A powerful statement by GIE Media

RENEWABLE

Energy FROM WASTE

INSIDE: Unlikely Oil Source in Ohio ............p. 25 Energy From Waste Discussion ....p. 30 Railroad Ties Heat Things Up .......p. 34 Onion Company Smells Success..p. 38 Experts Talk WTE in Philly .............p. 42

S E R V I N G F U E L A N D E N E R G Y P R O D U C E R S / / w w w. R e w M a g . c o m / / S U M M E R 2 0 1 2

A POWERFUL

STATEMENT Lancaster Countyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s waste-toenergy facility is just one way the Pennsylvania community is achieving a high landfill diversion rate and creating renewable energy.

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NETWORKING

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To get with a group of people who are dealing with the same issues and the same ideas that you are and be able to talk about similar issues – it’s a fantastic forum and a great opportunity.” – Mike Casbon Environmental Resources Management

CASE STUDIES

“

The sessions are good, but even more important is making contact with people who are in the business or have some experience, because when you are new...you need to talk to people who are already doing it.” – Marie DeVries Cedar Rapids Linn County Solid Waste Agency

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TRENDS

We need to get this information out to everybody to let people know what is going on and what can be done in the construction & deomolition recycling industry.” – Ben Harvey E.L. Harvey & Sons

CONNECT! September 23 – 25, 2012 Hilton Long Beach & Executive Meeting Center Long Beach, CA

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CONTENTS SUMMER 2012 // VOLUME 1 // ISSUE 2

D E PA R T M E N T S 4 8 10 18 44 46 47 48 49 50

Editor’s Focus Critical Thinking Newsworthy Supplier News Research Developments Association News Product Spotlight Datebook Ad Index One to Watch

ON THE COVER >> A POWERFUL STATEMENT Lancaster County’s waste-to-energy facility is just one way the Pennsylvania community is achieving a high landfill diversion rate and creating renewable energy.

F E AT U R E S Technology Focus: Ohio Oil Patch ....................25 Ohio-based Vadxx Energy is helping companies convert tough-to-recycle mixed plastics into fuel products.

Talking Points ....................................................30 An executive roundtable hosted by REW magazine let several industry leaders discuss where they see the energy-from-waste sector heading.

Operations Spotlight: Fit to Be Tied ................34

TiFuel of Marietta, Ga., is diverting old railroad ties from the landfill by grinding them to create a boiler fuel product.

Taste of Victory..................................................38 Anaerobic digestion and fuel cells help California’s Gills Onions fulfill a zero-waste commitment.

Much to Learn....................................................42

Attendees at the Waste Conversion Congress East Coast in Philadelphia heard about several waste conversion technologies and approaches toward successful implementation.

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ON THE WEB:

For the latest news from the renewable energy from waste sector, visit www.REWmag. com. Industry news including major project announcements and proposed alternative energy legislation is updated daily. • Videos: Several video clips with James Warner, CEO of the Lancaster County Solid Waste Management Authority and the authority’s waste-to-energy facility can be viewed on the “Multimedia” section of www.REWmag.com. • Listen to the experts: In conjunction with the article “Talking Points” on pg. 30, listen to an excerpt of Renewable Energy from Waste’s roundtable in a podcast at www.REWmag.com/rew-roundtablepart-1.aspx.

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letter from the editor

RENEWABLE

Energy FROM WASTE

“

It can make economic sense for recyclers to find ways to use their residuals (such as hard-to-recycle plastics and papers, auto shredder fluff and fines material) in a waste-to-energy system.

WORKING TOGETHER As technologies to convert waste into energy develop there have been concerns that the industry would one day put an end to recycling. Instead of using secondary commodities to manufacture new goods, those materials would instead be used to create energy, thus eliminating the need to recycle. That concern seems to be largely unfounded. Even in communities such as Lancaster County, Pa., where trash is sent to a mass burn waste-to-energy facility (WTE), the solid waste authority claims a 40 percent residential and business recycling rate. Why would communities still make the effort to recycle when these materials could be converted into energy? The answer is simple. There is a tremendous value in recycling. There is a large global demand for recovered fiber, scrap metal and plastics. People will pay high prices for this material. That is not likely to change any time soon. Recycling is one way to divert materials from a landfill and conversion to energy is yet another. Recyclers know the residuals that are left over after a sorting process are costing them money. The more material they can recover, the less money they have to pay in their own landfill costs. It can make economic sense for recyclers to find ways to use their residuals (such as hard-to-recycle plastics and papers, auto shredder fluff and fines material) in a waste-to-energy system. Recycling facilities have much to gain by being innovative with the material they cannot recycle. Turning it into an energy source by pelletizing it, burning it, gasifying it or anaerobically digesting it is the next step in business expansion opportunities for many recyclers. Recycling and waste conversion can coexist. The development of waste conversion technologies could certainly change how recyclables and waste are handled and separated. Separating out the organic fraction of waste could become a more popular practice, for example. But eliminating or replacing recycling altogether? Not likely. Rather than compete with recycling companies for materials, the waste conversion industry is increasingly working with recyclers to provide them with an end market for their residuals. If waste-to-energy companies will be competing with anyone, it will be in securing a feedstock—a necessary component to ensure the longevity of a WTE facility. That feedstock could potentially be provided by a MRF or auto shredder. Instead of competing for material, what may ultimately make the most sense is for a feedstock preparation system to be installed on the back end of a MRF, as well as to have energy be captured at landfill sites. Instead of being competitors for material, the recycling, solid waste and waste conversion industries can find ways to work together to extract the most value from the waste stream. e

kristin smith 6

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PUBLISHER James R. Keefe, Publisher jkeefe@gie.net EDITORIAL Brian Taylor, Associate Publisher/Editorial Director btaylor@gie.net DeAnne Toto, Managing Editor RT Media Group dtoto@gie.net Dan Sandoval, Senior Editor dsandoval@gie.net Kristin Smith, Managing Editor Renewable Energy from Waste and Construction & Demolition Recycling ksmith@gie.net Lisa McKenna, Managing Editor Recycling Today Global Edition lmckenna@gie.net Kelley Stoklosa, Assistant Editor kstoklosa@gie.net Curt Harler, Contributing Editor curt@curtharler.com SALES Ed Gallo, Eastern U.S. egallo@gie.net, 678-566-7841 Jackie Van Meter, Western U.S. jvanmeter@gie.net Jennifer May, International jmay@gie.net CREATIVE Andrea Vagas, Creative Director avagas@gie.net Karen Angus, Art Director kangus@gie.net Michelle Wisniewski, Advertising Production Coordinator mwisniewski@gie.net Helen Duerr O’Halloran, Director, Production hduerr@gie.net CORPORATE Richard J.W. Foster, CEO Chris Foster, President & COO James R. Keefe, Executive Vice President Daniel Moreland, Executive Vice President Marco Urbanic, Director, Integrated Data Melody Berendt, Director, Circulation Kelly Orzech, Director, Accounting CONFERENCES Maria Miller, Conference Manager CORPORATE OFFICES 4020 Kinross Lakes Pkwy., Suite 201 Richfield, Ohio 44286 330-523-5400 / Fax: 330-659-0823 CDRecycler.com

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Critical Thinking

The Whole Truth, Nothing but the Truth

magine attending a local government hearing where the issue is building a facility that will generate renewable energy from waste. One speaker advocating for the project describes how waste has been converted to beneficial use on a large scale for well over 100 years —and how combustion of municipal solid waste (MSW) with energy recovery (waste-to-energy or WTE) is a safe, effective and environmentally acceptable technology. The next speaker counters that WTE has serious environmental impacts, including pollution and greenhouse gas, particulates and other emissions. This speaker claims that capital and operating costs of the new facility are too high and will require continued subsidies. Instead of the WTE facility, the speaker advocates zero waste through a combination of recycling and composting, financial incentives for recycling and organics recovery. Which speaker should policymakers believe? All too often, those who oppose WTE serve up a platter of evidence laced with emotional messages and riddled with technical doublespeak. Some environmental groups, such as the Sierra Club, which is often assisted by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR), pride themselves on helping communities fight waste combustion facilities, including WTE plants. But the claims they make often obscure the whole truth. The experience of Palm Beach County, Fla., serves as an example of how the truth about renewable energy from waste can win out over opposition. In April 2011, the Palm Beach County Solid Waste Authority Board of Directors was scheduled to meet and authorize the construction

of a new 3,000-tons-per-day WTE facility—a facility that is now under construction. Two weeks before the meeting, the Florida Sierra Club and its consultant, ILSR, sent a letter to the Authority outlining environmental and economic concerns about the proposed facility as well as “alternative solutions” for managing Palm Beach County’s solid waste. The Authority requested my firm to assist in reviewing the letter and to determine the truth about the claims. We developed a white paper that responded to each claim and investigated waste management systems the letter mentions. In most instances, we found the claims were completely incorrect or half true. For example, in discrediting WTE and advocating for recycling, the letter cited Worcester,

