Teru Talk Newsletter
Volume IV, Issue
4, January 27,
2014
Teru Talk by Michael
Theroux (pronounced
"Terú")
Teru's Trash Talk
The old
R&B shout-out: "Can I
Get a Witness?" is a good
anthem for Waste Conversion
efforts. No matter how many
times we claim our techy
thing works just fine, we
need someone out there in
the Real World to give it
the Real Trial. "External
Verification" happens when
we grit our teeth and risk
much to have bright people
that aren't beholden to us
size up our
work.
People
have been using that sort
of outside review for
everything, forever: "Here:
taste this, tell me what
you think." But when you've
put in a decade of
development and spent all
the money you and all your
friends can muster to get
that technology up and
ready for the marketplace,
it is understandably
nerve-wracking yet
absolutely crucial to trust
your Baby to someone else's
hopefully-expert opinion.
Our industry is no
different from any other in
needing outside proofing,
but is comes at a steep
price and carries the very
real possibility of
(cringe) Finding Something
Wrong. It's infinitely
better however to take a
punch from within the
relatively safe confines of
a bona fide testing service
than from a
Customer.
The EPA
has run six elite
"Environmental
Technology
Verification" (ETV)
centers since 1995,
converting these from
wholly federally funded
to vendor-paid in 2007.
The effort was designed
to eventually become
self-sufficient, and for
that reason the EPA
ended their ETV program
last year - arguably,
right when we need it
the most. During their
run, the Centers
produced detailed
reports on of over 500
technologies. One thing
is sure: the non-profit
technology testing labs
like the Southern
Research Institute will
continue to offer
pay-to-play efficacy
verification. The
Department of Defense
has also been picking up
some of the validation
slack regarding both
waste conversion and the
broader field of
alternative fuels
production, continuing
to test promising
systems for military
applications and often
applying their
Technology Readiness
Level (TRL) metrics to
such testing (as we
chatted about in last
week's Trash
Talk).
Whatever
the protocols chosen, it is
the determination of
optimal operational
mode that is the
testing target: what does
this new tech system do
best? No one design can
ever be expected to meet
all needs; there is no
"silver widget." A
developer will naturally
seek to be the Best
Available Technology, but
the market needs to know
where the magic box
actually fits best into
their own panoply of needs
into the overall
infrastructure. An outside
testing service works to
define the appropriate
"envelope" of use, beyond
which the new design really
shouldn't be expected to
perform.
Ah, but
the glory, when the answer
to that testing comes back
a resounding Yes! That's
the sort of affirmation you
can take to the bank, or in
the case of one waste
conversion systems and
project developer
struggling with federal
regulations, the kind of
leverage you can use to
fend off misguided rules
enforcement. External
Technology Validation:
always the Gold Standard,
for waste conversion
technology
commercialization.
Hey
Rube!
What do you see as the
most critical early-stage
hurdles to waste conversion
system commercialization? Don't
just take the easy shot and say
"Money", we all know that - but
what is in the way of
getting those crucial
scheckles? If you've got
specifics in mind, shout 'em
out to Teru Talk, and we'll
report
back.
The
Week's Extra Reading
Teru has just
written a new article on
"
Gasification vs.
Incineration
"
for your reading pleasure. This
has been a contentious subject
for many years, and still has a
way to go, but there are signs
of progress.
This Week's Top Story
Iogen
Develops New Method to Make
Drop-in Cellulosic Biofuels
from
Biogas
Ottawa, Canada based Iogen
Corporation has announced that
it has developed and patented a
new method to make drop-in
cellulosic biofuels from biogas
using existing refinery assets
and production operations.
01/24/2014
The
Week's News
Chesterfield
Biogas Selected to Build
UK’s Largest
Biomethane-to-Grid
Project
United Kingdom (UK) based
Pressure Technologies plc has
announced that its subsidiary
Chesterfield BioGas Limited has
been awarded a £4.2 million
contract to supply, install,
and commission biogas upgrading
equipment for a UK renewable
energy project.
01/24/2014
BioAmber
Plans 100,000 Ton Plant to
Supply BDO Under Take-or-Pay
Contract
Quebec, Canada based BioAmber,
Inc has announced signing a
15-year master off-take
agreement for bio-based
1,4-Butanediol (BDO) with Texas
based Vinmar International.
01/24/2014
Renewable
Energy Group Enters
Industrial Biotech with
Acquisition of
LS9
Iowa based Renewable Energy
Group, Inc (REG) announced that
it has acquired leading
renewable chemical technology
developer LS9, Inc for a
purchase price of up to $61.5
million, consisting of up front
and earnout payments, in stock
and cash.
01/23/2014
VTT's
Biomass Supply Chains Speed
Up Use of Bioenergy in
Vietnam
VTT Technical Research Centre
of Finland announced that it
has developed efficiency in the
current biomass supply chains
and power plant operations in
Vietnam's Mekong Delta to
increase the use of biomass
fuels for energy.
01/23/2014
EU Funds
Verbio for Biomethane from
Straw Demo Project in
Germany
Verbio AG has announced that
the €22.3 million grant
agreement has been signed and
the demonstration project to
convert straw to biomethane has
now officially been launched.
01/23/2014
Blue Sun
BioRefinery Commercializes
Enzymatic
Transesterification
Colorado based Blue Sun Energy
has announced implementation of
its enzymatic biodiesel
processing technology at the
Blue Sun St Joe Refinery in St
Joseph, Missouri.
01/22/2014
EcoWASTE
Platform Introduced During
Abu Dhabi Sustainability
Week
EcoWASTE is a new regional
platform introduced during this
year's Abu Dhabi Sustainability
Week with an exhibition held
January 20-22, 2014 to support
the urgent waste disposal
challenges and needs in the
Middle East.
01/22/2014
Elementa and
the Ontario Power Authority
Finalize Energy-From-Waste
PPA
Ontario, Canada based Elementa
Group Inc has announced that it
has reached an agreement with
the Ontario Power Authority to
sell power from a new
commercial-scale,
energy-from-waste project to be
built in Sault Ste. Marie.
01/21/2014
Global
Bioenergies and AUDI Partner
on Drop-in Biofuel for
Gasoline
Engines
France based Global Bioenergies
has announced entering into a
collaboration with the German
car-manufacturer Audi on the
development of
isobutene-derived isooctane, a
high performance biofuel for
gasoline engines.
01/21/2014
Loans
Available for Renewable
Energy Projects in
Developing
Countries
The International Renewable
Energy Agency (IRENA) and the
Abu Dhabi Fund for Development
(ADFD) have announced
approximately $41 million in
concessional loans for
renewable energy projects in
developing countries.
01/21/2014
Grand Canyon
Railway's 1923 Steam Engine
Runs on Waste Vegetable
Oil
The Grand Canyon Railway (GCR)
has announced that it will fire
up its iconic 1923 steam engine
for regularly scheduled runs
from Williams, Arizona to the
South Rim of the Grand Canyon
in 2014.
01/20/2014
Sonoco
Dedicates $75MM Biomass
Boiler Facility at South
Carolina
Plant
South Carolina based Sonoco
Products Company has announced
dedication of the new biomass
boiler at its Hartsville paper
manufacturing facility.
01/20/2014
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