August 2013 News and Matters of Interest
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Due 10/11/2013: Expression
of Interest for Mumbai MSW Processing & Disposal
The Municipal Corporation for Greater Mumbai (MCGM), India, has issued a global tender seeking Expressions of Interest for development of a "Municipal Solid
Waste (MSW) Processing & Disposal Facility." The MCGM initially intends to process and dispose of about
2,500 metric tonnes per day waste at three or four sites (approximately 600 to 800 metric tonnes per day at each
site, which may be increased in future. The proposed turnkey facilities are to have the capacity to process MSW
through viable and sustainable technologies. The MCGM's Solid Waste Management Project web page notes that Greater Mumbai is the "financial and
commercial capital of the Country, accommodating more than 12 million people presently, Mumbai has garbage (MSW)
production at the rate of 7,000 metric tonnes per day. It also produces nearly 2,500 metric tonnes of
construction and demolition (C&D) waste per day." The MCGM operates a fleet of well over 900 vehicles for
waste collection, making 1,396 trips each day. According to the Clean India Journal, the Brihanmumbai (Greater Mumbai) Municipal Corporation Is considering
development of at least 10 waste-to-energy plants to process the city's estimated daily generation of 8,000
metric tonnes of garbage, and has already released a number of tenders in which the Corporation will own a 50%
interest. The Solid Waste Management Initiative is an implementation element of the Mumbai City
Development Plan 2005-2025. Expressions of Interest for this tender are due to the MCGM by October 11, 2013. For
further information, contact the MCGM Solid Waste Management Department. 08/31/2013
Australian $9MM Pilot Plant to Turn Waste Carbon
Emissions into Bricks
The Priority Research Centre for Energy at Australia's University of Newcastle has
announced it will build a pilot plant for mineral carbonation to capture
the waste carbon in industrial emissions for "geosequestration" as a solid carbonate rock. The pilot plant will
test the process and its economics, seeking a viable method for both carbon sequestration and development of
green building materials. Funding of $9 million will come from the Australian government and the Australian
materials company Orica. The mineral carbonation technology replicates the Earth's carbon sink mechanism
by combining CO2 with low grade minerals such as magnesium and calcium silicate rock to make inert carbonates.
The process transforms the CO2 into a solid product that can be used in many ways, including as new green
building materials. Bogdan Dlugogorski, Director of the Centre: "The key difference between
geosequestration and ocean storage and our mineral carbonation model is we permanently transform CO2 into a
usable product, not simply store it underground." The research pilot plant is the result of six years of R&D
undertaken by a team including experts from the University of Newcastle, the GreenMag Group and Orica. It will
be built at the University's Newcastle Institute for Energy and Resources (NIER) and is expected to be
operational by 2017. 08/29/2013
Canadian Plastics Association Sponsors Marine Waste
Plastics-to-Fuel Project
The Canadian Plastics Industry Association (CPIA) has announced sponsorship of the British Columbia based Upcycle the Gyres Society (UpGyres, or
UGS) for its proof of concept pilot project to collect ocean-borne waste plastic and convert it to clean fuel.
The global non-profit UpGyres is "a diverse community of people working together to accelerate existing
eco-tourism, upcycling, and marine plastic harvesting practices into clean-up action of the ocean currents"
focused on pioneering a new industry of Marine Plastic Eco-Recovery, and Upcycling. Gyres are large systems of
rotating ocean currents where stable waters create a roundup of floating items including garbage, bringing about
convergence zones for plastic pollution. Upcycling is the practice of converting waste materials or useless
products into new materials or products of better quality and/or higher environmental value. The UpGyres aims to
transform marine plastic pollution suspended in the circular oceanic currents into quality materials and
products of high environmental value. The society plans to base its plastics to fuels upcycling refineries at
sea to facilitate use of automated drones for the waste plastics harvesting to cut operational costs and
transport emissions. "Upcycle the Gyres Society and its Social Enterprise will adapt their operations to
transport harvested plastics in a solid state to shore for recycling/upcycling if the consensus and the
economics prove that it is environmentally more responsible to do so."The CPIA is signatory to the Global
Declaration for Solutions on Marine Litter. CPIA's Marine Litter Solutions initiative is committed to continued efforts in Canada to reduce
marine litter. 08/29/2013
RENAC TREE Project to Hold Renewable Energy Training
for African Leaders
The German company Renewables Academy (RENAC) has announced its third major project for building international renewable energy development
capacity, part of the Transfer Renewable Energy & Efficiency (TREE) project, to expand upon training of
African decision makers in use of renewable energy. In September and October, political and business
decision-makers from Angola, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa, and Tanzania will be able to deepen their
knowledge of renewable energy technologies and meet German companies by participating in three one-week seminars
in Berlin. The first seminar session will be held from September 23-27, 2013 and will focus on “Market
Development for Wind Energy”. The topic of the second seminar from October 14-18 is “Developing Rural
Electrification” The third seminar from October 21-25 covers “Bioenergy”. As with previous training sessions by RENAC, all seminars combine theoretical seminars, site visits
to operational renewable energy plants, and meetings with German companies. The international TREE project
launched by RENAC has been running since 2008. To date, more than 800 policy makers and business participants
from 54 countries across the world have undertaken training as part of the program. The Renewables Academy RENAC
is an international provider of capacity building services and specialized in renewable energies and the energy
efficiency sector. 08/29/2013
BioNitrogen Gets Hardee County Planning Approval for
Biomass-to-Urea Plant
Florida-based BioNitrogen Holdings Corporation has received unanimous approval from the Hardee County Planning and Zoning Commission for the
company's biomass-to-urea fertilizer production plant, one year after signing the crucial feedstock supply agreement. BioNitrogen can now move forward with final design and
application for construction permits. The company also just announced formally changing its name from BioNitrogen Corporation to BioNitrogen
Holdings Corporation "to more accurately reflect the company's plans for future growth." The BioNitrogen
technologic approach is to gasify biomass feedstock and convert the resulting gas into urea.
Feedstock will consist primarily of agricultural wastes and residual products, including sugar cane bagasse,
palm waste, rice hulls, peanut hulls, cotton byproducts and corn stover. When received, the biomass will be
dried, cleaned and ground to a consistent size and gasified. The resultant raw synthetic natural gas (syngas)
will then pass through a series of cleaning steps to remove any elements that could be detrimental to the
downstream processing. 08/29/2013
Covanta Secures 20-Year New York City MSW Supply
Contract for EfW
New Jersey headquartered Covanta Energy has announced a new 20-year term municipal solid waste (MSW) supply contract with New York City Department of Sanitation with two 5-year extension options for the City.
Covanta is to "transport and sustainably dispose" via Covanta's existing Energy from Waste (EfW) facilities of
about 800,000 tons per year of New York City's MSW delivered to a pair of marine transfer stations located in
Queens and Manhattan. The contract calls for waste to be transported via sealed containers using a multi-modal
approach including Covanta's purchase and use of barges and railcars to reduce long-haul truck emissions;
Covanta expects its total investment to purchase needed equipment will be approximately $110 million over
several years beginning in 2013. The decision to utilize Energy-from-Waste facilities marks a major milestone in
reaching the City's goal of diverting 75 percent of solid waste from landfills. James Regan, Covanta corporate
communications associate, said the waste will be transported to Covanta Niagara in Niagara Falls, New York, and Covanta Delaware Valley, which is just south of Philadelphia. “The NYC contract will not
require any expansion of waste processing capacity at either facility,” he said. “NYC waste will simply displace
waste that is currently under short-term contracts.” 08/29/2013
Oregon EQC Approves Final Conversion Technology and AD
Rules
The Oregon Environmental Quality Council (EQC) unanimously approved the final Conversion
Technology Rules (agenda item H) during last week's regular meeting, accepting numerous changes detailed in the
staff report and addendum presented by the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). The
Conversion Technology Rulemaking has been a lengthy public process to establish performance
standards and solid waste permit requirements for anaerobic digestion facilities and conversion technology
facilities. From the staff report: "Conversion technology facilities use chemical or thermal processes such as
pyrolysis or gasification to convert solid waste to chemicals, fuels or other products for use or resale.
Anaerobic digestion facilities use biological processes to digest solid waste and create methane that can be
used to create electricity or transportation fuels. Under existing rules, conversion technology facilities and
anaerobic digestion facilities are classified as solid waste treatment facilities. This rulemaking proposes to
classify facilities using anaerobic digestion as composting facilities and create a new classification of solid
waste disposal site called conversion technology facilities." The final redline version of the rules as
presented with the supportive material was adopted “as is” by the EQC and thus will be reflected in the Rules
once published by the Oregon Secretary of State’s office in the coming months. 08/27/2013
Marion City Council in Iowa Approves Fiberight's MSW
Conversion Facility
During its August 22, 2013 meeting, the City Council of Marion, Iowa, approved a Resource Recovery Agreement (Resolution 23332),
which gives Fiberight, LLC permission to build a solid waste recycling facility in an industrial area
behind the City’s Public Services Center. In Teru Talk's interview regarding the City's project and the
Council's approval, program manager Ryan Miller noted that this completes one step in a far-reaching public
information and outreach program. The program parallels the establishment of an "eco-industrial park" designed
to completely change the region's waste management practices, moving away from landfill disposal and toward
resource recovery. The selection of Fiberight provides a core competency for cost-effective conversion of
post-recycling municipal solid waste (MSW) into cellulosic biofuel. Fiberight's CEO Craig Stewart-Paul hopes to
start construction on the $20 million complex later this year. Fiberight's Targeted Fuel Extraction (TFE) is a
multi-technology waste conversion platform that includes materials recovery through presorting, use of a
specialized autoclave and washing process for cellulosic fiber pre-treatment and separation, acid and enzymatic
hydrolysis to break down cell walls, and fermentation of the resulting "sugar soup" into bio-ethanol. Fiberight
also provides systems for depolymerization of non-recyclable waste plastic for conversion to clean fuel for
on-site usage, specialized microbial breakdown of organics for on-site composting, and now recycles essentially
all acids and enzymes used in the overall process. 08/27/2013
Due 10/25/2013: Applications to CEC for Alt Fuels and
Technology Centers
The California Energy Commission (CEC) is requesting proposals to develop "new centers or expand existing centers for alternative
fuels and advanced vehicle technology." The Program Opportunity Notice (PON-13-605) was released on August 23, 2013 and is funded under the Assembly Bill (AB) 118
Alternative Fuels and Vehicle Technology Program. There is a total of $4.7 million available for the agreements
resulting from this solicitation. The CEC expects to make at least three awards of up to $1,566,667 each to be
distributed among Northern California, Central California, and Southern California regions. The CEC at its sole
discretion, reserves the right to increase or reduce the amount of funds available under this solicitation.