B Y H A R V E Y W. G E R S H M A N

reaches capacity in 12 to 13 years. Communities where the ILSR claims to have stopped the development of WTE plants, such as Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., now haul their waste for disposal at WTE plants in other communities. Those who discredit WTE often fail to note that WTE is fully compatible with recycling as a component of an integrated waste management system. Studies have shown that communities with WTE facilities in the U.S. on average have recycling rates at least 5 percentage points above the national average. In addition, they overlook the

If the whole truth about renewable energy from waste were effectively communicated to decision makers and the public, proven WTE technologies would undoubtedly play a greater role in our nation’s waste management systems. Mass., as a recycling and diversion leader. While Worcester’s 43 percent recycling rate is certainly very commendable, we noted that Worcester actually disposes of its non-recycled waste at a nearby WTE facility that produces 46 megawatts of renewable electricity from combusting waste from Worcester and 29 other communities in central Massachusetts. Where the letter rightly mentioned San Francisco and King County, Wash., as exemplary recycling communities, it failed to note that San Francisco’s remaining waste is hauled to a landfill 55 miles away (with attendant greenhouse gas impact), and King County may consider a WTE facility when its landfill

environmental benefits of WTE—it produces electricity with less environmental impact than almost any other source of electricity. If the whole truth about renewable energy from waste were effectively communicated, proven WTE technologies would undoubtedly play a greater role in our nation’s waste management systems. Yes, we need to recycle and compost as much as we can, but WTE is a safe, reliable technology that reduces the waste that must be landfilled while contributing to our energy needs. The whole truth, and nothing but the truth, about renewable energy from waste is an important story that needs to be told! e

Harvey Gershman, hgershman@gbbinc.com, is president of Gershman, Brickner & Bratton, Inc., Solid Waste Management Consultants.

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newsworthy LANDFILL GAS

Republic Services Opens Landfill-Gas-To-Energy Facility in North Carolina Republic Services Inc., Phoenix, along with Fortistar, White Plains, N.Y., and Duke Energy, Charlotte, N.C., have dedicated a new landfill gas-to-energy plant in North Carolina. The facility began commercial deliveries of renewable power to Duke Energy Carolinas on Feb. 16, 2012, under a long-term power purchase agreement. “Although we are leaders in increasing energy output at landfills, it’s projects like this one that get us really excited,” says Republic Services Area President Jamey Amick. “To be able to take yesterday’s trash and, from it, generate enough energy to power more than 7,700 homes . . . now that’s something to celebrate.” Fortistar recently finalized the construction on the 11.5-megawatt renewable energy facility, called Concord Energy Renewable Gas to Energy Plant, at Republic Services’ CMS landfill in Concord, N.C. The Concord Energy facility uses landfill gas to fuel two Solar Taurus turbines, each capable of generating more than 5.5 megawatts, and combined with the associated landfill gas conditioning and compression equipment, will meet the total electrical energy needs of nearly 7,700 residences in the state. “Landfill gasto-energy projects are an important

part of Duke Energy Carolinas’ commitment to deliver renewable energy to its customers in a cost-effective way,” says Owen Smith, managing director of Duke Energy’s regulated renewables business. “The company will continue to look for good projects like the Concord Energy project to meet our state’s renewable energy requirements.” “This project represents a successful collaboration that will benefit the citizens of North Carolina and the environment,” says Concord Mayor Scott Padgett. “We have

always had an excellent relationship with CMS and Republic, and it continues with this meaningful and environmentally-sensitive project.” Mark Comora, president of Fortistar adds, “We are proud of the relationships Fortistar has with both Duke and Republic Services, and we are pleased to expand on them here [near] the Charlotte Motor Speedway. We continually look for innovative ways to help ease the burden placed on our electrical grid by providing reliable and cost efficient renewable alternatives.”

BIOMASS

Biomass Energy Facility Planned for Western Ohio Following five years of research and pyrolysis system design, Ag-EnvironTech LLC (AET), a Cincinnati-based energy development company, says it is planning to build what it calls “an ecologically correct, self-sustaining biomass waste-to-green-energy conversion system” in Mercer County, Ohio. The process is designed to convert toxic algae from nearby Grand Lake St. Marys’ livestock waste and other raw materials into electricity and synthetic diesel fuel. An important efficiency of the technology is that it operates using the same energy it produces, allowing both the supply and the operations energy costs to be completely controlled, says AET in a news release. AET adds that the process “returns no pollutants to the air or soil.” AET says it chose Mercer County because it is a leading agricultural production county in Ohio, with abundant biomass resources and proximity to the toxic algae growing in Grand Lake St. Marys. The company says it is considering five additional biomass-based energy projects in western Ohio and eastern Indiana.

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100 tons of food waste digested per day produces enough energy to power up to 1,400 homes. (Source: East Bay (California) Municipal Utility District [EBMUD])

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newsworthy TRANSPORTATION FUELS

ANAEROBIC DIGESTION

California Agency Approves Funding for Green Fuels Projects

Solid Organic Waste Conversion Plant Opens at Packaging Plant

The California Energy Commission has approved funding of $23 million for a host of projects that are meant to develop “green” fuels and to assist in the installation of fueling stations for these new types of fuel. The awards are provided through the California Energy Commission’s Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program, created by Assembly Bill 118. The award recipients are the following: • Clean World Partners–$6 million to increase its Sacramento biorefinery’s capacity from 25 tons to 100 tons per day. • EdeniQ, Inc.– $3.9 million to modify an existing biorefinery. • The University of California, Davis–$2.77 million to research the comparative value, benefits and drawbacks of alternative fuels in California. • tmdgroup Inc.–$2.21 million to accelerate California market acceptance and use of alternative fuels and efficient low-carbon vehicle technologies. • The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory–$2.15 million to assess the effectiveness of the Energy Commission’s AB 118 investments in alternative and renewable fuels and vehicle technology. • Aemetis, Inc.–$1.9 million as a cost-share for the development of a facility in Keyes, Calif., which will demonstrate and analyze the production of ethanol using various crop refuse. • Kent BioEnergy Corp.–$1.5 million for research to develop processes for producing fermentable sugars from algal biomass. • Sysco Food Services of Los Angeles Inc.–$600,000 to develop a 24-hour publicly accessible liquefied natural gas station in Riverside, Calif. • North Star Biofuels LLC–will receive $500,000 to develop a commercialscale biodiesel blending facility. • The U.S. Forest Service’s Pacific Southwest Research Station–$361,716 as additional funding to an existing $1.5 million project to examine the sustainability of using forest biomass in the production of biofuels. • Atlas Disposal Industries–$300,000 to construct a natural gas fueling station that uses pipeline and renewable natural gas. • Bear Valley Unified School District–$300,000 to install a compressed natural gas fueling station. • The Institute for Transportation Studies at the University of California Davis–$227,000 to address facility siting and life-cycle issues of using forest biomass to produce alternative fuels in California. • The South Coast Air Quality Management District–$217,000 to establish a compressed natural gas fueling station in Murrieta, Calif. • The City of Riverside–$200,000 to construct a compressed natural gas station at the city’s water quality control plant.

Clean World Partners, Gold River, Calif., has opened a commercial high-solid organic waste conversion facility at American River Packaging’s (ARP) Sacramento, Calif. headquarters. The Clean World Organic Waste Recycling Center is based on anaerobic digestion (AD) technology developed at University of California, Davis. The recycling center converts food waste, agricultural residue and other organic waste material into renewable energy, fertilizer and soil enhancements. The Clean World system installed at American River Packaging will convert more than seven tons of food waste from Campbell Soup and other regional food producers, along with unrecyclable corrugated material from ARP, into natural gas. The natural gas will be used to generate about 1,300 kilowatt hours (kWh) of renewable electricity per day, supplying approximately 37 percent of ARP’s electricity needs. More than 2,900 tons of waste are expected to be diverted annually from area landfills, and 1,000 tons of organic soil amendments are expected to be produced per year for regional agricultural and horticultural applications, according to the company.

