Teru Talk Newsletter
Volume IV, Issue
32, August 11,
2014
Teru Talk by Michael
Theroux (pronounced
"Terú")
Teru's Trash Talk
Stepping
up on this soap-box we
fondly call Teru Talk:
"Ahem".
I say,
"Everything is Recyclable
with the Right
Tools!"
We've
blown right past the idea
that separating and
recovering the papers,
bottles, and cans is what
constitutes "recycling".
Old hat; yesterday's magic,
but still a necessary part
of the broader realm we now
recognize as true
recycling. Just because we
personally do not have a
clue how to recycle
something doesn't mean it
can't be
recycled.
Sometimes
it is really as simple as
picking the cans and
bottles out of the trash,
setting them aside to be
washed and made back into
cans and bottles. For other
wastes, processing can be
as basic as applying the
right amount of hot water
and pressure. If you then
add some enzyme
Secret Sauce, anything
woody comes apart and turns
into sugar soup.
Sweet!
In
Ancient Times, we learned
how to control yeasts to
make beer and wine from
letting them rip into
grains and grapes, pulling
out that magic Sugar to
ferment. We now know that
microbes can tear apart
just about anything. Bright
folks have figured out how
to make that "foundation
chemical" ethanol
from letting those
microscopic machines tear
apart anything lying around
from food scraps to paper
pulp, animal poop to sewer
goop.
Napoleon
liked his brandy that was
made by steaming the
ethanol out of wine. We can
distill off just
about any vapor contained
in stuff with careful
application of heat, and if
we heat stuff enough, even
the solids turn to liquids,
then to gas. Some of those
vapors and gases are made
of small molecules, some of
really large and complex
molecules. We can sift and
sort those liquids and
gases as they come off the
stuff we are converting
with that heat, separating
everything into the things
we want from what before
was just a pile of
waste.
OK, so
some of the crud we toss
out isn't that easy to
break down into raw
materials. In fact, some
things almost defy the
tear-down and
convert-to-goods process.
Almost - but then we have
some very sophisticated
methods to apply these
days. We've learned how to
rearrange the innards of
those microbes so they now
can eat really nasty waste
and turn it into cool fuels
and chemicals. We've also
learned to harness
lightening and turn things
into raw energy-in-a-tube,
called plasma, which
vaporizes whatever is left
and yep, then we can
separate the vapors. Try
that trick on circuit
boards, and out comes
plastic fumes and vaporized
precious metals. With the
right tools, those dead
cell phones are the New
Gold Mine.
Bright
people the world over are
busily figuring out how to
turn what we still call
Waste into raw materials to
make the things we want and
need. First, find out who
is doing what, where and
with what tools. Next,
track their trials as they
test, break, remake, and
prove their tools can
actually do what they say.
So far, that's been our
task at Teru Talk. Finally,
someone outside of their
company has to also agree
the tools work as
described, with External
Validation. Then: ready,
set, sell! But just
remember: Everything is
Recyclable with the Right
Tools.
Hey
Rube!
Microbes in
landfills make Nasty Gas. Check
out Velocys' plans to turn that
landfill gas straight into
liquid fuel, right at the
landfill. Now, that's using the
right tools for the Recycling
job!
Vote for Teru Talk!
This is the last week to Vote!
Voting ends August 15th, so
it's not too late. We are in
this competition to grow and to
continue our support of waste
conversion. Check out Teru's
video, and then Vote for Teru
Talk! Remember to
click on the "Checkout"
button in the upper right
corner of the screen after
you vote. If you don't check
out and pay, your votes
won't
count!
This Week's Top Story
BIOGEN
Starts Up Largest Food Waste
to Electricity AD Plant in
Wales
Biogen
(UK) Ltd has announced
that construction is
complete at the largest
food waste anaerobic
digestion (AD) plant in
Wales and the plant is
now in operation.