Funds for this solicitation are to be used for development, construction, expansion, renting/leasing, and/or
operation of a center. Applicants are responsible for securing funding for the various activities that may occur
in the center. For example, Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology (ARFVT) solicitations provide
funding opportunities to install alternative fueling infrastructure, conduct maintenance or production training,
carry out regional planning activities, or demonstrate alternative fueled vehicles. A Pre-Application Workshop
is scheduled for September 6, 2013. Applications are due by 3:00 PM on October 25, 2013. 08/27/2013
Cool Planet's 1st 10MM
Gallon Biorefinery Will Be Located in Louisiana
California based Cool Planet Energy Systems has announced selection of Alexandria, Louisiana as the location for the company's first
showcase biorefinery. Cool Planet is focused on development of small commercial scale plants for conversion of
non-food biomass to drop-in fuel and biochar. The company's technology platform uses pressure and heat for "biomass fractionation", combined with
catalytic conversion of the hydrocarbons produced and recovery of the valuable solid carbon char or "biochar"
useful for CO2 sequestration and soil amendment. The location on the Port of Alexandria in Rapides Parish was
chosen with support from the City of Alexandria and the economic development team from the State of Louisiana.
The location provides access to an abundance of renewable biomass feedstock, the ability to load fuel onto
barges, rail lines and trucks, and a strong local labor pool to operate the facility. Howard Janzen, CEO of Cool
Planet Energy Systems: "Louisiana is known for its substantial oil interests, but now will also have the
distinction of being home to the first, of what is planned to become many, production facilities for Cool
Planet’s renewable, high-performance gasoline and soil enhancing biochar. Our goal for the Alexandria facility
is to be economically competitive with conventional fuels made from non-renewable crude oil."
08/26/2013
NPG Energy Selects Weltech Biopower for 2.4MWe
Biogas Plant in Belgium
Germany based Weltech Biopower has announced that the Belgian investor and project developer NPG Energy has selected Weltech to develop a 2.4 megawatt (MWe) biogas plant in the Limburg
District of Belgium. Weltech's proposed design includes two 4,700 cubic meter stainless steel primary digesters,
a second-stage-digester, two combined heat and power (CHP) plants, two 80 cubic meter dosing feeders, and the
Company's proprietary Multi-Mix system. The Multi-Mix system shreds long-fiber biomass feedstock to fine
particulates. Initial feedstock will consist of about 20,000 annual tonnes of maize silage, to be replaced over
time with other renewable feedstock including agricultural "left-overs" and residuals. In addition to the plant
residues, input will include fats and vegetable waste from grease separators, pre-mixed food processing
residuals, and glycerine-laden "soap water" from biodiesel production. Power generated from the methane-rich
biogas is intended for dedicated usage by carpet yarn manufacturing facilities of the Spin-group BV, as the
manufacturer transitions to use of renewable energy. Heat from the biogas plant engines will be used to maintain
the facility and dry the 50,000 tonnes per year of substrate produced from the second-stage digester; the dried
residual will then be provided to local agriculture as fertilizer and soils amendment. 08/26/2013
Due 09/19/2013: Comments to California ARB on Alt
Diesel Regulations
The staff of the California Air Resources Board (ARB) has announced the third public workshop for Thursday, September 5 2013 to explore the upcoming
rulemaking on alternative diesel fuels (ADF). The workshop will be focused on draft regulatory language; a staff presentation and the new draft language will be posted on
the ARB's BioDiesel and Renewable Diesel webpage prior to the meeting. Preliminary Draft Regulation language was the subject of the June 13, 2013 workshop; the
current draft incorporates comments received on that preliminary draft. Biodiesel and Renewable Diesel are fuels
produced by the conversion of wastes and residuals most commonly derived from biological sources, such as used
vegetable oil and animal rendering tallow; alternatives can include thermal and hydrothermal conversion to
intermediary products followed by catalysis. The processes can result in "drop-in" fuels essentially identical
to petroleum-sourced hydrocarbons. This workshop is scheduled for September 5, 2013 beginning at 9:00am in
Conference Room 550, Cal EPA building, Sacramento, and will be webcast. ARB staff intends to propose the final
language to the Board in November of this year. Comments regarding the draft regulation are due to the ARB by no
later than September 19, 2013 and should be emailed to <>.
08/26/2013
Optinol Can Produce Non-GMO Bio-Butanol at Cost Parity
with Ethanol
San Francisco based startup Optinol has announced completion of cost parity feasibility assessments, concluding that the company's
native-strain fermentation pathway can produce bio-butanol from a wide variety of sugars for the same relative
cost as ethanol fermentation. Optinol chose to engineer a production solution tailored to the organism as its
technology platform, rather than trying to tailor the organism to existing production
processes. The net result is a high yield and commercially robust process to produce low cost butanol at a price
competitive with ethanol. The bulk of lab and pilot processing testing has been conducted at Louisiana State
University, achieving success with a wide variety of cellulosic biomass sourced sugars, energy crop sugars, corn
starch, sweet sorghum juice, and molasses.. Final feasibility studies are targeting optimization of the
extraction medium. Unlike ethanol, bio-butanol is hydrophobic and has similar energy content to that of
gasoline. As such, it can be transported in standard pipelines without corrosion and other water-based issues
caused by ethanol. Optinol is a collaborative venture between SynGest Inc, Unitel Technologies, Inc, and Louisiana State University Agricultural Center. Jack Oswald, Interim CEO of Optinol Inc:
"Optinol has taken an alternative approach to producing butanol compared to companies like Gevo, Cobalt and
Butamax. In lieu of genetic modification of the organism or other hosts such as yeast or E. coli, the Optinol
process uses a patented non-GMO clostridium strain that naturally and prolifically favors the production of
butanol, and without acetone or ethanol." 08/23/2013
Synagro to Start Construction on Large Scale Composting
Plant in Florida
Headquartered in Maryland, Synagro has announced the impending start of construction on a $4.3 million multi-feedstock composting
facility in southwest Florida. The Charlotte County center will be able to process up to 100,000 tons of
biosolids and green waste per year, avoiding disposal while creating 75,000 cubic yards of Class AA nutrient
rich compost each year to meet or exceed all the FLDEP and USEPA regulations. Synagro already has large-scale
composting operations at three regional facilities in the western United States, and has developed more than 600
municipal and industrial water and wastewater facilities throughout the U.S. The new Center is expected to be in
full operation early in 2014. Eric Zimmer, President and CEO of Synagro: "Our recycling facility fills a
significant need in the area with a cost effective solution to create a sustainable program for management of
these materials. Converting these materials to capture the substantial agricultural nutrient value instead of
taking up space in landfills just makes good sense. We’re proud of the achievements that our technical team
working with our local partners has made to make this center a reality; together we are creating an
environmentally and economically sustainable solution to the ongoing challenges of managing organic wastes."
08/23/2013
GCEI Partners with Nova Renew to Develop Plastics to
Fuel Pyrolysis Plant
Global Clean Energy, Inc (GCEI) has announced a partnering agreement reached with the plastics to fuel company Nova ReNew, Inc
for the development and financing of a plastics to fuel plant that uses pyrolysis technology. GCEI has corporate
headquarters in Texas and an operational facility in Montreal, Canada. The partnership plans to finance and
develop a $15 million plastics-to-fuel facility in eastern Canada using GCEI's pyrolysis technology, which has been successfully trialed for conversion of both
plastics and tires to alternative fuels and high-value chemicals. Nova ReNew has experience in direct
construction, design, and supervision of $100,000,000 projects including paper mills, electricity generation
facilities, and solid waste management facilities. The group also has extensive knowledge in establishing
recycling programs in Nova Scotia and in the Caribbean. The proposed Nova Scotia plant will convert 6,000 tons
of waste "end of life" plastics annually into a high value synthetic fuel. Brian Levine, GCE's COO: "The Nova
ReNew group has been working closely with government officials, feedstock suppliers, engineering, and
procurement groups for the past two-years; creating perfect conditions for one of our plants. We value Nova
ReNew's project development capability, knowledge of local environment issues, and process knowledge. Further,
we believe we will jointly deliver an efficient and effective world class, End of Life plastics solution driven
industry." 08/23/2013
Linde to Build Waste CO2 Purification and
Liquefaction Plant in Saudi Arabia
Headquartered in Germany, the Linde Group has been awarded a contract to build a massive facility for recovery, purification, and liquefaction
of the raw carbon dioxide (CO2) gaseous by-product of two ethylene glycol production facilities. The contract is
with the Jubail United Petrochemical Company (UNITED), a manufacturing affiliate of SABIC (Saudi Basic Industries Corporation); the plant will be located in Jubail Industrial
City, Saudi Arabia. The new plant will be designed to collect, purify and compress around 1,500 tonnes per day
of CO2, which will then be piped through the piping corridor of the Royal Commission of Jubail to three
SABIC-affiliated companies for enhanced methanol and urea production. The plant will also be capable of
producing 200 tonnes per day of liquid CO2 with food grade quality which will be stored and subsequently
supplied by truck to the beverage and food industry. The new plant will avoid release of an estimated 500,000
tonnes of waste CO2 emissions each year. Linde Engineering Dresden will be responsible for engineering,
procurement, and construction (EPC) of the facility to be completed on a fast-track schedule. Mechanical
completion is set to be achieved in 2015. 08/22/2013
DECC Releases New Biomass Sustainability Criteria for
Energy Generation
The United Kingdom's (UK) Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC) has announced the release of tough new sustainability criteria for biomass energy generation.