Methane emissions from passenger cars fell by 77 percent from 1990 to 2009, as the use of catalytic converters increased. An 11 percent drop from 2001 to 2009 in annual miles traveled by passenger cars also contributed to the decrease in emissions. (source U.S. Department of Energy)

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newsworthy ENERGY FROM WASTE

Covanta Commences Metal Recycling System in Virginia Covanta Energy Corp. has opened a metal recycling system at its energy-from-waste (EFW) facility in Fairfax County, Va. The company, headquartered in Morristown, N.J., says the new metals recycling system is the first of its kind in North America. The system has been designed to recover small particles of nonferrous metal. The company says the operational commencement represents a milestone for Covanta’s organic growth initiative. “Improving efficiency and sustainability are key aspects of our culture and as such, we are continuously looking for new ways to recover value from waste and divert materials from landfills,” says Seth Myones, Covanta COO. “I’m proud

of the way our team recognized the opportunity to recycle additional non-ferrous metal and quickly got this new system up and running.” In March, Covanta announced a strategic alliance with Steinert US Inc. for nonferrous metal recovery systems. The partnership supports the implementation of nonferrous systems at Covanta facilities that currently do not have them, as well as enhancing systems such the Fairfax operations. “We are proud to have achieved one of the highest recycling rates in the state at 47 percent and work hard to continually improve the recovery of recyclable materials,” says Joyce Doughty, director of Fairfax County’s Division of Solid Waste Disposal and Resource Recovery. “The

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newsworthy ANAEROBIC DIGESTION

Clean World Partners, Atlas Disposal Break Ground on Large AD System

Clean World Partners and Atlas Disposal Industries have jointly announced the groundbreaking in Sacramento, Calif., of what the two companies say is the nation’s largest commercial-scale, anaerobic digestion (AD) system. As part of the project, the facility will include California’s first ADbased renewable natural gas fueling station. When the AD system is complete, Clean World Partners’ Organic Waste Recycling Center at its South Area Transfer Station will convert 25

tons of food waste per day collected by Atlas Disposal into renewable natural gas. The companies add that in 2013 the facility will be expanded to process 100 tons of food waste per day, making it the largest commercialscale, high solids AD system in the United States. When complete, the Organic Waste Recycling Center is expected to replace 1 million gallons of diesel per year with renewable natural gas and produce 2 million kilowatt hours of electricity per year. Atlas’ Renewable Natural Gas Fueling Station will use the natural gas produced by the digestion system to fuel its clean-fuel fleet, as well as vehicles from area jurisdictions and agencies. Clean World’s Organic Waste Recycling Center is based on technology developed at the University of California Davis to convert food waste, agricultural residue and other

LANDFILL GAS

Waste Management Completes Construction of Gas-to-Energy Plant in Michigan Waste Management Inc. (WMI), Houston, has completed the construction of its newest landfill gas-to-energy plant at its Pine Tree Acres Renewable Energy facility in Lenox, Mich. When fully operational, the new plant is expected to generate around 12.8 megawatts of electricity, enough to provide power to 12,000 homes in the state, the company says. Chuck Cassie, senior district manager for WMI, says, “Waste Management is committed to the investments and innovative technology required to bring a state-of-the-art facility like this to Macomb County communities. By converting waste into energy for more than 12,000 residents, the new Pine Tree Acres Green Energy Plant represents the best of having tomorrow’s technology here and now.” WM’s Pine Tree Acres facility is expected to channel an estimated 4,800 cubic feet per minute of landfill gas into eight 20-cylinder Caterpillar engines to produce electricity. The electricity generated will be delivered to Consumers Energy through International Transmission Company’s transmission system. WM’s other existing gas-to-energy plant at Pine Tree Acres generates 8.8 megawatts of electricity. “Green energy is reliable energy,” Cassie says. “As technology allows Waste Management to extract more and more out of waste, landfill gas will continue serving as an ideal source of reliable energy—for Macomb County (Michigan) and beyond.”

organic waste into renewable energy, fertilizer and soil enhancements. When the facility is complete, Clean World’s South Area Transfer Station system will divert nearly 37,000 tons of waste per year from landfills. “Our development of this facility makes clear the viability of this technology,” says Michele Wong, CEO of Clean World Partners. “Our systems are adaptable to a wide range of situations, and we can get them up and running quickly. We’re especially excited with this center about the use of renewable natural gas as vehicle fuel.” The project’s first phase is expected to be completed in the summer of 2012. “We’re proud of our involvement in developing these cutting-edge facilities,” says Dave Sikich, CEO of Atlas Disposal. “By using renewable natural gas to fuel more vehicles, we’re helping to improve our region’s air quality.”

TOTAL MSW GENERATION (BY MATERIAL), 2010 250 Million Tons (before recycling)

n Paper.....................................28.5% n Food scraps..........................13.9% n Yard trimmings......................13.4% n Plastics..................................12.4% n Metals......................................9.0% n Rubber, leather and textiles...8.4% n Wood.......................................6.4% n Glass........................................4.6% n Other........................................3.4% Source: U.S. EPA

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newsworthy ANAEROBIC DIGESTION

EPA Launches Waste-to-Biogas Mapping Tool The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Pacific Southwest Region has launched an online “waste-tobiogas mapping tool” to support the use of organic waste for energy projects. The mapping tool is found at www. epa.gov/region9/biogas. The tool is an interactive map created to link food and other biodegradable waste sources with facilities such as wastewater treatment plants that can enhance energy production with their existing infrastructure. Wastewater treatment plants and some dairies manage waste with anaerobic digesters, which produce methane-rich biogas as a natural byproduct. By adding food scraps or fats, oils, and grease to an anaerobic digester, facilities can increase biogas production to make money while providing a renewable energy source, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, says the EPA. The tool is designed for decision-makers with technical expertise in the fields of waste management, wastewater treatment, and renewable energy. The tool allows users to determine the types of facilities in their area, where clusters are located, and the distance between a waste

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producer and an anaerobic digester. The tool also functions in reverse – allowing generators of organic waste to find partner facilities that will accept it. Features include: • Fats, oils, and grease (FOG) hauler information for California, Arizona and Nevada • California landfill information • On-site energy generation for California dairies with digesters (in kilowatt hours per year) • Energy estimates for wastewater treatment facilities, with and without co-digesting FOG (in kilowatt hours per year). • A “correct record” option that allows facilities to change information presented on the map for accuracy.

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newsworthy RENEWABLE ENERGY SITE

North Carolina Site Being Redeveloped for Renewable Energy A project in Charlotte, N.C., has crews pulling out 90 tons of metal including stainless steel and copper - from an abandoned textile dye manufacturing facility. The metals “will be put back to use in traditional and non-traditional ways,” according to land developers at the site, which will be known as ReVenture Park. Featuring multiple cleanenergy projects, ReVenture Park is being designed to advance the Charlotte region’s environmental goals and economic growth

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by attracting renewable energy and alternative fuel projects. One of first projects will turn wood materials destined for the landfill into a synthetic gas similar to natural gas. The process will generate clean renewable energy while generating only a tiny fraction of emissions produced by traditional power plants, according to developers. The ReVenture Park plan also involves recovering an estimated 750 tons of metal from 15 shuttered industrial buildings located on the 667-acre site. “We are working diligently to ensure as much of it is sold and put back to work as possible,” says Tom McKittrick, president and founder of Forsite Development. “In the first building alone, we estimate

we salvaged over 7,000 linear feet of two-inch stainless steel piping that we will use on other projects.” Most of the buildings also have extensive piping, racking, tanks, and other processing equipment that will be harvested and recycled, according to McKittrick. Once those spaces are cleared, the developers will renovate them into low-cost space marketed to clean energy technology providers and companies. ReVenture Park developers also are working with University of North Carolina-Charlotte art students on a beautification project involving salvaged metal. These students will be transforming some of the salvaged material into metal sculptures to be displayed throughout the site.

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newsworthy PLASTICS TO FUEL

Oil Company Accepts Green EnviroTech Holdings Samples Green EnviroTech Holdings Corp. (GETH), Riverbank, Calif., has reported that a major oil company has determined its tire-and-plasticto-oil samples to be of an acceptable quality for purchase. The oil company stated that lab results showed the crude oil samples received to be within typical specifications for its refinery, according to a news release from Green EnviroTech. “This is another huge leap forward for GETH and our tire-andplastic-to-oil project with Ebbros Energy LLC,” says GETH CEO Gary De Laurentiis. “This is the final piece of what was needed to move forward with our first plant. We are finalizing our agreement with Ebbros so we can move from the nonbinding LOI (letter of intent) to a finance

and purchase agreement next week. Terms of a purchase agreement between Ebbros and the oil company are now being negotiated as to the delivery point and financial terms. We anticipate the contract to be completed in the next few weeks.” De Laurentiis adds, “We are now working with a California commercial realtor and have identified a site and are negotiating the rental terms.” He says once the terms are finalized and the address has been obtained, the company will apply for the required permits it needs to begin operations. “We are very encouraged at the progress we have made over the past year with this technology and our ability to get an oil company to accept what we will produce,” says De

Laurentiis. “Additionally, GETH has secured feedstock supplies of tires and plastic for the area where we intend to locate. With huge volumes of waste tires and plastic going to the California landfills, we foresee the plant growing from its initial startup to consume an enormous amount of waste tires and plastic that has no value and is not recycled.”

