Chemistry Council has announced the release of a study on emerging technologies for conversion of waste to energy, fuels and other commodities. 05/01/2012

Dyadic Expands Abengoa's Enzyme License Rights to World Wide

Florida-based enzyme specialist Dyadic International, Inc. has announced an expansion of its license rights to Abengoa Bioenergy New Technologies for $5.5 million. 05/01/2012

CH4 and Synergy Dairy Introduce New York's Largest Biogas Facility

The Florida-based green energy development firm CH4 Biogas has announced the May 1, 2012 grand opening of New York State's first co-digestion manure/food processor waste project, which is also the largest anaerobic digestion (AD) installation in the state. 04/30/2012

ENER-G Generates 2.4 MWe from Landfill Gas for Nissan Plant in Mexico

United Kingdom based ENER-G Holdings plc has announced that ENER-G Natural Power and its sister company Biogas Technology Limited are now generating power from landfill gas under a long-term supply contract to Nissan's car manufacturing facility in Aguascalientes, Mexico. 04/30/2012

The Week's Action Items

Due 05/02/2012: Comments to CEC on Draft RPS Guidebook Changes (Update)

The California Energy Commission has released a Revised Notice regarding the agency's Business Meeting on May 9, 2012, including substantial modification of the Lead Commissioner's Draft changes to the Overall Program Guidebook for the Renewable Energy Program (REP) and the Renewables Portfolio Standard (RPS) Eligibility Guidebook. 05/01/2012

 

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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.