The standards are includes in the UK policy for Increasing the Use of Low-Carbon Technologies. As of April 2015, all generators of 1
Megawatt (MW) capacity or more using solid biomass or biogas feedstock will be required to demonstrate that they
are meeting the new criteria in order to claim support under the Renewables Obligation (RO). This would cover
around 98% of all biomass power generation in the UK. The suite of measures includes standards for sustainable forest management criteria and harvesting rates, biodiversity protection, and
land use rights for indigenous populations. DECC has previously introduced a cap of 400MW on the total new-build
dedicated biomass capacity (excludes biomass with CHP and coal to biomass conversions) that can expect
grandfathered support under the RO. A notification process is used to allocate places within the cap, and is now
open for applications for priority projects (that reached financial close by 20 August).
Other projects will be able to apply from 11 September onwards. Greg Barker, Minister of State for Energy and
Climate Change: "The Coalition is committed to delivering clean, affordable and secure energy for consumers.
This includes an important role for biomass power as part of the UK’s energy mix. The new criteria will provide
the necessary investor certainty and, crucially, ensure that the biomass is delivered in a transparent and
sustainable way." 08/22/2013
NextFuels Will Focus Liquefaction Process on Palm Waste
to Green Crude
California based NextFuels LLC has announced that it will initially focus use of its liquefaction process on conversion of
Malaysian palm-oil residuals into "green crude." There are over 1,000 crude palm oil (CPO) mills in Southeast
Asia and a single (60 tons per hour) mill can generate 135,000 tons of agricultural residue a year.
Approximately 4.4 to 6 metric tons of agricultural waste is generated for each metric ton of palm oil. NextFuels
notes that palm oil has surpassed soybean to become the largest source of cooking oil in the world; the growth
of the industry has created a corresponding residue problem. NextFuels is working with sister company
Enagra, a fully-commercial biofuel trading company owned by the same investors as
NextFuels. The thermochemical liquefaction technology platform processes wet biomass in super-heated
water at high pressure into a putty-like "Green Crude" hydrocarbon-rich material that can either be substituted
for coal or further refined for production of numerous alternatives to petroleum-sourced fuels and chemicals.
NextFuels intends to rebuild a bio-liquefaction demonstration plant originally created by Shell in 2005 with
commercial scale module construction occurring in two to three years capable of producing 250 barrels of oil
equivalent a day. Four modules capable of producing 1,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day will be the typical
size of a NextFuels plant. Commercial scale modules will initially cost approximately $20 million and decline in
price over time. Dr. Ralph Overend, NextFuels Chief Scientist: "There is no such thing as waste. The biofuel
industry has been hampered by technological and economic challenges. We believe our system helps overcome many
of these problems and we look forward to demonstrating it over the next few years." 08/21/2013
Biofpr Publishes Review of EU and US
Lignocellulosic Biofuel Initiatives
Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining (Biofpr), a journal of the Society of Chemical
Industry (SCI), has announced free access to the article "Review of US and EU initiatives toward development, demonstration, and commercialization of
lignocellulosic biofuels." The selection of biomass conversion technologies along with feedstock
development plays a crucial role in the commercialization of next-generation biofuels. There has been synergy
and, even with similar basic process routes, diversity in the conversion technologies chosen for
commercialization in the EU and the US. The article explores US and EU biofuel initiatives, feedstock
availability, and the state-of-art conversion technologies that are potentially ready or are already being
deployed for large-scale applications. The review covers and compares the developments in these areas in the EU
and the USA and provides a comprehensive list of the most relevant ongoing development, demonstration, and
commercialization activities in various companies, along with the different processing strategies adopted by
these projects. Separate tables are provided for the US and for the EU, showing Biofuels Commercialization
Activities with details of the companies and project sites, type of technology and feedstock, capacity, products
and status grouped by thermochemical, biochemical and hybrid pathways. This article is the collaborative work
led by Venkatesh Balan of Michigan State University, with researchers at Old Dominion
University in Virginia and the University of Florence, Italy. The "Early View" on-line version is being made
available free of charge in advance of inclusion in an up-coming issue of the journal. 08/21/2013
Scotland Is First Nation to Commit to
Zero-Waste Circular Economy 100
The Government of Scotland has announced that it is the first nation to formally join the Circular Economy 100 (CE100) programme launched by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. Environment
Secretary Richard Lochhead made the announcement on a visit to Sweden to exchange insights and experiences of
building a circular economy and the economic opportunities. The CE100 global network of 100
companies, innovators and administrations has set itself a three-year timeframe to accelerate the transition to
a circular economy, helping businesses rethink the way they manage resources, whilst stimulating whilst
stimulating economic growth. Scotland’s involvement follows the recent launch of the Resource Efficient Scotland
initiative, managed by Zero Waste Scotland supported by a broad and growing public/private collaborative
network. Over the course of 2013/14, Zero Waste Scotland will provide over £10million of grant support. The
Ellen MacArthur Foundation is focused on "inspiring a generation to re-think, re-design & build a positive
future through the vision of a circular economy." The Foundation explains: "The circular economy is a generic
term for an economy that is regenerative by design. Materials flows are of two types, biological materials,
designed to reenter the biosphere, and technical materials, designed to circulate with minimal loss of quality,
in turn entraining the shift towards an economy ultimately powered by renewable energy." 08/21/2013
Covanta Acquires New Jersey Waste to Energy Plant from
Foster Wheeler
Covanta Holding Corporation has announced that it has completed acquisition of the 1,050 ton per day Camden Resource
Recovery Facility (CRRF) in the company's headquarters state of New Jersey from a subsidiary of the Swiss
engineering company Foster Wheeler AG. The CRRF is permitted by the New Jersey Department of Environmental
Protection for use of mass burn technology to convert approximately 319,000 tons of solid waste last year into
about 21 megawatts of electricity (MWe). The land on which the CRRF is located is owned by the Pollution Control Financing Authority of Camden County (PCFACC) and is leased to the
facility operator. The CRRF complements Covanta’s extensive network of EfW facilities in the Northeast and
Mid-Atlantic; Covanta operates and/or has ownership positions in 44 energy-from-waste facilities, primarily
located in North America, and 20 additional energy generation facilities, including other renewable energy
production facilities in North America. Covanta-operated facilities convert 20 million tons of trash annually
into 9 million megawatt-hours of clean, renewable energy and more than 9 billion pounds of steam sold to a
variety of industries. Anthony Orlando, Covanta's CEO and President: "We are excited to expand our portfolio of
Energy-from-Waste facilities with this strategic and opportunistic acquisition. We have a strong track record of
successfully integrating businesses and we look forward to welcoming new clients and employees into the Covanta
family." 08/20/2013
EEA Publishes Assessment of European Union's Bioenergy
Potential
Based in Denmark, the European Environmental Agency (EEA) has announced the availability of a new report,
"EU bioenergy potential from a resource-efficiency perspective." The 60-page detailed
assessment may be ordered as a paper copy or downloaded electronically without cost from Europa's EU Bookshop, a service of the European Commission. The European Union (EU) has set the
ambitious target to increase the share of renewable sources in final energy consumption to 20% by 2020. The EEA
has produced a series of reports estimating the EU's bioenergy potential in an environmental perspective and
analyzing its most efficient use to support greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation. The assessment updates estimates of
agricultural bioenergy potential, utilizes land use and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodologies, and then
considers three models or "story-lines" to arrive at key results: (1) indirect land use impacts (iLUC) matter;
(2) Contrasting policy constraints deliver little variation in total bioenergy potential but are reflected in
larger difference in the energy crop mix; (3) alternative bioenergy pathways vary significantly in their GHG
efficiency and ecosystem impacts; and (4) current EU energy cropping trends are not 'environmentally
compatible." Where feedstock is sourced from waste or agricultural residues, it implies zero land use change and
substantial advantages over fossil fuel energy in terms of both greenhouse gas efficiency and ecosystem impacts.
