Teru Talk Newsletter
Volume IV, Issue
29, July 21,
2014
Teru Talk by Michael
Theroux (pronounced
"Terú")
Teru's Trash Talk
Market
penetration of
game-changing technology
moves in waves, and this is
certainly true for Waste
Conversion and Resource
Recovery. The first
hesitant stage sees new
Whats-its enveloped within
Military installations and
Government labs. The next
wave finds adoption at the
large Municipal and
Industrial settings. As
controls are refined,
another wave finds utility
for these new technology
platforms in small
communities and even at the
residential
level.
Let's
face it: there's more room
for slop in big systems.
Variability in the waste
input is more easily
managed when the amount
going in is only a small
fraction of the amount
already being processed.
But when you take those
same methods down a couple
orders of magnitude and the
input is about the same as
the process capacity, you'd
better have your song down
pat.
We're not
talking about jury-rigged
little boxes that can
somehow roast a ton of crud
to char, despite the smoke
they spew, or even the
in-ground digesters that
last about three years
before having to be dug up
and mucked out by hand.
Small modular waste
conversion must perform
exceptionally well, stay as
stabile and
self-maintaining as any big
rig and produce the same or
less pollution per ton of
input as larger capacity
systems - and that last
requirement is a tall
order. Leakage from one
small biochar pyrolyzer or
food waste digestion unit
may not seem like much, but
multiply that by a few
dozen units scattered
around the neighborhood and
you can make more mess than
a regional operation,
including the trucking
emissions.
As we
link community-level design
with more regional
integration for clean
conversion of crud to
goods, issues of scale and
the questions of "clean,
compared to what?" become
all the more crucial.
Whether we are engaged in a
community-wide experiment
in Industrial
Symbiosis like the
Danes, or advancing
multi-stage hub-and-spoke
production like
Maverick
Biofuels, the end
result has to be less
mess and more benefit
than would result from
landfill
disposal.
There is no magic size of
waste conversion system. In
fact, we need a number of
different sizes, ranging
from the tools appropriate
for a regional center right
down to modules that could
fit behind your friendly
neighborhood grocery store.
There is a market niche for
super-clean modules of all
scales that can address
conversion of all sorts of
waste. With this, we can
develop multi-stage waste
and biomass conversion
infrastructures like
Iowa
State has been
researching for years.
Regional wastewater
plants will keep
processing poop for the
foreseeable future, and
some are now are sucking
up food waste as well.
Community- and
farm-scale digesters are
making a significant
impact on localized
economics, energy, and
resource recovery,
especially in the UK and
Europe. But keep your
eye on deployment of
advanced micro-modules
like SeAB, and
the RD&D
work coming out of
Sweden. Once we have
systems of all scales
for all appetites, we'll
see some real
market integration of
waste conversion for
resource
recovery.
Hey
Rube!
One of the better support
mechanisms available in the US
for advancing smaller, newer
waste conversion technology
platforms has been the
Department of Energy's Small
Business Innovation Research
program (SBIR). A new Phase I
SBIR solicitation has just
opened, seeking applications
for advancements in air and
climate, manufacturing, toxic
chemicals, water, building
materials, food waste and
homeland security. See our
Action Item below, and get you
papers in order. Applications
are due September 11,
2014.
Vote for Teru Talk!
Teru
Talk is still Number
Two in the Entrepreneurs
Showcase competition, but we
are closing in fast thanks to
all of
you! Vote
for Teru Talk
and make us Number One!
Voting is tax-deductible and
it only costs a dollar per
vote.
We are in
this competition to grow and
continue our support of waste
conversion. Check out Teru's
video, and then Vote
for Teru Talk!
Ballot box stuffing is
encouraged and much
appreciated!
This
Week's Top Story
Bluesphere
Receives $15MM Term Sheet
for Rhode Island Biogas
Project
North
Carolina based Bluesphere
Corporation has announced
receipt of a term sheet
from Energy Power
Partners (EPP) for full
equity financing of over
$15 million for its 3.2
megawatt (MW)
waste-to-energy project
in Johnston, Rhode
Island.
