Teru Talk Newsletter
Volume IV, Issue
40, October 6,
2014
Teru Talk by Michael
Theroux (pronounced
"Terú")
Teru's Trash Talk
To
effectively recover the
highest value
materials when we
convert waste back into
green goods, we need to
take into account three
parts of the processing
value chain: the feedstock,
the conversion process, and
the output.
A United
Kingdom competition sets
the stage. First: identify
a waste that is continually
produced. Whatever the
scale of that waste
generation, it is the
consistency and
dependability of generation
that allows a concerted
high-value recovery method
to be chosen and
effectively applied. These
consistent feedstock
supplies will be the first
kinds of waste to get
snapped up as the Circular
Economy drive really gets
in gear. Already, we are
starting to see a veritable
"food (waste) fight" in
some progressive areas;
this "low hanging fruit"
won't last.
Another
high-value goal is focused
on recovery of foundation
materials, what Teru Talk
has in the past called
molecular recovery.
An example emerging rapidly
is the recovery of rare and
precious metals from
electronic wastes. Most of
these micro-bits of gold,
silver, platinum, and other
elements that are crucial
to making our computing and
communications gadgets work
have for the most part been
tossed in the dump along
with those old computers.
Smelting the plastic for
energy recovery vaporizes
the metals as emissions, or
discards them with the ash.
One estimate says that
there are enough of these
precious bits in the gray
grunge coming off the last
conveyor belt in a
Materials Recovery Facility
to pay for the day's
operations if they are
carefully sifted
out.
Now to
that second step in the
value chain: the conversion
process. If we have been
making ethanol using yeasts
to break down organics, we
may have to swap out for
more specialized bugs to
achieve higher value
molecular recovery. We are
seeing this occur with
green chemical production,
and with the production of
more elite forms of
biofuels. If we select a
thermal process, we must
choose a method such as
gasification that lets us
intercept and extract high
value materials like syngas
from the gas
stream.
A current example focused
on the third step,
output, is the
Innovate UK's plan to
invest a substantial sum of
money in R&D projects
seeking to increase
recovery of valuable
materials from waste. The
just announced competition
(see below) won't accept
proposals for efforts
focused on energy
generation,
remanufacturing or
refurbishing - not
because these approaches
are unworthy, but rather
that they want to advance
development and application
of waste conversion
processes that get at the
highest value base
materials, the output.Of
course, y
ou need an "off-take
agreement": someone ready
to buy and utilize the
stuff you recover, not just
once, but over a long
enough time to make
economic sense for your
sizable investment in the
project.
Hey
Rube!
As you read through the Teru
Talk news these days, watch for
the finesse (not ours,
theirs): the examples of
increased efficiency for
existing systems that is gained
through better pre-treatment,
and better recovery of higher
value resources via specialized
"bolt-on" back end
subsystems.
This Week's Top Story
Cool Planet
Begins Commercial Production
of CoolTerra™ Soil
Amendment
Colorado
based Cool Planet Energy
Systems has unveiled its
first commercial-scale
production facility in
Camarillo, California,
for its CoolTerra™ soil
amendment.
10/03/2014
The
Week's News
Emerald
Biofuels Will Use UOP
Technology for Military Spec
Biodiesel
UOP LLC,
a Honeywell company, has
announced that its
advanced process
technology will be used
by Chicago company
Emerald Biofuels, LLC to
produce renewable diesel
for the US military
through the US Department
of Defense Advanced
Drop-in Biofuels
Production Project.
10/03/2014
Hospital
Commissions Heating System
Fueled with Ensyn's
Cellulosic
Biofuel
Memorial
Hospital hosted a
ribbon-cutting ceremony
last week at its
facilities in North
Conway, New Hampshire, to
celebrate the
commissioning of
Memorial's heating system
conversion from
traditional petroleum
fuels to Ensyn's RFO™
renewable liquid fuel.