UniSort® C. Fast and reliable sorting by color. The UniSort C adds value to your recycling by separating material by type and color. Hi-def cameras sort plastics, paper and glass according to user specifications. To find out how to add some color to your separating, visit SteinertUS.com.

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supplier news Marathon Announces Global Strategic Partnership with Zero Waste Energy Marathon Equipment Co., Vernon, Ala., has announced a new strategic partnership with Zero Waste Energy of Lafayette, Calif. Through this exclusive partnership, Marathon will manufacture anaerobic digestion (AD) systems for Zero Waste Energy. Both companies will collaborate on synergistic wasteto-energy market development and sales activities, like providing renewable compressed natural gas (CNG) for refuse collection applications targeting the global waste handling customers of Environmental Solutions Group, of which Marathon is part. Marathon is a global manufacturer of on-site waste compaction and recycling systems. Zero Waste Energy designs, builds and operates integrated solid waste facilities throughout North America. The company recovers material for recycling and reuse while transforming organic waste into green energy through a proprietary anaerobic digestion and dry fermentation process via its SmartFerm system. Geoff Apthorp, vice president of engineering and business development for Environmental Solutions Group says, “We are thrilled about our new partnership with Zero Waste Energy. We pride ourselves on using innovation to help our customers find best-in-class, value-added solutions for their unmet solid waste needs. Working with Zero Waste Energy, one of the most forwardthinking and creative companies in our key markets, is another way in which we can globally offer customers both the latest organic waste technology and local customer support.” “We are very excited to have selected a strong industry leader like Marathon as our partner for manufacturing our SmartFerm plants,” says Eric Herbert, CEO of Zero Waste Energy. “Marathon is known for its expertise in manufacturing complex systems, and this partnership provides Zero Waste Energy with an enhanced ability to reliably develop anaerobic systems using proven best practices.”

Metso to Acquire Full Ownership of MW Power Metso, a multi-national equipment company based in Helsinki, Finland, has reached an agreement to acquire Wärtsilä’s holding in the companies’ MW Power joint venture. Metso currently owns 60 percent of the venture, with Wärtsilä controlling the remaining 40 percent. The arrangement between the two companies is subject to permission from competition authorities in the European Union. Both Metso and Wärtsilä estimate the deal will be complete by the end of July 2012. The value of the agreement has not be disclosed. MW Power, founded in 2009, has been part of Metso’s corporate structure. “In the future, Metso will develop MW Power’s business as part of its comprehensive power generation solutions offering for the international market,” says Jyrki Holmala, the president of Metso’s Power business line. MW Power supplies small and medium-sized heat and power plants for the European market and focuses on renewable fuel solutions. The main customers of MW Power are municipalities, process industries and utilities.

The CP Group Introduces New Logo The CP Group, headquartered in San Diego, Calif., has introduced a new logo to represent the five companies that form the CP Group. The CP Group entity was formed in 2003 when CP Manufacturing acquired MSS. Since then, Krause Manufacturing, IPS Balers and Advanced MRF have joined the CP Group team, under common ownership. According to the group, the new logo was created to represent the five companies of the CP Group as a strong, single entity, as the CP Group continues to grow and offer technologically advanced material recovery facilities and recycling equipment.

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Ashley Davis, marketing manager of the CP Group, says, “We are very excited about the release of our new logo. If you look closely, you will see the symbolic meaning behind it—a blue planet with a green movement orbiting around the CP Group.” The CP Group has more than

‘‘

150 years of combined experience in engineering, designing and manufacturing equipment, sorting systems and control platforms. The CP Group offers its products and services internationally, and has six manufacturing locations and offices in the U.S. and United Kingdom.

We are very excited about the release of our new logo. If you look closely, you will see the symbolic meaning behind it—a blue planet with a green movement orbiting around the CP Group.” – Ashley Davis, Marketing Manager, CP Group

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supplier news MagneGas Adds Michigan Customer MagneGas Corp., a Tampa, Fla.-based company that provides technology to convert liquid waste into fuel and natural gas alternatives, has announced City Recycling, a Detroit-based scrap metal recycling company, has placed its first order for MagneGas, which will be used throughout its metal-cutting operations. MagneGas will supply the fuel to City Recycling from its Michigan-based refinery. “MagneGas is a dynamic fuel for our metalcutting operations and will serve as a cheaper and more productive alternative to propane and acetylene,” says Mark Wierszewski Jr., vice president of City Recycling. “We look forward to using it extensively in metal cutting as we continue to operate as an environmentally friendly recycler.” Scott Wainwright, president of MagneGas, says, “Adding City Recycling to our stable of clients demonstrates that we are continuing to successfully execute on our growth strategy. We are excited to work with City Recycling and are confident this will be the start of a long-lasting business relationship.”

Garb Oil & Power Creates Consulting Division Garb Oil & Power Corp., Salt Lake City, has announced the creation of its new consulting division, Resource Protection Systems LLC. The division will specialize in offering advice in the fields of wood, paper, plastic and steel recycling, waste to energy, car recycling, aircraft recycling and soil remediation. The company says that with its personal expertise and access to a variety of partners both within and outside the U.S., it is able to provide a number of consulting services. The consulting services include feasibility studies; environmental impact studies; project analysis and review; best suitable approach; project management; general consulting on all aspects; and solutions and best equipment presentation. More information is available at www.garbop.com.

Zero Waste Energy Adds to Staff Zero Waste Energy, based in Lafayette, Calif., has hired Jeff Draper as its chief financial officer (CFO). Draper is a certified public accountant with a strong tax and financial analysis background, according to the company. According to Zero Waste, a company involved in developing anaerobic digestion technology and resource recovery processes, Draper’s extensive industry contacts add strategic insight to the company’s executive echelon in all matters related to strategic business development. Draper was part of a team that built USA Waste Services, culminating in the acquisition of Waste Management in 1998. Draper also was part of the development team at the Texas-based recycling company Greenstar North America. Eric Herbert, CEO of Zero Waste Energy, says of Draper’s appointment, “Jeff ’s knowledge and experience in the solid waste industry make him a perfect fit with Zero Waste Energy’s strategic philosophy to transition our clients out of traditional waste-management practices and into proven cutting-edge green technologies.

Bulk Handling Systems Acquires NRT Bulk Handling Systems (BHS), a company involved in the design, engineering, manufacturing and installation of sorting systems and components for the solid waste, recycling and waste-to-energy industries, has acquired National Recovery Technologies (NRT). NRT is a Nashville-based company that designs and manufactures optical sorting equipment for the solid waste and recycling industries. BHS is headquartered in Eugene, Ore. “We’re pleased to add NRT to the BHS family,” says Steve Miller, BHS CEO. “NRT was founded by some of the brightest scientific minds in the industry, and its values have been based on technology innovation, quality of manufacturing and a strong commitment to customer support, values that BHS has as well. Today, NRT produces the best optical technology on the mar-

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ket, which strengthens BHS’ position as a global leader in providing the most state-of-the-art and durable material recovery systems in the industry.” NRT, founded in 1981, owns or is the exclusive licensee of 29 U.S. patents and five foreign patents covering NIR (near infrared), X-ray, laser and line camera sorting systems.

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COVER PROFILE

A POWERFUL

STATEMENT Lancaster County’s waste-to-energy facility is just one way the Pennsylvania community is achieving a high landfill diversion rate and creating renewable energy.

