Teru Talk Newsletter
Volume IV, Issue
21, May 26,
2014
Teru Talk by Michael
Theroux (pronounced
"Terú")
Teru's Trash Talk
 Here in
the US we take today
to remember our
military souls and the
sacrifices they've
made, that they
continue to make.
Memorial Day 2014
brings far too many
reasons to ponder the
constant conflict
around this planet. We
all need to think
about what it is we
can personally do to
create a safer, saner,
cleaner
world.
If I made
shoes for a living, maybe
I'd find ways to make
better combat boots. What
then is it about our focus
on waste conversion that
could possibly improve our
soldier's chances, lessen
the strife, and staunch the
flow of blood and money
that we pour endlessly on
the fires of
war?
In
Arlington, Virginia, the
Office of Naval Research
has been working on ways to
take all the trash that
military maneuvers generate
and turn it cleanly into
heat and power. Not to be
outdone, the Air Force
1st Special
Operations Civil
Engineering Squadron (1
SOCES) has a similar
program nearing completion.
Both are working with
high-end thermal systems
that break down small
amount of trash, leaving
very little behind.
Meanwhile the Navy is
busily learning how to turn
all their wet goo into
biogas, and their
commissary grease into
biodiesel. Different
vendors, different
technologic approaches, all
point to the broad goals of
the Defense
Energy Technology
Challenge designed
"to increase the safety
of its troops, lower
energy costs, and reduce
its reliance on foreign
energy
supplies."
You have
to wonder though when you
hear griping about how the
Department of Defense (DoD)
is spending what seems an
outrageous amount per
gallon for "green fuel" if
those same folks ever
consider the true cost of
fossil-sourced oil, if they
factor in the weight of
military spending dedicated
to keeping that precious
petroleum flowing. In the
back of everyone's mind is
this nagging suspicion that
perhaps $50 a gallon isn't
so bad if by investing in
learning to make non-fossil
fuel today, we can keep one
more soldier alive a day
longer, tomorrow. Maybe if
the only thing left behind
when an army base camp bugs
out of some foreign hell
hole is a warm spot on the
sand, we can tighten the
security just that much
more. Maybe if we stop
throwing our resources into
the dump, we wouldn't have
to fight so hard to get
"virgin
materials.
Hey
Rube!
Take a moment
today, Memorial Day 2014, to
check your precepts and really
think about the actual Cost of
Conflict. Not just the high
bucks per gallon the DoD is
spending on green jet fuel. Not
whether you can score cheaper
gas, across town. Certainly,
continue to think about clean
air quality in your very own
Air Basin, but then ask
yourself: Clean, Compared to
What? Now go make sure your
Flag is hanging straight, and
say a prayer for our
soldiers.
This Week's Top Story
Biomass
Facility Officially Opens at
Aurivo Dairy Ingredients
Plant in
Ireland
Ireland
based Aurivo has
announced the opening of
a new state-of-the-art
biomass facility at its
Dairy Ingredients plant
in Ballaghadereen, Co
Roscommon in the West of
Ireland.
05/19/2014
The
Week's News
Drexel
University to Evaluate Heat
Recovery and Grease from
Wastewater
The
Water Environment
Research Foundation
(WERF) has awarded Drexel
University two contracts
to study: 1) heat
recovery from wastewater,
and 2) the feasibility of
using greases from
wastewater for biodiesel.
05/25/2014
GIB Opens
Fund to Replace Oil with
Biomass Boilers at Scottish
Distilleries
The
United Kingdom (UK) Green
Investment Bank (GIB) has
announced a £5m fund for
energy efficiency
projects at a number of
Scottish distilleries.
05/21/2014
REG Agrees
to Acquire Tyson Foods' Half
Ownership of Dynamic
Fuels
Iowa
based Renewable Energy
Group, Inc (REG) and
Tyson Foods, Inc have
announced reaching an
agreement for REG to
acquire Tyson’s 50%
ownership position in
Dynamic Fuels, LLC.
05/21/2014
Alliance for
Green Heat Announces Wood
Stove Design Workshop at
BNL
The
Alliance for Green Heat
has announced the
Collaborative Wood Stove
Design Workshop to be
held November 4–7, 2014
at the Brookhaven
National Laboratory (BNL)
in New York and will
involve hands-on stove
testing, daily review of
test data, and a series
of presentations.
05/21/2014
Valmet Will
Supply Renewable Fuel Boiler
Plant to Hungarian Paper
Mill
Finland
based Valmet Corporation
has announced that it
will supply a complete
boiler plant valued at
EUR 50 million to
Hamburger Hungaria Power
in Dunaujvaros, Hungary.
05/20/2014
Wheelabrator
Launches Public
Consultations for North
Wales EfW
Plant
Wheelabrator
Technologies Inc has
announced the
commencement of a series
of public consultations
for its proposed energy
from waste (EfW) facility
in North Wales to give
people an opportunity to
see the detailed
proposals for the
project.
05/20/2014
CES Starts
Construction on New Biogas
Plant at Broward County
WWTP
Broward
County, Florida has
announced breaking ground
on a "state-of-the-art"
biogas to energy facility
that will turn waste,
such as restaurant fats,
oil and grease (FOG) into
renewable energy to
provide electricity to
power some of the
County’s water and
wastewater operations.
05/19/2014
ADBA Lauds
UK Government's Continued
Anaerobic Digestion
Support
The
Anaerobic Digestion and
Biogas Association (ADBA)
has responded to news
published today that
EIS-qualifying funds will
be allowed to continue to
invest in anaerobic
digestion (AD) projects.
Charlotte Morton, ADBA
chief executive:
05/19/2014
India Task
Force Recommends More Waste
to Energy Plants and
PPPs
The New
Delhi-based Green Clean
Guide (GCG) has
summarized a crucial
Waste to Energy report
submitted last week to
the India government's
Planning Commission, just
as India prepares to
welcome in a new
Administration.
05/19/2014
The Week's Action
Items
Due
06/19/2014: Proposals to LA
County for Waste Conversion
Consulting
The
County of Los Angeles (LA
County) Department of
Public Works has released
a Request for
Proposals (RFP)
seeking environmental
consulting services in
support of Advanced Solid
Waste Conversion
Technology development
and application.
05/21/2014
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