Conversely, where biomass is derived from energy cropping, some bioenergy pathways lead to additional GHG
emissions and other environmental impacts: "From a resource-efficiency perspective, the core message from this
study is clear: bioenergy can play a valuable role in meeting society's energy needs while reserving our natural
capital — but only if it focuses on the most resource-efficient use of biomass through the whole
biomass-to-energy production chain." 08/20/2013
Due 09/20/2013: Applications to BIC for
Ontario Bioeconomy Initiative Support
The Canadian Biomass Innovation Centre (BIC) has announced it is now accepting applications for support for the Northern Ontario Bioeconomy
Initiatives. BIC was established by Nipissing University's School of Business in 2009 to help expand the
region's clean technology industry. The purpose of this program is to create the foundation for biomass-related
project development in northern Ontario. This project will provide five small and medium-sized enterprises
(SMEs) with consulting and research services that will help position them for expansion and/or realignment in
their sector. The BIC at Nipissing University will provide technical and business support by offering research
and consulting services at very attractive rates. The program is open to incorporated SMEs located in northern
Ontario and their affiliates. The intent is to help conduct a pre-feasibility/baseline study; the project will
provide the staffing and financial resources to help SMEs determine if a biomass-related business concept is
worthwhile to proceed to the feasibility stage, or what prospects appear worth studying further. This project
will lay the foundation for SMEs to develop strategic business plans and undertake feasibility studies. A
program brochure is available for download, as are all application materials. A $500 "commitment fee" must accompany the application, due no later
than Friday, September 20, 2013. 08/20/2013
America First and Washington County, Maryland Partner
for Waste-to-Energy
West Virginia based America First, Inc. (AFI) presented a proposal to the Washington County, Maryland, Board of Commissioners at its August 6, 2013 meeting that would transform the County's landfill into a waste-to-renewable
energy facility. According to the "Waste Facility Operating Alternative" presented by Kevin Whited, President of
AFI, the proposed facility would transform the municipal solid waste (MSW) delivered to the landfill into refuse
derived fuel (RDF), reducing the amount of MSW buried at the landfill by approximately 95 percent. Operations
would process daily receipt of MSW and also begin "mining" the landfill for in-place wastes. The
Board voted 4-0 with one commissioner abstaining to move forward with public discussion and processing through
the Maryland Department of Environment for permitting. The County and AFI will partner to launch a waste-to-renewable energy initiative to develop an initial $12 million Phase I materials
recovery and post-recycling pelletized RDF operation at the Forty West Landfill outside of Hagerstown. The County will provide the land and
feedstock, and in return would receive 40% of the proceeds from RDF sales. AFI will secure funding required for
project completion based on a long-term feedstock agreement. The County will bear no fiscal responsibility for
either construction of the project or operational expenses. During the week following the meeting, Administrator
Gregory Murray told the local news service that last year the County had experienced an $800,000 shortfall for
the landfill operations, and that AFI had estimated the County's revenues for the first year of the Phase I
facility operations would generate $866,000. The proposed $50 million Phase II project expansion would
incorporate gasification and synthetic gas (syngas) catalysis systems to convert the RDF to combined heat and
power (CHP), synthetic gasoline, military and commercial grade jet fuels, and on-and-off-road diesel fuels that
will leave the facility “pump ready” and will meet or exceed Federal and State quality requirements.
0819/2013
Edeniq and PacificAg Integrate Cellulosic
Processing into Corn Ethanol Plants
California based Edeniq has announced entering into an exclusive five-year agreement with Oregon based
PacificAg to help integrate cellulosic biofuels processing capacity into existing corn
ethanol fermentation plants. Edeniq has developed and is demonstrating enzymatic hydrolysis for cellulosic
biomass pre-treatment, coupled with fermentation for biofuels production from low-value agricultural residuals.
Edeniq's Visalia, California commercial-scale demonstration facility received federal support for expansion in
February 2012, and in November of last year started construction on a parallel facility in Brazil with partner
Usina Vale, a Brazilian sugar and ethanol producer. PacificAg is the result of a merger in May 2013 of sister
companies Pacific Ag Solutions and Pacific PowerStock, forming one of the largest biomass supply chain
contracting, harvesting, and management companies in North America. Brian Thome, the President and CEO of
Edeniq: "This collaboration holds the potential to enhance the commercial viability of cellulosic ethanol
production in the US. By combining Edeniq’s bolt-on production technologies for corn ethanol plants with Pacific
Ag’s agricultural biomass supply capabilities, we will provide the best turnkey solution for today’s producers
to economically integrate cellulosic production into their existing facilities." 08/19/2013
WRAP Cymru Launches Small-Scale Reprocessing and
Re-Use Grant Program
WRAP Cymru, the Welch arm of the United Kingdom's Waste & Resources Action Programme
(WRAP), has announced a newly-funded grant program to support localization of recyclate
reprocessing. The WRAP Cymru Small Scale Reprocessing Facilities Fund provides capital funding to support the
development of small scale reprocessing which will add value to recycled materials and provide high quality raw
materials for Welsh manufacturers. Funding through the Welsh Government and the European Union Regional Development Fund (ERDF) will provide funding up to €200,000 or
40% of the total eligible capital costs for Small to Medium Sized Enterprises located in Wales’ Convergence
areas treating Commercial and Industrial waste. Funding can be used for investments in new or existing
facilities and equipment to provide the following: (1) Reprocessing infrastructure for target materials
including plastics (in particular film and non-bottle dense plastics), card, treated wood, glass, WEEE, textiles
and food waste; and (2) Equipment considered vital to enhance and improve the quality of recyclates made
available to the market. Landfill mining applications for facilities to recover and treat currently landfilled
Commercial/Industrial waste materials other than those bulleted above will be considered on a case by case
basis. Apply on-line by submitting contact information on WRAP Cymru's ARID programme page; questions may be directed to WRAP Cymru European
Projects Manager Bettina Gilbert,; 029 2044 8090. 0819/2013
Due 04/30/2014: Grant Applications to CEC for
Alternative Fuel Readiness Plans
The California Energy Commission (CEC) has released a Program Opportunity Notice (PON) for the
support of development and submission of Alternative Fuel Readiness Plans (PON-13-603). Grant funds will be awarded on a “first-come,
first-served basis” as long as funding is available. $50,000 to a maximum of $300,000 per project will be
awarded to develop Alternative Fuel Readiness Plans that will provide strategies for the deployment of
alternative fuel infrastructure (AFI) and encourage the adoption of alternative fuel vehicles (AFV's). The CEC's
Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology (ARFVT) Program, authorized by
Assembly Bill 118 in 2007 to provide up to $100 million in support per year, is making available up to
$2,100,000 in grant funds to help prepare California for the increased use of alternative transportation fuels.
There will be one Pre-Application Workshop on August 23, 2013 at 10:00 a.m., and all questions must be submitted
in writing by August 26, 2013. Participation in the pre-application workshop is optional but encouraged. The
Pre-Application Workshop will be accessible through in-person participation, WebEx, and conference call. Login
information is available in the Program Opportunity Notice Manual. Applications may be submitted at any time
between the solicitation release date through April 30, 2014 at 3:00 p.m. The first round of awards will be
announced on September 13, 2013. 08/18/2013
LanzaTech Partners with India Research Center for CO2
to Low Carbon Fuels
New Zealand headquartered LanzaTech has announced entering into a research and development agreement with India's Centre for
Advanced Bio-Energy Research to explore production of low carbon fuels from waste carbon-laden emissions. The
Centre is a joint venture between Indian Oil Corporation, Ltd. (IOC) and the Indian government's Department for Biotechnology (DBT). The LanzaTech process utilizes precision fermentation to convert carbon monoxide containing gases produced
by industries such as steel manufacturing, oil refining and chemical production, as well as gases generated by
gasification of forestry and agricultural residues, municipal waste, and coal into fuel and chemical products.
LanzaTech and the Centre will work to create a new process for the direct conversion of waste carbon dioxide
(CO2) into "drop-in" fuels through an acetates-to-lipids pathway. LanzaTech can directly convert waste CO2 gases
into acetates; the Centre is working to increase the production yield of lipids (oils) by "feeding" acetates to
microalgae. The resulting oils can then be refined into fuels. Jennifer Holmgren, CEO of LanzaTech: "India has
made it a national priority to balance its meteoric economic growth with environmental and social
sustainability. By converting India's industrial waste CO2 emissions into low carbon fuels and chemicals,
LanzaTech and the Centre can reduce overall emissions while creating a sustainable, domestic supply of
transportation fuels. We look forward to extending our technology platform and our existing partnerships in
India as we work with the team at the Centre on this initiative." 08/17/2013
Xylitol and Mascoma Assess Feasibility of Highly
Integrated Biorefinery
Toronto based Xylitol Canada Inc. has announced that it is in the feasibility phase with New Hampshire-based Mascoma Corporation, toward development of an integrated biorefinery in the Drayton Valley,
Alberta, Canada. The selected site is in the Drayton Valley Bio-Mile, a municipally designated industrial area
with a mandate to incubate and support emerging bio-based technologies. Mascoma has developed a proprietary
consolidated bioprocessing (CBP) technology platform centered on genetically modified yeast and bacteria for conversion of
low-value cellulosic biomass into high-value end products. Xylitol's production process has been under development since 2008 with a focus of producing xylose
for the North America xylitol market. The facility would produce cellulosic ethanol, power, and a xylose
feedstock for Xylitol Canada to produce a commercial grade xylose for the production of xylitol. Andrew Reid,
President and CEO of Xylitol Canada: "For the past five years Xylitol Canada has been working to develop the
lowest-cost and highest-quality process for xylose and xylitol production. We are moving forward on one of our
core objectives in providing our customers with the very best xylitol products at a price that is competitive
with sugar sweetened alternatives. We look forward to continuing to work with our partners as we develop this
opportunity." 08/17/2013
BioNitrogen Will Use Casale's Ammonia/Urea Technology
for Florida Plant
Florida based BioNitrogen Holdings Corporation has announced signing an agreement with the Swiss firm Casale Group to use its ammonia and urea plant technology for BioNitrogen's first plant in Hardee County, Florida. Casale has either built or refurbished over 400
ammonia and urea plants worldwide and is a market leader in ammonia and urea technologies. BioNitrogen's
technology platform first gasifies biomass, and then converts the syngas to a variety of
compounds through catalysis. The company recently completed a comprehensive search for the best-in-class ammonia
and urea technology providers and selected Casale as having a very impressive combination of technology,
in-house engineering capability, responsiveness, and cost for BioNitrogen's requirements. Bryan Kornegay Jr.,
President and CFO of BioNitrogen: "Employing Casale's technology and existing designs will allow us to increase
the plant's production capacity from 360 tpd (tons per day) to 520tpd, thereby improving the plant's economics
significantly. The technology will reduce both the investment per ton of production and the engineering time. We
have partnered with Casale because it is the only company with such extensive in-house experience, expertise and
technology in combined ammonia and urea plant technology, process and equipment design." 08/17/2013
Tamar Energy Selects Monsal Technology for Food Waste
AD Plant
United Kingdom (UK) based Monsal Limited has announced a major contract with Tamar Energy to provide the complete technology package for the 45,000 tonne/year, 2
megawatt electric (MWe) food waste anaerobic digestion (AD) project in Halstead, Essex. Tamar Energy has a
long-term goal of building a UK network of 40 AD plants and producing 100MW of renewable base-load electricity
by 2018. The Halstead contract includes provision of all waste reception systems, food waste depackaging
equipment, a hydrolysis plant to break down the feedstock, pasteurization systems, and AD vessels with Monsal's SGM mixing technology. The biogas and digestate management systems
are also called for, including the company's odor extraction and treatment technology. The project delivery team
includes Barhale Construction and Clarke Energy to incorporate GE's Jenbacher CHP engines with a total electrical output of
2MW. Monsal’s Managing Director, Aidan Cumiske: "Monsal is working with Tamar Energy on its first investment
phase after an extensive due diligence process. Tamar Energy can take advantage of our unparalleled track record
on food waste digestion to get high quality assets at a competitive investment cost. We are very pleased to
support Tamar Energy’s development programme on this and future projects." 08/17/2013
Methes Energies Secures $1.5MM for Expanding Ontario
Biodiesel Plant Ops
Methes Energies has announced that its subsidiary Methes Energies Canada, Inc., has closed on $1.5 million in
working capital financing for the company's Sombra Biodiesel Plant in Ontario, Canada. The plant in Sombra was
commissioned in July of 2012; the new funding provides for up to $750,000 of cash advances against the company's
accounts receivables and an additional $750,000 in cash which can be used exclusively to purchase feedstock for
the production of biodiesel. Methes has developed fully automated, continuous flow biodiesel production modules equipped with multi stage filtration and absorption
pre-treatment subsystems. Nicholas Ng, President of Methes Energies: "Closing this transaction is a significant
step forward for Methes as it provides additional resources to purchase more feedstock and increase production
at our Sombra facility. We will now be able to operate the Denami 3000 in Sombra 24/7. We recently hired and
trained additional employees and are now ready to process more feedstock into biodiesel. The demand for
biodiesel remains strong and we believe that it will continue to do well for the rest of the year and beyond."
