Teru Talk Newsletter
Volume V, Issue 7, February
16,
2015
Teru Talk by Michael
Theroux (pronounced
"Terú")
Teru's Trash Talk
Today, we're visiting that
all-too-rare Multi-Technology
Resource Recovery and Recycling
Eco-Park. This is where trash
from our local residences and
businesses needs to go, to
cost-effectively turn Garbage
to Goods, Waste to Wealth.
Let's see what COULD be
happening to all our discards,
if science-driven common sense
was sufficiently backed by
sound leadership, the public
will, and ... money. Let's face
it: waste management has a
cost, and that includes
recycling and resource
recovery. We either pay up
front or in the long run, but
we pay.
Some of the site looks pretty
familiar: gates with attendants
who direct traffic, keeping the
local self-haul folks out from
under the trash hauler truck
wheels. What needs weighing
goes over the big in-ground
scales. The construction and
demolition debris goes over
there to be sorted, cleaned and
crushed, separating iron rebar
from gypsum board, glass,
broken boards, and concrete.
Shipping pallets and yard
trimmings get dumped next to
the chippers and grinders, then
run past magnets and through
the cyclones to sift out the
dirt, nails and big staples -
out comes pretty clean shredded
wood. Most of what comes here
is "mixed municipal solid
waste", and flows into the
belly of the Materials Recovery
Facility
(MRF)
complex where conveyor
belts run under fancy
computerized sensors and
lots of gloved hands to
separate that smelly mess
to the Nth degree into
salable "recyclates"
headed for commercial
markets, and
"post-recycling
residuals".
So far, this is all pretty
standard municipal waste
management. Cans, bottles,
paper, plastic, metal, and
other recyclable stuff gets
bundled and sold; most of the
remaining crud goes to the
dump, usually more than half
the tonnage that came in the
gate. But that's so old school.
Now let's visit the
other
systems,
the infrastructure that
could
be a
natural part of MRF. Today,
more advanced companies have
already cut the cloth, so there
are real-world examples to
follow for integrating multiple
specialized waste conversion
complements.
First, we add tanks for
Anaerobic Digestion (AD)
modules to take in the
region's
wet
organics, the
food waste, and food
processor residuals for
conversion to biomethane
fuel. Then we bolt down
smaller thermal systems
to turn
dry
organics into
to-specification biochar
for soils amendments, and
bio-oil for refining to
fuels and lubricants.
Together, these provide
the cooling, heating and
power to run the entire
Eco-Park. Don't forget
making a space for
biodiesel production so
you can take in the
region's used cooking
oils, fats, and grease
(often called "FOG) so
you can run your fleet
vehicles on either
compressed biogas or
biodiesel.
If you are going to pay the
good money to build and operate
a big MRF, you might as well go
for a fully integrated "waste
refinery". You have to pay for
the land, the management, and
all those front-end and
back-end control systems
anyway, so adding subsystems
just means more diverse
regional intake and output. And
that adds up to more Resource
Recovery and Recycling... and
more Jobs.
Hey Rube!
This
week's news highlights many
highly integrated, science
driven waste to wealth examples
from all over the world. We
have enough discarded
feedstock. We have enough
technology, and we sure have
the need. Examples abound: the
Waste Conversion Truth is out
there...
This Week's Top Story
Calgren's
Tulare County Ethanol Plant
Changes Cow Waste Into Clean
Energy
Regenis, an Andgar company, has
announced the launch of the
Calgren Ethanol Biodigester
plant, which utilizes waste
from dairy farms to power the
production of tens of millions
of gallons of ethanol, all
consumed in California's
Central Valley.
02/13/2015
The Week's News
Metsä Signs
Letters of Intent for
Bioproduct Mill's Main
Equipment
Deliveries
Finland based Metsä Fibre
signed letters of intent today
with Valmet Corporation and
Andritz Oy to provide the main
equipment deliveries for the
proposed Äänekoski bioproduct
mill.
02/13/2015
NIB Finances
Biomass Combined Heat and
Power Plant in Nokia,
Finland
Nordic Investment Bank (NIB)
has signed a 15-year maturity
loan of EUR 22 million with
Nokianvirran Energia Oy to
finance a new biomass fuelled
combined heat and power (CHP)
plant in Nokia, Finland.
02/13/2015
GDF SUEZ
Signs PPA For Energy From
Allerton Waste Recovery
Park
United Kingdom (UK) company
AmeyCespa has signed a Power
Purchase Agreement (PPA) with
GDF SUEZ Energy UK for the
output from its new
energy-from-waste facility in
North Yorkshire.
02/12/2015
Shanks
Doubles Capacity of Scottish
Anaerobic Digestion
Facility
Shanks Group plc and its joint
venture partner, Paragon
Efficiencies, are in the final
stages of expanding their
Energen Biogas anaerobic
digestion (AD) facility in
Cumbernauld by 100%.
02/12/2015
NREL and
EPRI Launch Incubator
Network to Help Clean Energy
Start-ups
The US Department of Energy's
(DOE) National Renewable Energy
Laboratory (NREL) and the
Electric Power Research
Institute (EPRI) have launched
the Clean Energy Incubator
Network.
02/11/2015
USDA Funding
Available for Renewable
Energy and Energy Efficiency
Projects
US Department of Agriculture
(USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack
has announced that rural
agricultural producers and
small business owners can now
apply for funding to purchase
and install renewable energy
systems or make energy
efficiency improvements.
02/10/2015
Blue Sphere
Forms Joint Venture for 5.2
MW Biogas Facility in
Charlotte,
NC
Blue Sphere Corporation (Blue
Sphere) has announced formation
and closing of a joint venture
to develop, construct, and
operate a 5.2 MW biogas
generation facility (Project)
in Charlotte, North Carolina
with affiliates of York Capital
Management.
02/10/2015
GENeco
Wastewater Gas to Grid and
Bio-Bus Projects Win
Rushlight
Awards
Bristol-based GENeco has
announced winning two category
awards in this year's 8th
Annual Rushlight Awards.
02/10/2015
County
Councils in West Wales Sign
Refuse Derived Fuel
Agreement
Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire
County Councils in West Wales
have signed a new contract with
Potters Waste Management under
which the waste from the two
counties that cannot be
recycled will be processed and
exported to Sweden.
02/09/2015
The Week's Action
Items
Due
03/02/2015: Nominations for
Israeli Prize for
Alternative Fuel
Innovation
The Government of the State of
Israel has announced that it is
accepting nominations for the
Eric and Sheila Samson Prime
Minister's prize for Innovation
in Alternative Fuels for
Transportation.
02/09/2015
|