10/02/2014
MagneGas
Partners with Urban Fish
Farm for Waste Water
Treatment
Trials
Florida
based MagneGas®
Corporation (MagneGas)
has announced signing a
Letter of Intent for the
placement of a 50kW Unit
for waste water
sterilization trials with
a fish farm company
located in Fort Myers,
Florida.
10/01/2014
ReFood
Produces ReGrow
Biofertilizer From Digestion
of Food
Waste
The
United Kingdom (UK) food
waste recycler ReFood has
launched "ReGrow", a new
nutrient-rich
biofertilizer produced by
recycling food waste by
anaerobic digestion (AD).
10/01/2014
Welsh
Minister Advocates Food
Supply Chain Review to
Reduce Food
Waste
Wales'
Natural Resources
Minister, Carl Sargeant,
has introduced the Food
Manufacture, Service and
Retail Sector Plan, aimed
at preventing food waste,
reducing its production,
and increasing recycling
across supply chains.
10/01/2014
Arizona
County Signs Contract with
Anaergia for Biogas
Upgrading
Plant
Canada
based Anaergia Inc. and
its project partner
Grannus, LLC, have signed
a contract with the Pima
County Regional
Wastewater Reclamation
Department (PCRWRD) in
Arizona to
design-build-finance-own-operate
(DBFOO) a large-scale
biomethane upgrading
facility.
0/01/2014
WELTEC
Receives Order for French
Biogas Project with Gas
Processing
Germany
based WELTEC BIOPOWER has
announced receiving an
order for a biogas
project with gas
processing to be located
in the north of the
Franche-Comté region on
the Swiss border.
10/01/2014
Neste Oil to
Recover CO2 at its Singapore
Renewable Biodiesel
Refinery
Neste
Oil Singapore Pte Ltd and
National Oxygen Pte Ltd
(NOX), a wholly owned
subsidiary of Japan
company Taiyo Nippon
Sanso Corporation, have
signed an agreement to
install a carbon dioxide
(CO2) recovery and
liquefaction plant at
Neste Oil's renewable
diesel refinery in
Singapore.
09/29/2014
Republic
Services Opens Two Bay Area
Landfill Gas-To-Energy
Projects
Arizona
based Republic Services,
Inc has announced its
latest Landfill
Gas-To-Energy (LGTE)
projects at its Forward
and Vasco Road Landfills
in the San Francisco,
California Bay Area.
09/29/2014
Anaergia
Biogas System Starts Up at
California’s Victor Valley
WWTP
The
Victor Valley Wastewater
Reclamation Authority
(VVWRA) held a Ribbon
Cutting Ceremony on
Friday, September 26,
2014, to mark the
successful start-up of
its new OmnivoreTM biogas
production system,
supplied by Anaergia Inc.
09/29/2014
The Week's Action
Items
Due
10/09/2014: Comments to
Placer County APCD on
Biochar Carbon
Offsets
The
Placer County Air
Pollution Control
District (APCD) partnered
with the International
Biochar Initiative and
the Prasino Group to
adapt the Biochar Carbon
Offsets Methodology
currently undergoing the
evaluation and approval
process with the American
Carbon Registry (ACR) for
potential use in
California.
09/29/2014
Due
11/12/2014: Proposals to NV
Energy for 100MWe Renewable
Energy
NV
Energy, Inc is requesting
proposals for up to 100
megawatts of renewable
energy resources.
10/03/2014
Due
12/01/2014: Loan
Applications to CalRecycle
for Organics
Projects
The
California Department of
Resources Recycling and
Recovery (CalRecycle) has
announced that $4,662,000
in funding through the
Organics Loan Program is
available for the 2014/15
fiscal year.
10/02/2014
Due
02/25/2015: EOIs to Innovate
UK for Waste Recovery
R&D
Funding
Innovate
UK and the Engineering
and Physical Sciences
Research Council (EPSRC)
are planning to invest up
to £4.5m in collaborative
R&D projects that
seek to increase the
recovery of valuable
materials from waste
streams.
10/03/2014
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