Teru Talk Newsletter
Volume V, Issue 23, June 8,
2015
Teru Talk by Michael
Theroux (pronounced
"Terú")
Teru's Trash Talk
In these fire-prone western
regions of the United States,
those of us in rural areas
spend a lot of time clearing
brush away from our homes and
businesses; at least we’d
better, knowing what’s good for
us. Wildfires that come right
up inside our communities are
no fun. Best to get those dead
branches and dry grass cleaned
away from structures, out from
under power lines, and cleared
from along the sides of our
roads. It is hard to think of
all that pretty vegetation as
“waste”, until lighting starts
spot fires in a summer storm,
and we’re suddenly wishing all
that “biomass” wasn’t quite so
thick and
crispy.
You cut it down, and chop it up
into mulch. Spread that
moisture-holding mulch around,
and you can cut back on
watering too. Add enough wet
gooey food waste to that wood
and encourage the microbial
magic of composting, and the
landscaping likes it even more.
We get safer communities, and
happier
plants.
There is a huge amount of dry
crunchy fire fuel out there,
far more than we can use in
mulching and composting. For
over a hundred years society
flinched every time a forester
suggested we needed to lower
the woodland fuel loading, the
excess saplings, and the brush
and grass that just keeps
accumulating. We’ve stopped all
the small fires for so long
that now we get Big Fires,
ripping infernos that take out
thousands of acres at a time
and can wipe out an "urban
interface" community in a
matter of moments. People are
finally wising up, and despite
the whining nay-sayers, common
sense is dictating better
management of our wildlands. If
we are going to “manage”
nature, if we insist in moving
right up into the fire-prone
foothills, we must accept the
responsibility and get busy
removing that built-up deadwood
and over-grown
understory.
Now, we don’t get to go blindly
into the fields and forests,
gathering up every scrap of
carbon we find. Soil needs
carbon too, as do the plants
and animals that are still out
there. With the responsibility
for land management also comes
the crucial need for timely and
accurate knowledge upon which
to base that management. Bright
folks are figuring out how much
biomass is enough, and how much
is too much; we just need to
color inside the
lines.
What do we do with all the
excess biomass when we’ve
properly managed those forests?
When we have made enough mulch
and compost to flood the
market, what's next? Turn it
into "liquid wood" and fuel our
engines with it, displacing
petroleum use and providing a
renewable feedstock for
refineries. Pshawww, you might
say, but after decades of
research, converting “waste”
wood into to-specification
liquid hydrocarbon is now a
commercial reality. Apparently,
once you figure out how to coax
apart those molecular clumps of
carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen,
you can recombine them almost
any way you like into things
you need, such as heating oil,
gasoline, diesel and jet fuel.
"Liquid Wood": how cool is
that?
Hey Rube!
It’s high
time to figure out which big
conferences you will
participate in this year;
everyone’s coming out with
their Save the Date notices.
Our pitch: Make your plans now
to attend the
Waste
Conversion Technology
Conference & Trade
Show
,
Aug 17-19, 2015 in San
Diego. The full agenda is
now available. Teru is
speaking in the first
panel, first day, and
moderating the first
panel, second day. See
you there!
This Week's Top Story
Alaska
Airlines and WSU Partner to
Advance Use of Aviation
Biofuels
Alaska Airlines is partnering
with the Washington State
University (WSU) led Northwest
Advanced Renewables Alliance
(NARA) to advance the
production and use of
alternative jet fuel made from
forest residuals, the tree
limbs and branches that remain
after a forest harvest.
06/04/2015
The Week's News
WELTEC
ProMOS Bio Management System
Wins Biogas Innovation
Award
WELTEC BIOPOWER has announced
that it received the "Biogas
Innovation Award of the German
Agriculture" at the Biogas
Innovation Conference in
Osnabrück, Germany, in
recognition of the company's
ProMOS Bio management system.
06/05/2015
BESC and
Mascoma Develop
Revolutionary Microbe for
Biofuel
Production
New Hampshire based Mascoma LLC
and the US Department of
Energy's BioEnergy Science
Center (BESC) have developed a
revolutionary strain of yeast
that could help significantly
accelerate the development of
biofuels from nonfood
cellulosic plant matter.
06/04/2015
Genscape
Marks Industry Milestone
with First Verified D6
Ethanol
Q-RINs
Genscape, Inc has announced
that its D6 ethanol Q-RINs were
generated within the US
Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) Moderated Transaction
System (EMTS) for the first
time during the final week of
April 2015.
06/04/2015
Ensyn and
Youngstown Thermal Sign RFO™
Biofuel Supply
Agreement
Ensyn Fuels Inc has signed a
contract with Youngstown
Thermal LLC for the supply of
up to 2,500,000 gallons per
year of RFO™, Ensyn's advanced
cellulosic biofuel.
06/04/2015
IBI Releases
On-Line Biochar
Classification
Tool
The International Biochar
Initiative (IBI) has released
its Biochar Classification
Tool, an on-line format for the
identification and
classification of types of
biochar. Biochar is pyrolyzed
biomass, a refined form of
charcoal, usually made from
organic wastes and residuals.
06/04/2015
Ener-Core
Obtains US Patent for System
to Convert Waste Gases to
Steam
California based Ener-Core, Inc
has obtained a US patent for a
system that converts waste
gases into steam or heat for
industrial uses.
06/02/2015
OriginClear
Executes MOU with CSU
Bakersfield for Technology
Validation
Los Angeles based OriginClear,
Inc (formerly Origin Oil) has
announced that the company
executed a memorandum of
understanding (MOU) with
California State University,
Bakersfield (CSU Bakersfield).
06/02/2015
USDA
Restarts Biomass Crop
Assistance Program for
Renewable
Energy
The US Department of
Agriculture (USDA) has
announced that incentives will
resume this summer for farmers,
ranchers, and forest landowners
interested in growing and
harvesting biomass for
renewable energy.
06/01/2015
The Week's Action
Items
Due
06/05/2015: Public Comment
on CEC Staff Final RPS
Eligibility
Guidebook
The California Energy
Commission (CEC) will consider
adopting the Staff Final
Renewables Portfolio Standard
Eligibility Guidebook, Eighth
Edition, (RPS Guidebook) at its
Business Meeting on June 10,
2015.
06/01/2015
Due
06/19/2015: Comments to
Final CARB Low Carbon Fuel
Standard
Regs
The California Air Resources
Board (CARB) proposes to
readopt the Low Carbon Fuel
Standard in July 2015, and has
now released final
modifications to the regulation
in a 15-day public comment
period.
06/05/2015
Due
07/24/2015: Applications for
CA 2015 Governor's
Leadership
Awards
The Governor’s Environmental
and Economic Leadership Award
Program recognizes individuals,
organizations, and businesses
that have demonstrated
exceptional leadership and made
notable, voluntary
contributions in conserving
California's precious
resources, protecting and
enhancing our environment,
building public-private
partnerships and strengthening
the State's economy.
06/02/2015
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