Efforts to reduce waste through recycling and combustion have extended the life of the Frey Farm Landfill by about 18 years, estimates Warner. “It is scheduled to be full in 2019. If we hadn’t done these things, it would have been full in 2001,” Warner says. The LCSWMA does not take credit for the countywide recycling rate of about 40 percent. Collection is handled by private haulers who have implemented successful recycling programs. “Over the last 20 years, our private sector—whether they be publicly traded or independents—really stepped up,” says Warner. “They made their own investments in processing and marketing.” The LCSWMA allows private haulers to use its transfer station, which holds materials bound for material recovery facilities (MRFs), the WTE facility and the landfill.

plan to handle discarded material that both embraced the preservation of the county’s rich farmland and its frugal way of living, according to Warner. The LCSWMA was designated as the agency that was to implement the plan and achieve the county’s concept and goals. “Community shareholders wanted to implement a system focused on minimizing land and capturing resources, and that’s what we’ve done,” Warner says. Warner began his career with the LCSWMA in 1987. He says he was one of the first recycling coordinators in the country. He brought his expertise and management style from what he learned in Gloucester County, N.J., during the perceived garbage crisis at the time. “The local county units thought that recycling had to be a part of adjusting our way out of crisis mode, so they went about hiring recycling professionals,” recalls Warner. Warner became CEO of the LCSWMA in 1996 and says his job is never dull. “That’s why I’m still here,” he says. “We continue with endless challenges and that’s what keeps it exciting.”

AN INTEGRATED SYSTEM

CONVERTING WASTE

BY K R I S T I N S M I T H

ot many communities in the United States can say they divert 98 percent of their municipal solid waste (MSW) from the landfill. But that is exactly what Lancaster County, Pa., is claiming. Under the direction of CEO James Warner, the Lancaster County Solid Waste Management Authority (LCSWMA) is using both recycling and combustion to reduce the amount of MSW it sends to the landfill to about 2 percent. For every ten truckloads of MSW combusted at the waste-to-energy (WTE) facility located in the Lancaster County township of Conoy, one truckload of ash is taken to the landfill. 1,200,000

Tons managed by LCSWMA in 2011:

1,000,000

TRANSFER STATION: 326,582

800,000

600,000

400,000

200,000

WASTE-TOENERGY FACILITY: 392,900 FREY FARM LANDFILL: 331,228*

0 (13,185 MSW refuse)

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The combination of recycling and WTE is a vision that Warner says was a goal of community leaders who planned the integrated system of managing waste back in the 1980s. Lancaster County is the sixth largest county of the 67 counties in Pennsylvania with a population hovering at around 520,000. Keeping with the values of the community was important in developing a

The WTE facility in Lancaster County opened in 1991. Covanta Energy, Morristown, N.J., operates the facility, which has the capacity to process 1,200 tons of waste per day. When trucks arrive at the facility, they dump their loads onto a floor where a compliance operator inspects them and a loader operator pushes the waste into a pit 55 feet deep. On any

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COVER PROFILE

‘‘

In any given moment we are providing enough power for 1 in 6 homes in Lancaster County and when you are talking about 520,000 people, that’s a real contribution.”

– James Warner

given day the pit holds 6,500 tons of waste. The system is designed for MSW but also receives supplemental waste in the form of pharmaceutical waste or even evidence from law enforcement agencies or products that need to be destroyed. The supplemental material is added intermittently to the pit and done so in a way that allows the waste to maintain a consistent British thermal unit (Btu) value. A large grapple mixes the material in the pit to create consistency before grabbing loads and feeding them into one of three bunkers that lead to each of three combustion units. The waste is then combusted in one

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of three boilers at temperatures that exceed 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit. “We want complete burnout. It reduces the amount of ash and gets the most energy,” explains Warner. The steam that is generated from the combustion of non-hazardous solid waste spins a turbine which creates electricity. A small portion of the electricity is used to power the facility and the rest is sold for revenue. The WTE facility generates enough electricity to power 30,000 Lancaster County homes. “In any given moment we are providing enough power for 1 in 6 homes in Lancaster County and when you are

LCSWMA WTE FACILITY 2011 OPERATING DATA:

115

Average inbound loads received per day

1,173

Average tons delivered daily

96,407

Tons of ash produced

392,900

Tons of waste processed

221 million

Kilowatts of electricity generated

$12.2 million

Electric revenue created

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A large grapple mixes garbage at the wasteto-energy facility before dropping loads of garbage into bunkers for combustion.

talking about 520,000 people, that’s a real contribution,” says Warner. The ash produced at the end of the combustion process comes out chunky. That’s because approximately 2 percent of the ashy material is metal that does not burn. To extract the metal, the ash is processed on a conveyor using a series of magnets. The metal recovered can be worth more than typical scrap because paint and chemicals are burnt off during combustion. “We market about 7,000 tons per year of post consumer ferrous.” says Warner. “It’s big money.” In 2011, the WTE earned $1.488 million in recycled metal revenue. Warner says he is pleased with the way Covanta has managed the WTE process over the years. “Covanta has been our partner from the beginning,” he says. “They’ve done a tremendous job over the last 21 years. Their technology has proven very robust, resilient and their expertise to keep the plant operating at optimal performance has been exemplary.” Air emissions are closely monitored at the WTE facility using a continuous emissions monitoring system (CEM). Control room op-

The ash that remains after the combustion process is chunky because metal does not combust. Magnets remove the remaining metal so it can be sold as scrap.

erators are alerted of any fluctuation in boiler temperature and chemical emissions, and, at any time the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) has the ability to see the monitors. Several measures are taken to reduce emissions. LCSWMA says source tests at the facility have averaged 96 percent below air permit limits set by PADEP. The gases are treated with aqueous ammonia, hydrated lime, activated carbon and travel through scrubbers and baghouses to remove particulate and clean the gasses before they are emitted into the atmosphere through the stack. Warner acknowledges that WTE facilities may not be for everyone. “Some government entities just don’t have the appetite for mass burn,” he

says, “We think it has been terrific for our community.” OPPORTUNITY TO GROW

In 2009 and 2010, LCSWMA began looking at how it could expand its WTE facility, but instead, another opportunity became apparent— about 18 miles away in Harrisburg, Pa. On June 27, 2012, the City of Harrisburg, Pa., selected the LCSWMA as the winner of its competitive bidding process to enter into immediate negotiations for the purchase of the Harrisburg Materials Energy Recycling Recovery Facility (HMERRF). The HMERRF has had financial woes and is currently under receivership, meaning the state has control of it. It is about $330 million in debt and the LCSWMA plans to make an

fastfact There are six mass burn waste-to-energy facilities in Pennsylvania. Lancaster is positioned in a triangle between facilities in York and Harrisburg, Pa. Lancaster’s facility is about 12 miles from York’s and 18 miles from Harrisburg’s. The other three surround Philadelphia and are located in Montgomery, Delaware and Bucks counties.

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COVER PROFILE

offer to purchase it soon. “This is why we decided to put our own expansion on the back burner and bring our expertise [to Harrisburg] and start working on managing their capacity,” says Warner. “As we grow in our county the expanded waste would find its way to the Harrisburg plant.” The HMERRF processed 280,000 tons of material in 2011 but only 160,000 of those tons were contracted for. The rest of the material, according to Warner, was hauled in from New Jersey and surrounding counties at a minimal price just to allow the facility to reach its capacity to produce energy. Warner explains that unlike a landfill, WTE capacity needs to be utilized immediately. “Rule number one of a waste-toenergy plant is always have enough waste to process while your boilers are available to do so,” Warner says. With the addition of the Harrisburg facility, LCSWMA will increase its capacity and its flexibility. “It gives us a lot more flexibility in managing the system,” says Warner. “With the addition of the Harrisburg plant, the Lancaster system will increase from a 600,000 tons per year system to a 900,000 tons per year system.” The way Warner sees it, LC-

SWMA won’t have to take on debt to expand its Lancaster facility or figure where to get the additional waste. If the deal does go through, Warner says, “This will be the first time a public entity buys a waste-to-energy plant, which is news in itself. Usually

you don’t have one public entity buying another.” The purchase would also mean an additional 120,000 megawatt hours of energy produced by LCSWMA. There is certainly a long way to go before the deal is final including ne-

‘‘

Just because you are in the public sector doesn’t mean you don’t find yourselves in business development, and that is very much what we are doing. We are trying to assess beneficial opportunities wherever we see them for our system rather than just sit back and say ‘we just take care of the trash.’” – James Warner

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7/13/2012 11:35:13 AM

COVER PROFILE gotiations with creditors, but Warner says it is a worthwhile endeavor. “We think despite how messy the situation is, it is worth us participating in it.” This is just one example of how Warner says the LCSWMA operates like a business. “Just because you are in the public sector doesn’t mean you don’t find yourselves in business development, and that is very much what we are doing,” says Warner. “We are trying to assess beneficial opportunities wherever we see them for our system rather than just sit back and say ‘we just take care of the trash.’” BEYOND WTE

The WTE facility isn’t the only way the LCSWMA produces renewable energy. It also captures energy from the Creswell Landfill in the county, which closed in 1989. LCSWMA partnered with a local utility company to drill wells and install pipes and engines that produce 3.2 megawatts of electricity utilizing the landfill’s methane gas. The Frey Farm Landfill, adjacent to the closed Creswell Landfill, also produces renewable energy from wind. Through a partnership with

ON THE HORIZON The Lancaster County Solid Waste Management Authority (LCSWMA), Lancaster, Pa., continues to look into ways the renewable energy produced at its landfills and waste-toenergy (WTE) facility can be utilized. LCSWMA is working with poultry and feed company, Purdue Holdings, Salisbury, Md., to build a soybean crushing plant on 50-plus acres adjacent to the WTE facility. The plant would use steam produced at the WTE facility to process soybeans. The steam would travel through an extraction valve to the plant to heat the soybeans. The soybeans would be used in feed and also made into soy oil for use in biodiesel.