08/17/2013
CARB and Australian Clean Energy Regulator Sign MOU to
Reduce GHGs
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) and the Australian Clean Energy Regulator have signed a Memorandum of Understanding agreeing to address the global issue of climate change by
sharing information on emissions trading programs, market-based program operations, reporting requirements, and
technical standards. The MOU was signed on July 30, 2013 by Chair of the Clean Energy Regulator, Chloe Munro,
and Chair of the CARB, Mary D Nichols. The agreement establishes a framework for a working relationship that
will mutually benefit each agency in efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The Australian Clean Energy
Regulator and the CARB have been sharing practical lessons over the past year on methods for setting carbon
prices. The new MOU focuses on investing in clean energy generation and related technologies and improving
market integrity to deepen collaboration between the two agencies. “This agreement continues our productive
relationship with the Clean Energy Regulator to improve our respective programs,” said Chair Nichols. “It is
another step forward in California’s efforts to establish relationships with other programs to continue sharing
information and best practices to fight the global danger of climate change.” According to Chair Munro: “It is
important for Australian agencies to develop strong relationships with our counterparts overseas as we work
towards a global market. I believe this agreement will demonstrate the benefits of regulators working together
to reinforce the effective operation of our programs.” The MOU will expire in 2016. 08/14/2013
DEFRA Releases Annual Report on Anaerobic Digestion
Strategy, Action Plan
The United Kingdom (UK) Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has
released its annual report for 2012-2013 on progress since the Anaerobic Digestion (AD) Strategy and Action Plan (Plan) was published in June 2011. This
annual report is the second that has been issued since the Plan was launched. The Plan was designed to deliver
the Government’s commitment to increase the energy from waste produced through anaerobic digestion. The 56
actions in the Plan do not set targets for adoption of AD technology, and focus instead on tackling barriers to
the increased use of AD in England, such as availability of finance and removing red tape. According to the
report, the industry has continued to develop during the last year with 110 operational AD plants by July 2013
(up from 54 when the AD Strategy and Action Plan was published). Another 200 AD projects currently have received
planning permission, and 10 demonstration projects that collect food waste from businesses are in place. DEFRA
expect to complete the Plan this year. 08/14/2013
Praj Starts Construction on South Asian Bioethanol Demo
Plant
India based Praj Industries has announced ground-breaking for South Asia's first integrated 2nd generation (2G) cellulosic
ethanol demonstration facility that will have a capacity of 100 dry tonnes of biomass per day.
The demo plant will utilize Praj's technologic and manufacturing expertise to convert various types of biomass, including
agricultural wastes such as corn stover, cobs, and bagasse. The plant will seek to demonstrate various technical
parameters including optimization of water and energy integration and its impact on economics, and develop the
entire value chain including biomass handling and biomass composition and its impact on the operations.
Praj will team with VAAIL for the project, an existing ethanol producer located in Western Maharashtra and
a long term client, who will provide the land and allied services. Praj expects the project cost to be in the
region of US$ 25 million (Rs. 145-150 crore). Pramod Chaudhari, Executive Chairman, Praj Industries: "Ground
breaking of 2G Cellulosic ethanol plant is a giant leap in biotechnology and towards a more sustainable world.
The greenhouse gas savings from cellulosic ethanol is greater than those from 1st Generation crop-based biofuels
as well as fossil-based fuel and hence this project will play a vital role in reducing carbon footprints. The
project site at Shirala gives us a locational advantage in terms of sourcing of biomass, utilities and manpower.
We are delighted to work with VAAIL who has been our long term client." 08/13/2013
GranBio and Rhodia Partner to Produce n-Butanol from
Biomass Residuals
Brazilian company GranBio has announced an agreement with Rhodia to establish a partnership for production of n-butanol from biomass. Rhodia is a
subsidiary of the multinational chemical company Solvay, headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. The partners intend
to build a second generation biofuel plant in Brazil for conversion of sugar cane straw and bagasse into the
versatile biofuel / biochemical n-butanol, an essential chemical in the production of acrylates and
methacrylates. Operations are expected to begin during 2015. GranBio (previously, GraalBio) is a company
of Graal Investments Corporation Group, a holding company of the Gradin Family. The firm has licensed the
PROESA biomass pretreatment processing platform from the Chemtex/TPG joint venture Beta Renewables, and the GreenPower+ and AVAP pre-treatment and processing technologies
developed by US-based American Process Inc. The new partnership signals a significant advancement toward
conversion of biomass waste and residuals into foundation bio-chemicals. Bernardo Gradin, CEO of GranBio: "The
partnership with Rhodia is fully aligned with our business partnership model and our strategy to develop
solutions that can replace fossil fuels and chemicals with renewable products." 08/13/2013
Darling International Acquires Terra Renewal to Expand
Food Waste Recycling
Texas based Darling International Inc has announced acquisition of Terra Renewal Services, Inc, adding the company's employees and all industrial operations to
Darling's portfolio. Darling is a publicly traded company focused on provision of rendering and residuals
recycling solutions for the food industry. Darling recycles beef, poultry, and pork by-product streams into
useable ingredients such as tallow, feed-grade fats, meat and bone meal, poultry meal, and hides, while
recovering and converting used cooking oil, and grease trap and commercial bakery residuals into both animal
feed and biofuel ingredients. Terra Renewal provides collection, hauling, reprocessing, and recycling of waste
cooking oil and disposal of non-hazardous, liquid and semi-solid waste streams from the food processing industry
with operations in over 24 states. The acquisition is expected to close by the end of August 2013. Darling
International Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Randall Stuewe: "We are pleased to add Terra Renewal
Services, Inc. and its employees to our Company. The grease collection business is highly complementary to our
existing footprint while the industrial residuals business is a new line of business. We are truly excited about
the opportunity the industrial residuals business brings us. Not only will we be able to provide additional
services to our rendering raw material suppliers, but we have secured a supply chain that will be essential in
building out our new waste stream extraction business." 08/13/2013
IBBK Schedules Anaerobic Digester Operator and
Engineering Training
The Germany based International Biogas and Bioenergy Center of Expertise (IBBK) has announced this year's biogas training schedule. The program and registration materials are available for IBBK's international "Biogas and AD
Operating and Engineering Course" to be conducted in Stuttgart, Germany. This is an intensive five day hands-on
course to run from September 16 through 19 in advance of their annual Biogas Expo and Conference. The focus of
the training course is to enhance participant's knowledge on anaerobic digestion and the
sustainability/efficiency of biogas plants, combining practical experience with theoretical and scientific
knowledge. IBBK Fachgruppe Biogas and the University of Hohenheim proimise that participants will have "the full benefit of
substantial and long term practical and theoretical experiences, which senior experts within the German biogas
industry are providing." The classes will be taught in English; the price is 1290 Euro (plus 19% VAT). IBBK
Fachgruppe Biogas also offers a 4-day study tour following the training, from September 23 – 26, 2013. The
participants will visit planners of biogas plants, manufacturers of components and biogas plants as well as
biogas plants with new or groundbreaking concepts or technology in Germany. IBBK is a combination and network of
experts and companies, as well as groups of interest and educational institutes in the field of biogas and
bioenergy, covering regional, national and international activities. The Centre of Competence is striving to
cover the growing demand for independent, neutral dissemination of information in the field of biogas and
bioenergy. 08/13/2013
County Approves $1.3MM in USDA Loans to Buy Site for
Wood Pellet Plant