07/14/2014
The
Week's News
JTI
Completes Initial Research
of Low-Cost Biogas Upgrading
System for
AD
Vancouver
based Hallbar Consulting,
Inc has provided an
update on research by the
Swedish Institute of
Agricultural and
Environmental Engineering
(JTI) into development of
low-cost biogas upgrading
technology suitable for
use with anaerobic
digestion (AD systems.
07/20/2014
US Invests
$6MM to Develop Cost
Competitive Advanced
Biofuels by
2017
The US
Department of Energy
(DOE) has announced
investing $6 million in
two projects to develop
next generation biofuels
that will help drive down
the cost of producing
gasoline, diesel, and jet
fuels from biomass.
07/19/2014
BioNitrogen
Receives Incentives for
Taylor County, Florida Urea
Plant
BioNitrogen
Holdings Corp has
announced that it has
received approvals from
the Taylor County
Commission, the Perry
City Council, and the
Taylor County Development
Authority for an
incentives package of up
to $220 million in
capital investment for a
new Urea plant in Taylor
County, Florida.
07/19/2014
GIB Report
Identifies Gap Between UK
Waste and Conversion
Infrastructure
The
United Kingdom (UK) Green
Investment Bank (GIB) has
published a market report
in partnership with
Tolvik Consulting that
forecasts a gap of up to
7.7 million tonnes of
post-recycling waste and
the infrastructure
available to process it.
07/16/2014
Princeton
Study Validates Liquid
Light's CO2 to Chemical
Technology
New
Jersey based Liquid Light
reports that a research
team affiliated with the
Department of Chemistry
at Princeton University
has released a
peer-reviewed paper
validating key elements
of the company's carbon
dioxide (CO2) to chemical
technology platform.
07/15/2014
Danish
Symbiose Center Coordinates
Industrial Symbiosis in
Kalundborg
Washington
state based Mercurius
Biorefining, Inc has
provided an update of the
Danish Symbiose Center's
on-going circular economy
project implementing
"industrial symbiosis."
07/15/2014
Harmonic
Energy Signs LOI for Supply
of 18K Tonnes/Year Waste
Tires
London
based Harmonic Energy Inc
has announced that it has
signed a letter of intent
(LOI) for a long term
supply of tire feedstock
with Consolidated Tire
Processing LLC, which
will supply 18,000 tonnes
or an estimated 2 million
scrap tires per year of
scrap tires to Harmonic.
07/15/2014
Methes
Energies Completes Its First
Biodiesel Sale Transaction
in the
US
Methes
Energies International
Ltd has announced
completion of its first
biodiesel transaction in
the United States through
its wholly owned US
subsidiary as the
importer of record and
generator of Renewable
Identification Numbers
(RINs).
07/14/2014
UK Offers
Support for Knowledge
Transfer Partnerships for
Agri-Food
Supply
The
United Kingdom’s
Technology Strategy Board
(TSB) issued a reminder
that registrations are
still being accepted for
establishment and support
of Knowledge Transfer
Partnerships (KTPs).
07/14/2014
EC Awards
€308MM to Six Key Bioenergy
Projects from EU Emissions
Trading
The
European Commission (EC)
has awarded €1 billion in
funding to 19 projects to
fight climate change. Of
these, six regional
bioenergy-focused
projects receive support.
07/14/2014
The Week's Action
Items
Due
09/11/2014: Applications to
EPA's SBIR Program for Phase
I
Awards
The US
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) has
announced of the new
Small Business Innovation
Research (SBIR) Program
Solicitation
(SOL-NC-14-00014) to
develop and commercialize
new environmental
technologies.
07/17/2014
Due
10/02/2014: Grant
Applications for Clean
Energy Projects on Tribal
Lands
The US Department of Energy
(DOE) has announced the
availability of up to $7
million to deploy clean energy
and energy efficiency projects
in tribal communities.
07/18/2014
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