PPL Renewable Energy, Allentown, Pa., and Turkey Hill Dairy, wind turbines were installed to harness the wind at the landfill. Located on a bluff overlooking the Susquehanna River, the landfill proved to be an optimal location for wind power. Turkey Hill Dairy operates a plant next to the landfill and uses the electricity for about 25 percent of its power. In 2011, nearly 6.2 million kilowatt hours of energy were produced for the plant. The LCSWMA also uses solar power at its transfer station and ex-

pects to soon power 80 percent of the transfer station with solar. Warner says there are also plans to begin converting fleets to compressed natural gas (CNG). “Every opportunity we get, we want to put our capital to work, making renewable energy and increasing our return on investment rather than settling for current low-in-treasury yields,” says Warner. e The author is managing editor of Renewable Energy from Waste and can be reached at ksmith@gie.net.

SOLID CONNECTIONS James Warner not only serves as CEO of Lancaster County Solid Waste Management Authority (LCSWMA), he also is president of the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA). “I began with my local chapter. Here [in Pennsylvania] we have the Keystone chapter,” says Warner. Warner attended SWANA meetings in Harrisburg, Pa., volunteered for a committee, then served on the board and eventually worked his way to chapter president. He got involved on the national level by serving on and leading several technical divisions as well as serving on the international board of SWANA. He then became an officer. This is Warner’s fourth year as an officer. He will serve as president until August 2012 when SWANA will swear in a new president during its annual meeting in Washington, D.C. He will then spend a year as past president.

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Warner says he got involved in SWANA because it is the industry’s professional group. “If you’re a professional in the solid waste field, you want to participate in your industry’s association so you can measure yourself against your peers, find out what’s going on, and meet others who do what you do,” he says. “I wanted that and leadership, so that is why I took the path that I did.” Warner says he can’t imagine having not been a member of SWANA, citing “all these faces and people that I wouldn’t know.” The best part of being a part of SWANA is the networking, according to Warner. “I’ve just met so many people who do so many neat things in the industry that I’ve taken away and I’ve applied them here,” he says. “SWANA is a great vehicle to become a better waste manager.”

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TECHNOLOGY FOCUS TECHNOLOGY FOCUS

OHIO OIL PATCH Ohio-based Vadxx Energy is helping companies convert tough-to-recycle mixed plastics into fuel products. BY C U RT H A R L E R

ouston-based Greenstar Recycling, headquartered in one of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s energy capitals, is participating in a project that will make it an oil producer. The alternative energy project is not taking place in the oil fields of Texas, however, but in the northeastern Ohio city of Akron. In early November 2011, Greenstar and Vadxx Energy of Akron signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to form the joint venture. It was billed as the first commercial-scale application of Vadxxâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; system, designed to turn polymer-based scrap, mainly mixed plastics, into oil using a process called

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TECHNOLOGY FOCUS

thermal de-polymerization. (Also see the “One to Watch” department, pg. 50 of the Spring 2012 edition of REW for information on Vadxx Energy.) WORTHWHILE VENTURE

Vadxx (www.vadxx.com) is a startup company that manufactures or recovers commodities from petroleumbased discards. Among the products the company’s process yields are synthetic crude oil, natural gas, recovered metals and a carbon “char” product. According to Vadxx’ management team, when Greenstar got on board, the company’s business plan took a quantum leap in legitimization. The process has the ability to work with a number of feedstocks, according to Vadxx, including plastic scrap, notably Nos. 3 through 7 mixed plastics, which can be more difficult to market; scrap tires with the metal fraction removed; auto shredder residue (ASR); medical waste; and other polymer-based products that can be converted into crude oil and a residue carbon “char” fraction. At the time of the announcement, Greenstar executives expressed en-

thusiasm for Vadxx’s ability to help Greenstar recover plastics from the material stream and repurpose them as feedstock for the production of oil. “Disposing of these materials is a cost center right now,” says Sean L. Arnold, chief operating officer of Vadxx. “It becomes a revenue stream with this process.” The process uses pyrolysis with conventional vaporization and condensation to produce a liquid (crude oil), natural gas (which is reclaimed to fire the system) and char. Rockwell Automation Global Solutions, Milwaukee, Wis., will serve as construction engineer and will oversee the building of Greenstar’s system. “They will finish the front end,” Arnold says. Greenstar and Vadxx say they expect the joint venture to begin producing crude oil in the third quarter of 2012 at the Greenstar location in Akron. Two other firms—a tire recycling operation and a medical waste facility—also are on board to implement the process in late 2012. Pittsburgh-based Liberty Tire Recycling also has signed a MOU with

Vadxx to put the process in place at the company’s Minerva, Ohio, tire recycling plant. Vadxx’ managers also say they are close to agreements with an auto shredder operator to convert ASR (auto shredder residue) to oil and with a hospital group to covert medical waste to oil. The plants for Greenstar, Liberty Tire and others will be refined and expanded versions of the fourth-generation pilot plant in Akron, which was built on a 1:35 scale, Vadxx says. MAKING IT PAY

Under the business model, Vadxx will create an individual joint venture with each recycler or waste handler that wishes to produce oil from scrap. The materials stream provider is responsible for providing a quality stream of material to the Vadxx site, says Russell Cooper, vice president of business development. “We expect our partner to clean the material and extract any contaminants,” Cooper says. It behooves the waste handler to provide material that is up to specification. The cleaner the

GREENSTAR AND VADXX SAY THEY EXPECT THE JOINT VENTURE TO BEGIN PRODUCING CRUDE OIL IN THE THIRD QUARTER OF 2012 AT THE GREENSTAR LOCATION IN AKRON. TWO OTHER FIRMS— A TIRE RECYCLING OPERATION AND A MEDICAL WASTE FACILITY— ALSO ARE ON BOARD TO IMPLEMENT THE PROCESS IN LATE 2012.

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TECHNOLOGY FOCUS TECHNOLOGY FOCUS

THE PROCESS CAN WORK WITH A NUMBER OF FEEDSTOCKS, ACCORDING TO VADXX, INCLUDING PLASTIC SCRAP, NOTABLY NOS. 3 THROUGH 7 MIXED PLASTICS, WHICH CAN BE MORE DIFFICULT TO MARKET; SCRAP TIRES WITH THE METAL FRACTION REMOVED; AUTO SHREDDER RESIDUE (ASR); MEDICAL WASTE; AND OTHER POLYMER-BASED PRODUCTS THAT CAN BE CONVERTED INTO CRUDE OIL AND A RESIDUE CARBON “CHAR” FRACTION. waste stream in, the more profit the partnership makes in the conversion process. Ideally, Cooper says, the Vadxx process works best with a fine, dense material of less than 1 inch in size. “But we don’t want to micromanage the partner,” he adds. The ideal material infeed stream would consist of polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS) or polyethylene (PE) waste, according to Vadxx. The company prefers not to see marketable PET (polyethylene terephthalate), PVC (polyvinyl chloride) because of the chlorine or nylons in the system, though Cooper acknowledges that almost any inbound stream will contain some fraction of those materials. According to the company, its system is flexible enough to consume common amounts of material like PVC, despite the chlorine content. “We know the sorting process is imperfect,” Arnold says. “We expect to see PET in the stream, even if we don’t go seek it.” Economies of scale can make or break an energy recovery operation. In an ideal case, a recycling company like Greenstar will provide 12,000 to 16,000 tons of feedstock yearly. The plan is to have continuous processing, with the plant operational 330 days annually. This allows for scheduled maintenance and other downtime, Vadxx says. Arnold is well-aware that a decisive failure point for commercial processing plants is size and cost. He says Vadxx’ modular commercial units are designed to process more than 2 tons of feedstock per hour. The company’s business model is designed to meet the capital, space and feedstock requirements required to be viable in the marketplace, he says. “We need a barrel of crude oil to

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sell in the $35 to $45 range to break even,” Arnold says. (In July of 2012, crude oil was selling for approximately $85 per barrel.) In addition, the process requires a heaping pile of feedstock on a regular basis. One reason the company started in the Cleveland-Akron area, apart from being close to its home base, is the huge amount of scrap and solid waste generated by the 6 million people who live in the region between Cleveland and Pittsburgh. “You can’t get [to critical mass] in a region with just 500,000 or 1 million people,” Arnold says.