County supervisors in Mississippi have signed off on almost $1.3 million in US Department of Agriculture (USDA) loans to pay for
land to expand the George County Industrial Park for a new wood pellet manufacturing facility to be constructed
by Green Circle Bio Energy, Inc. The County will also be responsible for road improvements and interchanges,
upgrading wastewater lines, and upgrading drinking water and process water to the site. The County secured a $1
million loan with no interest and a $283,000 loan with 1 percent interest. Both are five-year notes that will be
paid by lease payments from the company. Green Circle will be investing $115 million in the facility that will
produce up to 500,000 tons of pellets per year. The plant is expected to be operational by spring 2015 and will produce wood pellets for shipment from the Port of
Pascagoula to electric generating facilities in Europe as a renewable alternative to coal. "Timber for the
pellets, a mix of hard woods and pine, will come from within a 70 mile radius of the plant," said Morten Neraas, president and CEO of Green Circle. The wood will be trucked in already
chipped, and it will be dried, ground into a fine sawdust, and pressed into pellets on site. Green Circle's
first wood pellet plant is located in Cottondale, Florida on 225 acres. The Florida plant
began operations in 2008 and has a production capacity of 560,000 tons per year. Green Circle is a wholly owned
subsidiary of the JCE Group, a privately owned international investment company headquartered in Gothenburg,
Sweden. 08/11/2013
Colombian Oil Firm Works with NREL to Convert
Sugar Cane Waste to Biofuels
Ecopetrol, the largest oil company in Colombia, is working with the US Department of
Energy’s (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to process the residue from sugar cane and palm
oil harvesting into fuel ethanol for blending with gasoline. The $2.3 million 18-month project is
being funded by Ecopetrol, which approached NREL for its expertise on conversion of biomass, its compositional
analysis and techno-economic analysis capabilities, and NREL’s unique facilities. The Cooperative Research and
Development Agreement (CRADA) between NREL and Ecopetrol intends to optimize the conversion process for bagasse
(the material left over after the sugars are removed from the sugar cane) and to analyze the economic case for
commercial production of biofuel from these materials. The CRADA also includes some limited study on palm
rachis, the material left over after palm oil production. Colombia has an abundance of biomass in the form of
sugar cane. The crop can be harvested all year round in the region near the Pacific coast, but can only be
harvested eight months a year further inland. The plant spoils quickly, but the bagasse, the leftovers
comprising a majority of the plants' mass, can be stacked and stored for a long time. That bagasse
currently is burned to produce steam that drives turbines for electricity, but Ecopetrol is hoping to get more
value out of it than that. It’s more challenging to break down the cellulose in the bagasse than the sugar-rich
juice, but if the conversion process is successful, the bagasse can be processed into a biofuel. "There are
plenty of reasons to be optimistic the plan will work," said Rick Elander, Biochemical Conversion Manager at
NREL’s National Bioenergy Center. Ecopetrol already has a commercial facility in place for
converting sugarcane juice into fuel-grade ethanol. The fermentation and distillation equipment at that facility
could also be used to hydrolyze the bagasse and ferment the resulting sugar into additional ethanol, increasing
the output of the facility and enabling year-round operations. It would only have to add the pretreatment
process and optimize the operation. 08/11/2013
Due 09/09/2013: Comments to Idaho DEQ on Draft
Composting Guidance
The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has extended the deadline for submission of public comments on its draft guidance for operation
of composting facilities. Interested parties now have until Monday, September 9, 2013, to submit written
comments. The guidance has been developed in an effort to aid plant owners and operators and the general public
in developing an understanding of the state's regulatory requirements pertaining to composting of organics. The
DEQ notes: "Due to the variety of feedstock used in composting, different local, state, and federal regulations
may apply to various operations. The draft guidance addresses applicable state regulations based on the facility
classification, odor management, and methods of testing and sampling to determine safety and quality of finished
compost." The guidance covers windrow, aerated static pile and in-vessel compositing and details the state's
three through-put determined Permit Tier levels. Backyard composting is addressed, as are microbial degradation
of biosolids and agricultural wastes and residuals to include animal as well as plant waste materials. The draft
Processing (Composting) Facility Guidance and Checklists for Tier II and Tier III Processing Facilities is available for review at the DEQ's State Office in Boise and
by download from DEQ’s website. Submit written comments on DEQ's website or by mail or email
by 5 p.m. MDT, Monday, September 9, 2013, to Dean Ehlert, Solid Waste Program Manager, Idaho Department of
Environmental Quality, State Office, 1410 N. Hilton, Boise, ID 83706 or by email to
<>. 08/11/2013
CalRecycle/CARB Workshop on Revised Waste Mgt Sector
Plan Scheduled
California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) and Air Resources Board
(CARB) staff will co-host a workshop on September 17, 2013 to discuss revisions to the draft Waste Management
Sector Plan component of the 2013 Scoping Plan Update. An annual update to the Scoping Plan is required by the
Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (AB 32). The draft Waste Management Sector Plan
explores activities to achieve the 75% recycling goal of Assembly Bill (AB) 341, and is required by
the 2008 Scoping Plan to AB 32 to address 2020 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction standards. Previous
workshops were held and comments were due to be submitted to staff by July 12, 2013 on the previous version of the
Plan. Additional information and comments to the agencies can be found on Teru Talk's AB 341 discussion page. The workshop will be held on September 17, 2013 from 1:00 pm to 4:30
pm at the CalEPA Headquarters in Sacramento. The agenda and relevant materials will be posted online prior to
the workshop. Questions regarding the workshop can be directed to Tracey Harper <>
or Mei Fong <>. 08/10/2013
NRG Energy Plans to Build Bioenergy Park Next to
Montville Power Station
NRG Energy, Inc has announced plans to develop the Montville Renewable Energy Park next to its power station in
Connecticut. The power plant, which is currently fueled by natural gas and heavy fuel oil, is fully permitted to be converted to use forestry residues, tree trimmings, and clean,
recycled wood to generate 40 megawatts (MW) of electric power annually. “The existing boiler will be
reconfigured to handle solid fuel biomass,” said David Gaier, NRG's director of communications. “We’ll construct
fuel handling equipment, a fuel yard and a fuel storage building. The project will convert the existing boiler
from suspension firing to stoker fired.” He added one of the advantages of the plant is its ability to still
reach its original 80 MW capability using either natural gas or ultra-low sulfur diesel if needed at peak
demand. The bioenergy park will consist of two fuel cell generators, a solar energy farm, and the biomass
power plant. The two fuel cell generators will use natural gas to generate 5.6 MW of baseload electricity and
co-generate steam for the power station. Furthermore, the solar farm will generate up to 2.3 MW of power to
assist during peak load periods. The entire project is expected to cost more than $100 million and is supported by the Montville community. The project is expected to help retain existing jobs
at the station and spur up to 200 jobs to the local and regional economy in the timber and forest industry. Once
completed, the bioenergy park will generate a total of 50 MW of power. 08/10/2013
BDI Expands Feedstock Range at Spanish Biodiesel
Facility with Retrofit
Austrian based BDI - BioEnergy International AG has secured an add-on contract with Stocks del Vallés (Stocks) to provide BDI RetroFit Technology to upgrade its 31,000-ton/year (9.3 MMgy) biodiesel facility to
process multiple, lower-grade feedstocks. The facility, established in 2002, was the first company in Spain to
begin biodiesel production and the second in the world to use only used vegetable oil as feedstock. Stocks seeks
expansion of the range of acceptable feedstock, and BDI's pre-esterification systems will facilitate use of
waste oils (waste animal fats, grease tap waste etc.). These waste oils are characterized by a very high content
of degradation products of the oil (especially in free fatty acids, FFA). With the BDI RetroFit installation,
the FFA-content in the feedstock can be up to 100% for conversion by the process into standardized BioDiesel.