08/06/2014
The
Week's News
Briefing
Scheduled on State of
Organic Waste Management in
California
Cleanworld
has announced that it is
hosting a press briefing
on the State of Organic
Waste in California on
Tuesday, August 12, 2014
at 4:30pm on the west
steps of the state
capitol.
08/10/2014
USDA
Approves Gilchrist Mill to
Receive Biomass to Fuel
Lumber
Kilns
Vancouver
based Interfor
Corporation has announced
that its Gilchrist
Division in Oregon has
been selected by the US
Department of Agriculture
(USDA) to accept biomass
deliveries under the
federal Biomass Crop
Assistance Program
(BCAP).
08/08/2014
ElectraTherm
Commissions 10 Waste Heat to
Power Machines in
Slovakia
Nevada
based ElectraTherm has
announced commissioning
10 Green Machine 4400s in
Levice, Slovakia in June
2014.
08/08/2014
NY Casino
Would Combine LEED with
Closed Loop Food Waste to
Biogas
Director
of Lago Resort &
Casino, Thomas C. Wilmot,
Sr., has unveiled ten
environmentally friendly
features planned for the
Lago Resort & Casino
in New York, including
achieving LEED Silver
Certification.
08/08/2014
VCS Approved
as Offset Project Registry
for California's
Cap-and-Trade
The
non-profit Verified
Carbon Standard (VCS)
organization has
announced that it is now
approved as an Offset
Project Registry under
the California Air
Resources Board's (CARB)
Cap-and-Trade program (AB
32), which includes the
key Compliance Offset
Program.
08/07/2014
University
of Alberta BCN Launches 3
New Collaborative Biomass
Projects
The
University of Alberta
(UA) Biorefining
Conversions Network (BCN)
has announced three new
collaborative biomass
projects, scheduled to
run until March 15, 2015.
08/07/2014
NIB Finances
Biomass District Heating
Project in
Norway
The
Nordic Investment Bank
(NIB) has announced
signing a
13-year-maturity loan
totaling EUR 27 million
with the Norwegian energy
company Eidsiva Energi AS
to finance a new biomass
district heating plant at
Kallerudlia in Gjøvik,
Norway.
08/06/2014
US Releases
Biogas Opportunities Roadmap
to Reduce Methane
Emissions
The
United States (US)
government has released
the Biogas Opportunities
Roadmap to support the
"Climate Action Plan –
Strategy to Reduce
Methane Emissions," and
outlines voluntary
actions to support the
expansion of the American
biogas industry.
08/05/2014
UC Riverside
Researchers Enhance Biofuel
Yields from
Biomass
The
University of California,
Riverside (UC Riverside)
has announced that
researchers at the Bourns
College of Engineering
have developed a
versatile, relatively
non-toxic, and efficient
way to convert
lignocellulosic biomass
into biofuels and
chemicals.
08/05/2014
Hawaii
Presents $1.6MM to US Ag
Center for Zero-Waste
Biofuel
Program
The
governor of Hawaii has
presented a $1.6 million
check on behalf of the
Hawaii Department of
Agriculture’s (HDOA)
Agribusiness Development
Corporation (ADC) to the
Daniel K. Inouye US
Pacific Basin
Agricultural Research
Center’s (DKI-PBARC)
zero-waste biofuel and
high-protein feed program
on Hawaii Island.
08/05/2014
Zilkha
Biomass Plans New Black Wood
Pellet Plant in Monticello,
Arkansas
Texas
based Zilkha Biomass
Energy has announced that
it is planning to build a
$90 million facility in
Monticello, Arkansas, to
manufacture its Zilkha
Black® Pellet, a wood
pellet that can be easily
integrated into
coal-fired plants to
create cleaner emissions.
08/04/2014
Harmonic
Energy Seeks Partners for
Expansion of Waste Tire
Reprocessing
United
Kingdom based Harmonic
Energy has announced that
it is now taking open
calls for additional
partners for feedstock
procurement (scrap tire
providers) and commodity
off-take (end users) for
its expansion plans.
08/04/2014
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