• production rate – the value of the oil produced must significantly exceed the cost of manufacturing, which includes energy, raw materials, catalyst, labor, packaging and transport; • conversion efficiency – processing conditions, tailored for different feedstock compositions, provide optimal conversion efficiencies; and • synthetic crude oil quality and consistency – the product must meet eventual refiner/energy marketer needs and performance requirements.

HANDLING CHAR

“It is a closed system—there are not a lot of emissions,” Arnold says, adding that he sees no problem with obtaining operational permits. “It is not that arduous to get permits as compared to other processes,” he says. “We feel confident that we can get permitted anywhere.” In fact, Vadxx’s second and third units will be built within the limits of the city of Cleveland, he notes.

Beyond the sale of the resultant oil, another area Cooper sees potential additional financial return is in the sale of the char byproduct, which has a high carbon content. “Right now, we can sell the char at a nominal rate,” Cooper reports. He adds that he hopes to see an entrepreneur with an idea for repurposing the material. “We are looking for someone to bring us ideas for a higher-value use of the char,” Cooper says. “We are confident that it is salable,” he adds. “It will not have to be part of the waste stream.” Arnold says an ideal Vadxx material stream would be tons of sorted milk jugs without caps. However, the higher-value use for that type of material is to be used as a raw material in new containers, and he knows anyone who sorts HDPE (high-density polyethylene) or PET can get a higher return in that market. Other than the char, there is little residue from the process, Cooper and Arnold say. The company has honed in on several key factors to its business model:

THE PROCESS

The process is the brainchild of William L. Ullom III, chief technical officer and founder of Vadxx. The concept began with Amoco and the University of Wyoming in the early 1990s. Ullom acquired the technology, made changes and now has it ready for the market. “Some 90 percent of what we have now is different than what we had 20 years ago,” Cooper says. The Vadxx process produces oil with lower sulfur content than naturally occurring oil. Vadxx oil is light, with API [American Petroleum Institute] gravities primarily between 35 and 45 degrees, Arnold says. Natural gas produced by the Vadxx process can be converted to electricity to pow-

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TECHNOLOGY FOCUS

er the commercial plants. Patent filings are underway for the Vadxx energy conversion process. Cooper says four key technical advantages differentiate the Vadxx Energy process from other process-

es that make oil from plastic scrap streams: 1. Thermal advantage of combining solid and liquid feedstocks; 2. Efficient continuous process, rather than energy-intensive batch process;

Members of the Vadxx team adjust a thermal depolymerization system. Pictured from left are Russell Cooper, Jeff Jatich, Sean Arnold and Julius Lee.

3. Relatively low capital costs required—easily scalable and modular; and 4. Low environmental hurdles.

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The end product from its system is light, sweet synthetic crude oil and char. Arnold says the quality of Vadxx Energy’s synthetic crude oil can be compared with assays of natural crude oils from around the world. Cooper says the oil is very low in sulfur and has a desirable viscosity for processors. Vadxx has signed an agreement with RB Products, a Houston-based energy company. RB Products will sell the oil produced at the various processing sites, which is an important “end-game” for both Vadxx and its partners. Cost avoidance, such as skirting landfill fees or additional trucking, are icing on the cake. “We will earn the right to feel good about what we do by being a profitable company,” Arnold says. No matter the cost of oil down the road, nor the price of inputs, Arnold says he feels confident in the future. “It is a dynamic market,” he comments, “but remember that we are polymer agnostic. The process works the same. I can’t predict the market in 20 years, but the process will accommodate it.” e The author is a Renewable Energy from Waste contributing editor who can be contacted at curt@curtharler. com.

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5th Annual Waste-to-Fuels Conference & Trade Show Groton, Connecticut Mystic Marriott Hotel & Spa

September 16-18, 2012 Why You Should Attend: • Interested in converting waste materials to fuel and/or energy? • Want to save time and money learning how? • Want to avoid the mistakes others have made and learn how to successfully design a project that works? • Want to learn how to finance a waste conversion technology project? • Want to know the latest and greatest with regard to what is going on nationally in this area? If the answer is yes to any of these questions, you need to be at our conference and trade show. We will save you a considerable amount of time and money! Conference Topics: • Municipal Solid Waste-to-Fuels & Energy Recovery • BioMass-to-Fuels & Energy Recovery • Agricultural Waste-to-Fuels & Energy Recovery • Funding Conversion Technology Projects

• Plastics-to-Fuels • Landfill Gasses-to-Energy • Waste Oils and Grease-to-Fuels

WWW.WASTE-TO-FUELS.ORG Waste-to-Fuels Conference & Trade Show Phone: 800-441-7949 REW1208p17wastetofuels.indd 1

7/12/2012 2:00:45 PM

REW ROUNDTABLE

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REW ROUNDTABLE

everal different industry sectors are involved in the emerging effort to convert discarded materials into sources of energy. Bringing together leaders from several of these sectors to compare notes and exchange ideas was one of the goals of a Renewable Energy from Waste Roundtable, held in early May. The roundtable discussion benefitted from the presence of representatives from several major solid waste and recycling companies, an energy-fromwaste plant operator, a technology provider, a project financier, a trade association chairman and a leading solid waste industry consultant. Joseph Vaillancourt of Waste Management Inc., Jim Little of Waste Connections Inc. and Jim Bohlig of ReCommunity represented the solid waste and recycling sectors at the Roundtable. Eric Herbert of ZeroWaste Energy LLC offered the viewpoint of a conversion technology provider while Ted Hansen of Greenwood Energy represented an up-and-running energy-from-waste producer. James Stewart of the BioEnergy Producers Association offered the view of an association chairman trying to create change in the California regulatory and statutory climate in particular, and Harvey Gershman of Gershman, Brickner & Bratton Inc. was able to share some of his knowledge gathered during decades as a solid waste industry consultant. Participants gathered in Las Vegas during WasteExpo, which took place April 30-May 3, 2012. Following is the first of two excerpted portions of the Roundtable, featuring remarks from these industry leaders on the state of

the energy-from-waste sector and its near-term prospects. REW: Thank you for taking the time to be part of this discussion today. We very much appreciate it. How would you characterize the progress that has been made in the last five years in the overall effort to convert wastes and residues into energy? HG: Well, we’ve had a bunch of money thrown at technologies and companies that want to make energy and fuel, funded by the federal government— that has been a major catalyst. Some of those plants are starting to come up out of the ground, and we’re anxiously awaiting the results on how they run and what their costs really will be. We did a forecast for a client that identified about 35 projects that are in advanced development or coming out of the ground—that’s incredible. It’s a very exciting time and we’re positioned for this new technology to come online in the next handful of years, and we’ll find out what the numbers really are. We’ve still got a lot of waste going to landfill, but it’s great to see Waste Management trying to change their paradigm in how they talk about waste and getting away from the landfill orientation. TH: In the business sector, I describe it as a great awakening. Three years ago when we contacted businesses and industries about avoiding landfill they would ask, “How much money are you going to save me?” They weren’t interested in doing anything themselves. Now, three years later, there is still that element of “How much are you going to save me?” but they also are desperate

ROUNDTABLE PARTICIPANTS KEY Jim Bohlig (JB) of ReCommunity, Charlotte, N.C. Harvey Gershman (HG) of Gershman, Brickner & Bratton Inc., Fairfax, Va. Ted Hansen (TH) of Greenwood Energy, New York Eric Herbert (EH) ZeroWaste Energy LLC, San Jose, Calif. Jim Little (JL) of Waste Connections Inc., The Woodlands, Texas John May (JM) of Stern Brothers & Co., St. Louis James Stewart (JS) of the BioEnergy Producers Association, Los Angeles Joseph Vaillancourt (JV) of Waste Management Inc., Houston Brian Taylor and Jim Keefe (REW) of Renewable Energy from Waste magazine

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REW ROUNDTABLE

During the Renewable Energy From Waste Roundtable, held in Las Vegas in early May, several leaders involved in various waste-to-energy industry segments shared their views.

for solutions and they are aggressively going after them. So on the industry side of waste generators, there is this great awakening.