Based on this, the flexibility of the feedstock of the entire biodiesel-plant will increase significantly while
maintaining the strict biodiesel quality regulations (EN 14214). Dr Edgar Ahn, CSO and member of the BDI
Management Board: "We are very pleased to support our customer with a long-term business-relationship, to
optimize his existing BioDiesel-plant to the state of the art Multi-Feedstock BioDiesel-technique. This is
another proof that our RetroFit-technology is increasingly in demand for international biodiesel plants. In
addition, it provides an efficient way for biodiesel producers to increase the profitability of their existing
plants with the experience and the technology of BDI." 08/08/2013
Energy Technology Leadership Group Launched for Smarter
Safer Energy
The new Washington based advocacy association Energy Technology Leadership Group (ETLG) announced its formal launch last week "to promote smarter, safer energy through the use of
the most innovative technologies across the energy spectrum including fossil, solar, hydro, wind, biofuels, and
geothermal." ETLG will help educate members of Congress, federal agencies, and regulators about timely
technological advances, to assist them in drafting more accurate legislation and regulations. The energy sector
offers a variety of technology services in the U.S. and Canada that increase the efficiency and safety of energy
development and deployment, and the community needs a voice in Washington to help ensure their continued
success. ETLG will serve as a forum to discuss sector-specific ideas to promote further public-private
partnerships across the political and economic spectra. Among the energy sector policy issues currently targeted
for ETLG advocacy efforts: Energy efficiency, Carbon capture and storage (CCS), Cybersecurity, Pipeline safety,
Clean up, abatement, and reclamation, Tax and other incentives for technology innovation, and Social license and
related corporate social responsibility. Bryan Tackett, executive director of ETLG: "All too often,
well-intended legislative or regulatory efforts have unintended and potentially negative consequences because
they are based on inaccurate or incomplete information. ETLG will engage in an ongoing, open dialogue with
policy framers and lawmakers on issues such as pipeline safety, carbon capture, energy efficiency, and delivery
and sustainability. Through our work, we will contribute to a more comprehensive approach to smarter, safer
energy development and delivery." 08/07/2013
University of Texas, SWRI to Assess Use of Biochar for Frack Water Clean-Up
The University of Texas, San Antonio (UTSA) and the Southwest Research Institute (SWRI) have announced that they are initiating a year-long research assessment of biochar for cleanup
and remediation of "frack water," the flow-back water produced during hydraulic fracturing for mining oil and
gas reserves. Over the next year, the researchers will optimize biochar for the water treatment solution,
testing on water samples from the Eagle Ford Shale in south central Texas. Biochar is a stable charcoal-like
solid produced by pyrolysis of low-value biomass that attracts and retains water, absorbing up impurities such
as hydrocarbons, organics, biocides and certain inorganic metal ions. Flow-back water treatment is expensive to
treat because a single well can require one to five million gallons of fracking fluid. Environmental
contaminants in flow-back water include salts, hydrocarbons, and heavy metals, making it unsafe for disposal on
land and in streams. UTSA mechanical engineering faculty member Zhigang Feng and SwRI senior research scientist
Maoqi Feng believe that they can alter and optimize biochar, and intend to isolate, prepare and characterize the
biochar; test the biochar on flow-back water samples from the Eagle Ford shale; develop computer models of the
biochar water treatment system; and assess the biochar's performance for possible improvements. If successful,
they expect the biochar treatment to follow filtration to remove the solids as the second step in the water
purification process. 08/07/2013
Aston University EBRI Calls for Business Waste for
Thermal Conversion Trials
The European Bioenergy Research Institute (EBRI) based at Aston University in Birmingham, United
Kingdom (UK), has announced a request for the UK's West Midlands businesses and manufacturers to send their
waste for testing in a new bioenergy technology developed by its researchers. Launched in June 2011, the EBRI developed a pyrolysis-based waste conversion demonstration
plant at Harper Adams University in Shropshire. An industrial size demonstrator is under construction on the
Aston University campus and will be operational beginning in Fall 2013. The EBRI's Pyroformer is designed to
generate cost-effective heat and power from conversion of multiple waste sources; the research lab now seeks
waste sources such as food and agricultural waste, sewage sludge, manure and biomass (woody and non-woody
materials), as well as tall oil from the pulp industry, in bulk or in pellet form. EBRI would welcome waste
samples from anaerobic digestion, municipal waste, water treatment plants and food processing industries, and is
open to looking to collaboration with companies with facilities including pellet mills, milling plants, drying
facilities and logistics companies. Tim Miller, EBRI Director of Operations: "… energy can be derived from
domestic, agricultural and industrial waste and will mean the amount of material sent to landfill will also be
significantly reduced. The city of Birmingham, for instance, has the potential to power itself using the waste
it produces. It is crucial that EBRI is able to source waste products to run and develop our technology without
having to transport it long distances and we are keen to source these waste streams from within the West
Midlands." 08/06/2013
Waste No Energy Develops Manure and Food Waste
Digester at RAKR Farms
Indiana based Waste No Energy, LLC (WNE), a company owned by RAKR Farms, has announced development of a multi-feedstock anaerobic digester (AD) facility that is on
target to begin generating renewable power in December 2013. Once fully operational according to the project's "snapshot", the AD plant will convert about 22 tons per day (tpd) of swine waste,
4 tpd steer manure, and 100-125 tpd substrate of high energy organic waste such as regionally sourced grocery
and baked goods, restaurant waste, cheese mfg waste, brewery waste, and biofuel production byproducts for
production of over 400,000 cubic feet of biogas per day. The plant is designed to produce no waste, with all
residual being stabilized as liquid and solid fertilizer. Operations further do not require a constant supply of
fresh water. Power will be purchased by Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO). Waste No Energy’s capital investment is
being coupled with construction funding provided by First Financial Bank and an SBA-approved loan arranged
through Premier Capital Corporation. Doug Raderstorf, president of Waste No Energy: "This is an exciting time
for all of us at Waste No Energy. This technology has been utilized in Europe for decades and we are proud to
bring it to Indiana. Having partners, like First Financial Bank, who understood and supported our goals was key
to moving the project forward. We are proud that it is becoming a reality for the area." 08/06/2013
Green Heat Alliance Publishes US EPA 'Wood Heater NSPS'
Rulemaking Status
The Alliance for Green Heat has published a status summary of the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) “Wood Heater
NSPS" rulemaking, which was submitted to to the Office of Budget and Management (OMB) on July 26,
2013. The rulemaking for the New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) consists of the Standards of Performance
for New Residential Wood Heaters, New Residential Hydronic Heaters and Forced-Air Furnaces, and New Residential
Masonry Heaters. The detailed explanation was prepared for the Alliance by the law firm Van Ness Feldman, LLP
and posted to the Alliance's informative blog on August 2, 2013. The EPA's Docket rulemaking page for this
action places the anticipated publication in the Federal Register in November 2013, reflecting that OMB formally
has 90 days for the review., The review process however, frequently takes much longer. The Final Rule
implementation day is currently scheduled for November 2014. OMB also has a web page for the Wood Heater NSPS and offers the reviewing agency's own description of
what should end up in the final rule, including that the rule should (1) reflect significant advancements in
wood heater technologies and design; (2) require manufacturers to redesign wood heaters to be cleaner and lower
emitting; and (3) streamline the process for testing new model lines. The Alliance for Green Heat is hosting and
organizing the international Wood Stove Decathlon to challenge teams to design, build and operate wood stoves that
are low-emission, energy-efficient, and attractive. Competitive elimination has now reduced the field to
fourteen state-of-the-art stoves. The Finals will be held on the National Mall in
Washington D.C. from November 16 to 19, 2013; the event will be free and open to the public.
08/05/2013
New Research Addresses Fate of Lignin During
Hydrothermal Pretreatment
The latest edition of the journal of "Biotechnology for Biofuels" has published the abstract of a highly-collaborative article exploring a crucial aspect of
biomass breakdown for production of biofuels and bio-sourced chemicals. The research work focuses on the fate of
the naturally occurring binding polymer lignin during hydrothermal pretreatment as it impacts cellulosic biomass
conversion to fermentable sugars. Researchers from numerous US and Canadian universities and from the Oak Ridge
National Laboratory have documented an extensive battery of tests and results tracing the many aspects of change
to lignocellulosic biomass from hybrid poplar (Populus trichocarpa x P. deltoids), a non-food "short-rotation
woody crop" preferred for rapid biomass production and potential for repeated annual harvesting for biofuels.
Enzymatic hydrolysis to simpler sugars of the cellulose and hemi-cellulose in wood using super-heated and
pressurized water (hydrothermal pretreatment) benefits from delignification, separation and removal or
modification of lignin, yet the complexity of the interaction has slowed the pace of biofuels development. The
research identifies key changes to lignin suggesting the benefits of specific pretreatment strategies. The
article, "The Fate of Lignin during Hydrothermal Pretreatment", is available for download free
of charge as a "provisional" Acrobat file (.pdf); the fully formatted versions are currently in production.
08/05/2013
EPA SBIR Awards Include Micro-Waste-to-Energy,
Rare Earth Recycling
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced seven Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) awards, in response
to the FY 2013 Request for Applications. Three of the awards are directly pertinent to waste and biomass
conversion and utilization: (1) Synanomet LLC of Little Rock, Arkansas receives $299,987 to continue
Phase I SBIR research in use of lignin, a natural residual polymer from cellulosic
biofuel processing for rapid and economical removal of phosphorous contaminants in water and waste water. The
company is advancing initial discoveries licensed from the University of Arkansas, received $25,000 from
the Arkansas Science and Technology Authority this February and will use the 2-year SBIR
Phase II funding to further scale-up toward commercialization; (2) Electron Energy Corporation of Landisville, Pennsylvania has been awarded $300,000 to
continue its Phase I efforts toward develop a scalable, efficient and low-cost remanufacturing methodology for
recycling rare earth-based magnets from industrial scrap into valuable magnetic alloys and high-performance
magnets with tailored properties for specific applications; (3) Illinois based Fluidic microControls, Inc.
received $300,00 to up-scale earlier modules to a 10 kilowatt combined heat and power module (micro CHP) sized for small dairy
agricultural production of biogas by anaerobic digestion, or any other farm or residential CHP need. The
company's technology is focused on Rankine cycle power generator using a proprietary micro-turbine design. EPA
is one of 11 federal agencies that provide SBIR program funding; the 2013 SBIR Phase I Request for Applications is now open. 08/05/2013
JBI Participates with Crayola in New 'COLORCYCLE'
School Program
New York headquartered JBI, Inc. has announced its participation in Crayola, LLC's "COLORCYCLE" school program to turn used Crayola markers into clean energy. Crayola's new
program encourages K-12 schools in the US and Canada to package, label and send used markers directly to JBI for
processing into energy. FedEx Ground will pick up the markers, and Crayola is paying for all shipping costs.
