News

ANNOUNCEMENTS

The University of California seeks information from interested biomethane generators and suppliers regarding potential long-term biomethane purchases. The purpose of their Request for Information (RFI) is to gather information and identify suppliers with the resources to service an organization the size and complexity of theUniversity of California and which may possess the requisite expertise in higher education.   This RFI will close on Friday October 7, 2016 at 4:00pm PST. The RFI has been posted to this site at the bottom of the page titled Biomethane Supply:https://bids.sciquest.com/apps/Router/PublicEvent?CustomerOrg=UCOP&FromBranded=true

EVENTS

5th Annual Anaerobic Digestion and Biogas Summit 2016
October 10 11, 2016
San Diego, CA
For more information on this event, please visit the website:
http://www.renewable-waste.com/Biogas

2016 Gasification and Syngas Technologies Conference
October 16 19, 2016
Vancouver, Canada
For more information on this event, please visit the website:
http://www.gasification-syngas.org/

Alternative Technology Advisory Subcommittee Meeting (ATAS)
October 20, 2016
Alhambra, CA
For more information on this event, please visit the website:
http://dpw.lacounty.gov/epd/tf/meetings.cfm

Southern California Waste Management Forum
November 9, 2016
Pomona, CA
For more information on this event, please visit the website:
http://www.scwmf.org/web/forum-events/conference/

Renerwable Energy From Waste (REW)
November 14 - 16, 2016
Long Beach, CA
For more information on this event, please visit the website:
http://www.rewconference.com/

U.S. Composting Council Conference & Tradeshow
January 23 26, 2016
Los Angeles, CA
For more information on this event, please visit the website:
http://compostingcouncil.org/compost2017/

NEWS

Meet the 22-Year-Olds Tackling our Plastic Waste

Before turning 20 years old, Miranda Wang and Jeanny Yao came up with a solution of what to do with the millions of tons of plastic waste that spoil our oceans and fill our landfills.Wang and Yao have bioengineered a bacteria to break down plastic faster than the 500 to 1,000 years it takes for plastic to breakdown in a typical landfill with a final product that has a beneficialuse. In their company's "upcycling" process, plastic waste is chemically broken down into a low molecular weight compound, which then can be fed to microbes, as a basic foodstuff or energy source.In turn, the engineered microbes produce biosurfactants for fabric manufacturing. Wang and Yaos company BioCellection is in negotiations with a city in California to integrate their technology intoits waste recycling process. To read more, click here.

Case for Co-Digestion at Water Resource Recovery Facilities

Food waste has energy recovery potential of almost 140 trillion BTUs and in the US, wastewater has energy recovery potential of 851 trillion BTUs/year. Facilities originally built to solely treatwastewater are now being upgraded and operated to be water resource recovery facilities (WRRFs). Approximately 150 WRRFs in the U.S. already accept food waste hauled to their digesters for energy recovery.There is great nationwide potential to expand this number to the 1,200 (and growing) WRRFs with AD. Food waste can either be hauled to the digesters which has the greatest potential for energy recovery orthrough grinders and sewer conveyance which has the lowest cost to the community. Unfortunately, conventional wastewater treatment plants were not designed to recover carbon from wastewater.Improvements to primary treatment would need to be made in order to utilize the grinders and sewer conveyance method. To read more, click here.

Lockheed Martin Opens WTE Facility in New York

Lockheed Martin opened a new bioenergy facility in Owego, New York featuring Concord Blues advanced technology, which converts waste into clean, renewable energy by using advanced gasification. The facility, will process eight tons of waste per day generating 250 kilowatts of power for Lockheed, ultimately reducing its carbon footprint and the amount of waste sent to landfill. To read more, click here.

Historic First: Fighter Jet Takes Flight Powered Only by Biofuel

Continuing its quest to maximize the use of renewable fuels, the Navy successfully used a 100 percent biofuel blend to power fighter jets during a test at Naval Air Station Patuxent River inMaryland this month. The fuel is produced by Florida-based Applied Research Associates and Chevron Lummus Global. The fuel uses the same feedstock as another 50 percent advanced biofuel blend already usedby the Navy but goes through a unique conversion process to provide a fully synthetic fuel that does not need to be blended. Test pilot Lt. Cmdr. Bradley Fairfax said the jet flew completely the same asit would on petroleum fuel. To read more, click here.

Bill Gates, Total Invest Millions in Biomass Conversion Technology

Bill Gates and energy company Total are investing $14 million in a biomass conversion technology called Plantrose from Renmatix. The technology can work with biomass such as wood, agriculturalresidues, energy grasses and municipal solid waste. The Plantrose process involves supercritical water and heat to create cellulosic sugars which can be used in bioplastics or biofuels.This investment will be used for new biorefineries in the U.S., Canada and India to commercialize the technology. Renmatix hopes this will encourage bioproduct developments. To read more, click here.

Waste to Power 10,000 UK Homes

The worlds largest waste-to-biogas conversion plant is set to open in the UK, which plans to use advanced enzyme technology to handle waste. The energy conversion process will work by separatingorganic matter such as paper and foods from other waste streams and then washing it free of contaminants using enzymes in a giant reactor. The enzymes will take out all the organic compounds in the wastematerial and liquefy them so that, after washing, they come out as the perfect sludge, full of fats and oils that can be converted to biogas. An estimated 15 tons of trash per hour 120,000 tons ayear will be sorted at the plant and used to power nearly 10,000 homes. To read more, click here.