Teru Talk Newsletter
Volume IV, Issue
9, March 3,
2014
Teru Talk by Michael
Theroux (pronounced
"Terú")
Teru's Trash Talk
Wasted.
Trash decomposing in a dump
is simply wasted resource.
The potential positive
impact from converting this
waste to transport fuel is
huge. That's the general
conclusion of specialists
from environmental
institutes and biofuels
industries, collaborating
to coax the EU policy
makers into upping the ante
for conversion of waste to
biofuels. The release of
the resulting report,
"Waste: Europe's Untapped
Resource" was announced
last week (see our
news
item).
The study
doesn't suggest we convert
everything, in fact,
some pretty strict
"sustainability criteria"
are called for. Rational
thought went into
this 28-page no-nonsense
statement - how refreshing!
For example: You can't take
all the agricultural
residue (straw, corn
stalks, branch trimmings)
and turn it into biofuel.
Some of that stuff needs to
be left in place to provide
soil carbon and structure,
and farmers probably will
end up adding back the
nutrients that are lost
when the straw is removed.
That goes for forests as
well: most of the "slash"
left from logging, natural
die-off and fire will break
down into humus on its own,
over the decades. There's a
certain amount that should
be left alone, and we're
closer now to knowing just
how much removal is too
much.
When we
try to figure out this
Climate Change business, we
are confronted with the
interconnectedness of
everything, everywhere. We
cut back on releasing
carbon into the atmosphere
with waste to biofuels
processing, yet doing so
shifts carbon loss
elsewhere. But overall,
converting waste to fuels
that replace petroleum
sourced gasoline and diesel
can reduce the amount of
greenhouse gas release by
more than 60%.
The
analysts compared
agricultural residues,
forest slash, and municipal
solid waste (MSW) sourced
feedstock, and concluded
that feedstock salvaged
from MSW after recycling
offered the best GHG
reduction, while showing
better economics. Yet MSW
at some point will contain
every contaminant we humans
can make, so more care in
sorting and separating is
crucial.
The
report shied away from
saying which was better,
heat and power or transport
fuel, and simply recognized
there is now and will be
increasing competition for
feedstock between the big
incinerators and the
ethanol / biodiesel
producers. One big point:
"Policy mechanisms to drive
advanced biofuels into the
market should be based on a
thorough understanding of
the volumes that are
sustainably available and
the indirect impacts that
might occur from exceeding
those volumes.
Sustainability criteria
must be in place to direct
investment towards the most
sustainable
resources."
Hey
Rube!
As you scan the news, consider
these activities as useful
examples and keep this in mind:
we have the waste conversion
tools, we have plenty of
waste-derived feedstock, and
we're even starting to see the
money going to back
on-the-ground, commercial-scale
projects. It's policy and
consistent political will that
is now most needed. Encourage
and applaud those lawmakers who
Get It, and help educate those
that still haven't made the
connection: trash in a dump is
simply Wasted
Resource.
This Week's Top Story
Cool Planet
Starts Construction on First
Commercial Biofuels
Facility
Colorado based Cool Planet
Energy Systems has announced
that it has broken ground on
the company’s first commercial
facility in Alexandria,
Louisiana, dubbed Project
Genesis.
02/27/2014
The
Week's News
Fleet Tests
of UPM’s Wood-Based
BioDiesel Show Great Results
at
VTT
Finland based UPM Corporation
has announced that the first
fleet tests of UPM’s renewable
diesel proved that UPM BioVerno
works in cars just as well as
regular diesel.
02/28/2014
Valmet to
Deliver Wood-Chip Heating
Plant for District Heating
in
Finland
Finland based Valmet
Corporation has announced that
it will supply a EUR 27 million
wood-chip-fired heating plant
to Tampereen Energiantuotanto
Oy, located in the Hervanta
area of Tampere, Finland.
02/28/2014
Green
Investment Bank and SBEF to
Finance Energy Improvement
Projects
The United Kingdom's (UK) Green
Investment Bank (GIB) has
announced that it has joined
forces with Societe Generale
Equipment Finance (SGEF) to
provide £50m of financing for
energy efficiency projects.
02/27/2014
Teams
Shortlisted for the Surrey
Organics Biofuel Processing
Facility
The City of Surrey in British
Columbia, Canada has announced
the three qualified teams
shortlisted to participate in
the next stage of the
competitive selection process
to deliver the Surrey Biofuel
Processing Facility project.
02/27/2014
FCC
Environment Begins Operating
Micro-Turbine at Lancashire
Landfill
United Kingdom (UK) based FCC
Recycling (UK) Ltd dba FCC
Environment has announced that
it has begun operating a
micro-turbine at its Deerplay
landfill site on the outskirts
of Burnley Lancashire, UK.
02/27/2014
New Report:
High Potential for Waste
Sourced Advanced Biofuels in
Europe
Finland based UPM Corporation
has announced a newly released
report entitled “Wasted:
Europe’s Untapped Resource.” an
assessment of advanced biofuels
from wastes and residues.
02/27/2014
US DOE BETO
Releases New Bioenergy KDF
Legislative
Library
The US Department of Energy
(DOE) Bioenergy Technologies
Office (BETO) has announced the
release of a new Bioenergy
Knowledge Discovery Framework
(Bioenergy KDF) resource: the
Legislative Library.
02/27/2014
Waste2Tricity Moves
to Accelerate
Waste-to-Energy Projects in
Thailand
Waste2Tricity International
(Thailand) Ltd has just
announced that it signed a new
co-operation agreement in
Bangkok with AFC Energy plc and
Alter NRG Corp to accelerate
the adoption of the AFC Energy
fuel cell systems for
energy-from-waste (EfW)
projects in Thailand.
02/25/2014
New PICS
Report Says Biochar Is Fuel
Substitute for Coal And
Natural
Gas
The Pacific Institute for
Climate Solutions (PICS) has
announced a new policy paper
that identifies biochar as a
renewable fuel substitute for
all coal and some natural gas
burned in British Columbia
(BC), that would result in a
22% reduction in greenhouse gas
emissions (GHG).
02/24/2014
Iona Capital
Finances 1st Gas-to-Grid
Anaerobic Digestion Plant in
Scotland
Iona Capital, Ltd in
conjunction with Scotia Gas
Networks, has announced the
successful completion of an
investment in Keithick Biogas
Ltd., a joint venture company
with Keithick Farms Ltd. in
Coupar Angus, Perthshire,
Scotland.
02/24/2014
UMD Selects
Heyl & Patterson Rotary
Calciner for Biocoal
Research
Pennsylvania company Heyl &
Patterson Inc (H&P) has
announced the sale of an
indirect-fired rotary calciner
to the University of Minnesota
(UMD), Duluth, Natural
Resources Research Institute
(NNRI).
02/24/2014
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