Crayola and schools across North America are banding together to help kids understand the importance of their
role in protecting the environment. Crayola is also providing specially developed standards-based lesson plans
to help teachers and their students to explore eco-friendly practices, enrich instruction and promote lively
class discussions. In addition, JBI is receiving waste and overruns from Crayola that are being used as
additional feedstock. JBI, Inc. is commercializing its Plastics-to-Oil (P2O) process for converting waste plastics into ultra-clean, ultra-low
sulphur in-spec fuels. JBI's CEO Tony Bogolin: "We are extremely pleased to partner with Crayola. By introducing
this program, Crayola continues to prove to be a leader, not only in its industry, but also in worldwide waste
reduction ethics and social responsibility." 08/02/2013
ENER-G Will Furnish CHP System for Fife Anaerobic
Digestion Facility
Manchester, England based ENER-G has announced that it will supply a high efficiency combined heat and power (CHP) system for its
new anaerobic digestion facility at the Lochhead landfill site in Dunfermline. The Fife anaerobic digestion
plant will begin power generation later this year, converting up to 40,000 tonnes of local food and garden waste
into up to 1.4MW of renewable electricity and heat. The renewable heat will supply the Fife Council's existing
district heating system and has the potential to meet all of the heating needs of the local Queen Margaret
Hospital. ENER-G will install an MTU engine to convert the digester gas to combined heat and power (CHP), a
high-efficiency engine in use at numerous anaerobic digestion plants in Germany. Scotland. ENER-G already has
developed and operates the Council's landfill gas generation facility at the adjacent Lochhead landfill, which
has been operational for more than 5 years. The biogas generation system will be financed, developed, installed
and operated by ENER-G at no upfront cost to the Council. The Council will recover Feed in Tariff (FiT) payments
on the export of electricity to the local network over the 25 year contract period. Chris Ewing, Environmental
Sustainability Manager for Fife Council: "We believe that turning food and garden waste at Lochhead into power
and heat could save the council around £1.2 million each year. It will also contribute to our improving
recycling rates, which were 55.5% in 2012 for household and commercial waste." 08/02/2013
UK DfT Plans £25MM Competition for Advanced Biofuels
Demo Projects
The United Kingdom (UK) Department for Transport (DfT) has announced that it will make £25 million of capital funding available to enable the
construction of demonstration-scale waste to fuel and other advanced biofuel plants in the UK. Advanced biofuels
may be produced from conversion of a wide variety of feedstock types including municipal waste and forestry
residues. Complex processing techniques are now available that can produce fuels for road transport and
aviation. The funding will be provided over three years from 2015 following a competition to identify the best
and most suitable industry proposals. The Department for Transport will commission a feasibility study to report
on the detailed design of the proposed competition, including eligibility criteria and funding scheme options,
as well as ensuring the project complies with EU State aid rules. Further details on the competition, including
the feasibility study, will be provided later this year, with announcement of a range of potential measures to
support the most sustainable fuels and spur further innovation in this sector. Transport Minister Norman Baker:
"I am delighted that we are able to support these innovative technologies and believe that they will bring
significant benefits to the UK. There are real opportunities for the UK to take a technological lead, driving
growth, creating highly skilled jobs and seeing energy, security and environmental benefits. It is clear that in
the long term advanced biofuels will be important in areas that we cannot otherwise decarbonise, such as
aviation. This announcement will help put the UK in a good position to meet this demand." 08/02/2013
Due 09/06/2013: Comments to CEC on Distributed
Generation Costs
The California Energy Commission (CEC) has announced a workshop scheduled for August 22, 2013 exploring the costs and impacts on the
electricity system associated with increased distributed generation (DG) installations in California, and how
costs and impacts change based on interconnection location, distribution feeder characteristics, load types, and
project size. The topic is part of the 2013 Integrated Energy Policy Report development, Docket 13-IEP-1H. In
this on-going assessment, the CEC has contracted with Navigant Consulting to conduct the analysis, and has
partnered with Southern California Edison (SCE) to use their system for the study; SCE completed their own
impact assessment early in 2012. Preliminary study results and recommendations will be presented for discussion
by stakeholders. Governor Brown's Clean Energy Jobs Plan established a 2020 goal of 12,000 megawatts (MW) of localized
renewable energy development in California. The plan generally defines localized energy, or DG, as projects
sized 20 MW or less, interconnected on-site or close to load, that can be constructed quickly with no new
transmission lines, and, typically, with no environmental impact. The current study indicates that most
small-scale project interconnection requests received by utilities do not meet this definition, and makes
recommendation to alleviate impacts. Questions on the technical subject matter can be brought to Matt Coldwell,
Electric Generation System Specialist I, at (916) 651-2070, or by e-mail at <>. For
general questions regarding the IEPR proceeding, contact Lynette Green, IEPR Project Manager, at (916) 653-2728,
or by e-mail at <>. Oral and written comments will be accepted during the workshop
and afterward until September 6, 2013 by email to <>, and copied to the technical
lead staff Matt Coldwell at <>. Include the docket number 13-IEP-1H and indicate
Electricity Infrastructure Costs of Distributed Generation in the subject line. 08/02/2013
RES Receives UK Government OK for 100 MWe North Blyth
Biomass Plant
Headquartered in the United Kingdom (UK), Renewable Energy Systems Ltd(RES) has announced UK governmental consent for development of its
100 megawatt electric (MWe) North Blyth Biomass Power Station to be located at Battleship
Wharf in Northumberld's Blyth Estuary. RES has a planning requirement
within the Secretary of State's Development Consent Order (DCO). Under UK legislation, power stations using
biomass fuel are required to meet sustainability standards in order to receive financial support. The inclusion
of the planning requirement within the draft DCO means the North Blyth Biomass Project will need to meet the
criteria whether receiving financial support or not, throughout its operational life. The decision by the
Secretary of State for Energy enables RES to deliver the £250m project, RES' first biomass development,
expanding on the multi-national company's portfolio of onshore and offshore wind as well as solar energy
projects. The site's location allows delivery by road, rail, or sea, but most of the fuel will be brought in by
ship and unloaded directly at the Port. The plant will use only biomass fuel from sustainable sources, as wood
chip, pellet, or briquette, produced from sustainably-sourced domestic or imported forestry material, dedicated
energy crops, or non-recyclable waste wood. Waste wood feedstock will be non-recyclable materials otherwise
destined to be landfilled. All fuels used in the plant will meet the definition of "biomass" under article 4 of
the Renewables Obligation Order 2009. 08/01/2013
Integrated
Biomass Resources Funded to Complete Oregon Facility Expansion
United States based investment firm Advantage Capital has announced that its small-business lending division
BizCapital has provided $3.7 million to Integrated Biomass Resources (IBR) for completion of the
company's forest-sourced biomass products manufacturing and distribution center in Wallowa, Oregon. IBR sought
the funding to help with forest restoration while providing jobs and economic opportunity to rural Oregon. The
team produces a suite of value-added products from low value forest biomass, and has been processing and selling
bundled fire wood, wood chips and densified heat logs since 2009. The product line has grown to include
pest-free fire wood, peeled round wood for posts, poles and rails as well as saw logs, pulp chips and sawdust.
The expanded facilities and new capabilities will boost efficiency, reduce waste and allow the company to time
the production of specific products to meet the specific demands of the market. Wallowa County Board of Commissioners Chairman Mike
Hayward: "Integrated Biomass Resources is and has been central to our efforts to respond to timber
mill closures and create an environmentally and economically sustainable future path for our community."
08/01/2013
ZeaChem Biorefinery Receives EPA
Registration for Cellulosic Biofuels
Colorado-based ZeaChem Inc. has announced that it has successfully secured US Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) registration of the company's Boardman, Oregon demonstration facility to assign
Renewable Information Numbers (RINs) for cellulosic biofuels. The EPA Fuels Programs Registered Company/Facility ID List has
been updated with ZeaChem's biorefinery verified as an approved registered facility for the production of
Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS2) qualifying D3 cellulosic biofuel RINs. ZeaChem’s
technology is a parallel hybrid system of fermentation and
gasification that achieves high yields with a theoretical maximum of 165 gallons per bone dry ton (BDT) of
biomass feedstock; at 85% efficiency, actual yield should be around 135 gallon/BDT. Earlier this year, ZeaChem
successfully produced the first volumes of cellulosic chemicals and ethanol at its demonstration biorefinery on
the path to commercialization. With facility registration complete, cellulosic ethanol production will now
generate RINs to achieve the national RFS2. 08/01/2013
INEOS Bio Produces Waste-Sourced
Cellulosic Biofuel at Commercial Scale
Illinois-based INEOS Bio has announced that its Indian River BioEnergy Center is now
producing cellulosic ethanol at commercial scale with the first ethanol shipments being released this month. The
$130 million plus BioEnergy Center is a joint venture project between INEOS Bio and New Planet Energy. Peter
Williams, CEO of INEOS Bio and Chairman of INEOS New Planet BioEnergy: "We are delighted with the progress made
by our team at Vero Beach. They have successfully addressed the challenges of moving a new technology to large
production scale for the very first time. Consequently, we are now pleased to announce that we are producing
commercial quantities of bioethanol from vegetative and wood waste, and at the same time exporting power to the
local community – a world first. We expect to spend the remainder of 2013 putting the plant through its paces,
and demonstrating full nameplate capacity." The facility has already converted several types of waste biomass
material into bioethanol, including vegetative and yard waste, and citrus, oak, pine, and pallet wood waste. The
Center is also permitted to utilize municipal solid waste (MSW), quantities of which will be used for bioethanol
production at the Center during 2014. INEOS Bio's technology platform gasifies the feedstock and microbially
ferments the resulting hydrocarbon-rich synthesis gas to produce ethanol. The biofuel is then purified to market
specifications. The Center will have an annual output of eight million gallons (24 kiloton per annum, or kta) of
cellulosic ethanol and six megawatts (gross) of renewable power, and serve as a reference plant for future INEOS
Bio facilities and for companies and cities interested in licensing the technology for similar facilities.
08/01/2013
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