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Teru Talk News

Teru Talk Newsletter

Volume III, Issue 6, February 11, 2013 
Teru Talk by Michael Theroux (pronounced "TerĂº")  

Teru's Trash Talk

In the United Kingdom (UK) a whole lot of folks from industry, from the agencies, and from an array of environmental associations have come to an astounding conclusion. If we know what is happening to the waste we collect, sort, separate, and sell as recyclable goodies, we can figure out how to do the whole process better, and how to keep more of the resources AND the money in the country. Why? Because then we can tell just how much is staying, how much is leaving, where it is going, and what we have to do to turn it back into goods right where we live.

"Recyclates": that's the UK's great term for waste in the process of being recycled. The machines that reprocess what is separated work better if the recyclates are cleaner and the folks that reprocess will pay more for cleaner recyclates. The more "non-target" crud that is mixed in, the more must be thrown away on their end. Some Materials Recovery Facilities (MRF) do very well at separating and cleaning, others maybe not so much. Tracking what's coming in the front door and where it's going once it leaves a MRF can also tell us how much emissions attend getting the recyclates to the reprocessors. Then we start to see where improvements can be made, and lets us shine a nice light on the Champs that are already doing Grade A work.

If the only thing tracked is the raw tonnage of recyclates being sold, nobody knows how much of those recyclates is being recovered and turned back into the raw materials needed for remanufacturing. We don't have a clue how much non-usable "post recycling residuals" is being dumped by the reprocessors. We can't really prove we've actually recycled anything; all we can prove is we've shipped our resources off to someplace else, and paid somebody to cart 'em off. There's something else we know from not keeping track: we aren't the ones with the reprocessing / remanufacturing jobs.

"Post Recycling Residuals" right now refers to what's left over after the recyclate brokers pick out the goodies, not what ultimately gets dumped. The machines that are needed to Reprocess and complete the Recycling pathway are often the same kind of machines that are then relegated to do something with those left-overs. We've been calling those machines Conversion Technologies (CTs) and debating how to control what left-overs to feed them. The only real difference is that with off-shore Reprocessing we don't see what happens. At least if the Reprocessing of Recyclates is done under our communal noses, we can make sure it is done cleanly. If we develop and run MRFs right, and use the right "reprocessing" waste conversion machines, there shouldn't be anything left over. As with so many things in our daily lives, it’s up to the folks who operate the technologies, rather than some inherent problem with the tools.

Hey Rube!

Food waste and plastics: those are the top new types of Gold in the Trash. Watch closely, as the entire world refocuses Recycling efforts right past aluminum, glass, paper and steel. And listen, as the old word "Renewable" is being replaced by the buzz, "Sustainable" as the proper goal of a civilized society.

The Week's News

WtEC and Rank Progress form JV for Polish and Croatian WtE Projects

Thermal conversion company Waste to Energy Canada (WtEC) has announced its joint venture with Rank Progress S.A. of Legnica, Poland for sales, marketing, and project development of waste to energy (WtE) processing facilities in Poland and Croatia. 02/08/2013

Cyclone Engine Will Undergo Testing by OSU Center for Automotive Research

Florida based Cyclone Power Technologies has announced entering into a cooperative agreement with Ohio State University's Center for Automotive Research (OSU CAR) for design testing and analysis in support of commercialization of the company's Waste Heat driven Cyclone Engine. 02/08/2013

Industry Leaders Launch Initiative to Speed Up Biofuels Deployment in Europe

A consortium of leading aviation and biofuels companies have announced the launch a new initiative, "Leaders of Sustainable Biofuels" intended to speed up the deployment of advanced sustainable biofuels in Europe. 02/08/2013

RES Polyflow's Polymer Waste to Liquid Oil Plant Nears Completion in Ohio

Ohio based RES Polyflow has announced that its first full scale waste conversion demonstration facility in Cleveland, Ohio is nearing completion and will be operational this spring. 02/07/2013

US Clean Energy Manufacturing Projects Allocated $150MM in Tax Credits

The United States Departments of the Treasury and Energy have announced availability of $150 million in Internal Revenue Service 48C Advanced Energy Manufacturing Tax Credits for clean energy and energy efficiency manufacturing projects in the US. 02/07/2013

PTG Wins 2012 Katerva Materials and Resources Award for Wastewater CHP

California based Pasteurization Technology Group (PTG) has announced that it has been selected as the overall winner in the Minerals and Resources category of the 2012 Katerva Awards. 02/07/2013

SRI to Demonstrate ElectraTherm Waste Heat to Power Technology for US Navy

The Alabama-based Southern Research Institute (SRI) has announced that it will demonstrate recovery of energy for power generation from low-grade waste heat using Nevada-based ElectraTherm, Inc's organic rankine cycle (ORC) technology at the US Naval Facility in Port Hueneme, California. 02/06/2013

LanzaTech Ranks on Forbes' Annual "100 Most Promising" Companies List

The multi-national advanced fuel company LanzaTech has announced its selection by Forbes Magazine as #48 among the top "100 Most Promising" privately held companies. 02/06/2013

Neste Doubled Waste-Sourced Feedstock for Bio-Oil Production in 2012

Finland based Neste Oil has announced that its use of waste-sourced feedstock for production of microbially generated fuel oil more than doubled in 2012 compared to 2011, rising from the previous 330,000 tons to last year's 742,000 tons. 02/05/2013

GESI Selects IET Gasification System for Canadian RR Tie to Power Conversion

The Vancouver headquarters of Green Energy Solution Industries, Inc. (GESI) has announced selection of Kentucky based International Environmental Technologies, Inc. (IET) to provide the gasification technology for its waste to energy project in Alberta, Canada. 02/05/2013

Synod Residential AD Units Turn Bangalore Kitchen Waste to Biogas, Fertilizer

The Times of India reports that Kerala based Synod Bioscience has developed, demonstrated, and is marketing a residential scale anaerobic digestion (AD) module for biogas production in response to the dual problem of curtailed availability of subsidized cooking gas cylinders and a "garbage crisis" in southern India. 02/04/2013

DEFRA Releases Recycling Quality Action Plan for England

The United Kingdom (UK) Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has announced the release of the "Quality Action Plan: Proposals to promote high quality recycling of dry recyclates." 02/04/2013

The Week's Action Items

Due 02/08/2013: Comments to CEC on Biomethane RPS Implementation

The California Energy Commission (CEC) has announced availability of a Staff Concept Paper for implementation of AB 2196 (Chesbro), Chapter 605, Stats. 2012; effective date January 1, 2013. 02/04/2013

Due 02/25/2013: Biofuels Proposals to Biofuels Center of North Carolina

The Biofuels Center of North Carolina has announced release of a solicitation targeting specific biofuels development goals and focused geographically on western North Carolina. 02/04/2013

Due 03/05/2013: Comments to CEC on 2013 Integrated Energy Policy Forecasts

The California Energy Commission (CEC) has announced a workshop and is seeking comments regarding Economic, Demographic, and Energy Price Inputs for Electricity, Natural Gas, and Transportation Fuel Demand Forecasts. 02/05/2013

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Recommended Reading:

"Waste-to-Energy, Second Edition: Technologies
and Project Implementation" by Marc J Rogoff and Francois Screve

Municipal Solid Waste to Energy Conversion Processes: Economic, Technical, and Renewable Comparisons by Gary C Young

"Municipal Solid Waste to Energy Conversion Processes: Economic, Technical, and Renewable Comparisons" by Gary C Young

 

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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.