were twice what disposal fees were. That’s how they were all built, but people wanted it—they wanted that ability to recycle. Those original curbside programs that went in, it was $2 to $3 more JV: From Waste Management’s perspecper house to serve them. In the state of tive, clearly there has been an awareness California, they had the foresight to say, “This is a positive thing,” and they did create a stick People have sort of to force communities to comply. And frankly it always been anecdotally also gave the waste indusinterested in solutions, try an impetus to go do something. There were but not committed either companies that were saybehaviorally or financially to it. ing, “We don’t want to do anything, this is stupid.” – Joseph Vaillancourt But a lot of companies looked at it as being a really good business opportunity—a place for them to carve out more business for themselves. I see this exactly the same way. There will be those companies and shift that I think is important. People entrepreneurs who find a way to dehave sort of always been anecdotally liver. I don’t believe there is one single interested in solutions, but not comsilver bullet. We’re creating another elemitted either behaviorally or financially ment within the industry that I think is to it. But I think in the last five years, super positive. between the capital and some of these other corporate sustainable initiatives, JB: I think that 2012 is really going to it has really provided some awareness. be the year that is looked back upon in So I think this movement—or however which there was a turning point. The you want to describe what is going on— turning point is coming from strong is here to stay and it will happen. market signals that are occurring. The first market signal is that we have EH: I remember for the first projects many large brands that have basically trying to get financing in the MRF adopted an irreversible sustainability (material recovery facility) recycling brand. And they really can’t go back, space, the banks would never sign off even though that brand adoption is on any value on recyclables. Those first way ahead of technology and capabiliMRFs [charged] processing fees that ties. I think we’re nearly within a year

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of seeing customers and particularly communities—who are really the customers—signaling that they really do believe in zero waste and that they are prepared. I’ve built and operated landfills and I know exactly what the cost is, the dollar per ton. What people don’t understand is that it is the least valuable recovery technology. In time, the financial community will understand that a 48 percent EBITDA margin doesn’t mean anything if you put 90 percent of that back in the ground in the next cubic yard. My experience in my life is that industries always follow the dollars, so eventually the market will start to follow that. We have a lot of really important market signals that are occurring this year, including the largest waste company clearly articulating a vision different than might have been articulated 20 years ago, and great compliments to Joe and Waste Management. This is a whole new model. [and] I think the entire waste stream will be exploited. Long-term, I believe that we’re really turning a corner. I don’t think we’re going back—this isn’t a false start. The great part of the story is that every one of these multi-national brands in this country, all of their growth is going to come from emerging economies. And all of them have know they have to figure out a way to make consumption sustainable. One of the critical gates to consumption not being sustainable in most of these countries is the failure to deal with waste. So waste is going to become central to our economic growth at the local level in terms of the ability to solve that. And as people develop those solutions, they won’t be applicable only to North America, but they’ll be applicable to the rest of the world. That will, I think, help as opposed to retard progress. I think we’re really there and I don’t think it’s going back. It’s going to be ugly for a while. We’re going to have to figure out innovation and financing. That’s a big issue, but it will happen. REW: What remain as some of the barriers to the establishment of these conversion technologies? JS: The BioEnergy Producers Association is devoted to addressing the chal-

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REW ROUNDTABLE ting standards for performance, rather TH: From our perspective, a barrier than trying to categorize or regulate by now clearly is low energy prices. The definition of technology, which is what environmental permit is the second has been going on in California for the barrier. Any waste stream that’s been last 10 to 20 years. I’m very optimistic processed enough that it can be proven and I agree with Jim—I think 2012 is the year of change. I think that’s a matter of I think that 2012 is really seeing numerous projects going to be the year now either going into construction or nearthat is looked back upon ing completion or going in which there was into commission. As we are able as an industry to a turning point. point to successes of op– Jim Bohlig erating plants, that’s going to change the entire atmosphere. That’s going to cause cities and jurisdictions to want to move to be clean is forward knowing there is a greater probably the sense of certainty in performance, and best waste I believe this is the year that we’re going stream to work with right now. MSW to start to see that confidence building may be the holy grail, but those streams around our industry. that are getting processed sufficiently that they can be designated by the EPA REW: When companies consider as a non-waste fuel [are most desirable]. whether to take a risk on a certain technology what are some of the barHG: The oxymoron of enlightened riers that would cause them to decide elected officials is another one. Hav‘not right now,’ or ‘not this project?’ ing worked on a number of waste-toenergy (WTE) projects in my lifetime, JL: There is clearly stratification of the in a successful one there is always an waste stream. That is either accelerated elected official who is taking the time or decelerated by local government. to understand and who will accept reSo the speed with which we get to the sponsibility. Are there enough elected next level is at a point where state and officials out there like that who will step city governments have decided to take forward? it upon themselves—they’re getting it. They’re deciding whether we take big JV: We’ve learned the hard way, there steps or big strides to take on the whole is no one solution. Even if you find one waste stream, or whether we go after [technology] that works really well, the the low-hanging fruit, if you will. The waste stream in Florida with high chloanaerobic digestion (AD) technologies rine content is very different from than of the world prove that the what it is in Arizona. And the pricing latter type projects are is very different. Your off-take contract Where the real work has to happening, and they’re available options are very different. We happening at a nice pace look at this as a puzzle without a picture. be done is with the states, right now. We’re walking We’re just trying to create optionality to to create an environment very briskly. The quespresent to the customers. What we’re tion is, will the governreally trying to do today is help these where rapid permitting of ment continue to stratify technology companies get to efficacy so individual plants can occur. the waste stream [when it we can help offer the solution in a larger comes to] energy converdevelopment, because that’s really what – James Stewart sion? I think it all relies they lack. They know their reactor reon government at various ally well, but they don’t really know how levels. There is a lot of uncertainly all to come to the market and build plants, over the U.S. on how that’s going to which is what is going to get the financhappen. ing sources comfortable. e

lenges, regulatory and statutory, that apply to the organic waste-to-energy sector. Back in 2003 and 2004, those of us who were trying to advance the cause of individual technologies realized that, particularly in California, we had a repressive statutory and regulatory climate which fundamentally was discoursing any emerging bio-based technology from operating in the state, primarily because of economics and time to market—and the uncertainty of permitting in California was so extreme that no young company could afford to invest in that. As a result, in the state of California over the last five years, we can calculate at least $1 billion in capital expenditures for emerging technologies that either were moved out of California or were sited in other states. Enerkem is an example. They told the city of San Diego that unless a legislative package could be passed in 2009 or 2010, they did not feel that they could operate in the state of California, and they’re just one example. In California, we have a scientifically inaccurate definition of gasification, which requires zero emissions of the bio-refining process. Very few companies have been willing to take the risk to try to build a plant in the face of that, because they know a legal challenge could stop their entire project. Our focus has been on a statewide basis rather than federal. Where the real work has to be done is with the states, to create an environment where rapid permitting of individual plants can occur. There are very positive signs in the industry right now. Oregon is working through a rule-making process for conversion technologies, defining what a bio-refinery is and set-

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OPERATIONS SPOTLIGHT

Fit to Be Tied TiFuel of Marietta, Ga., is diverting old railroad ties from the landfill by grinding them to create a boiler fuel product. BY LARRY TROJAK

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.C. Taylor is not one to tackle any project halfheartedly. As a longtime veteran of railroad-related businesses and the founder and owner of a number of businesses based in Marietta, Ga., that serve that industry, he believes in doing things right the first time. That includes giving the customer more than he or she expects, treating his employees well, and using quality equipment to get the job done. On one of those business ventures, TiFuel, an operation that takes crossties deemed no longer suitable for

track use and sells them for landscaping or grinds them up for boiler fuel, he has raised the bar even higher. Seeking to both streamline the efficiency of the operation and reduce its environmental impact, TiFuel recently turned away from contract grinders, brought that operation in-house via a new grinder purchase, and in doing so, went with an electric unit, a 4600XL model made by Morbark, Winn, Mich. Taylor says TiFuel employees are now grinding all they needâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;when they need itâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and he sees a significant sav-

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OPERATIONS SPOTLIGHT

ings in fuel, maintenance and upkeep costs as well as a reduction in both noise and environmental pollution. A BETTER APPROACH

Though most Americans tend to shrug off railroads, particularly freight trains, as a technology whose time has come and gone, nothing could be further from the truth. Railroads have, in fact, been bucking a host of economic trends over the last couple of decades and today are one of the few industries in which

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employment, revenue, return on investment, and dollars spent on infrastructure improvements have been on the rise. Maintaining that infrastructure, including the nearly 17 million crossties that support the U.S. railways system, is a massive and ongoing process. When ties are deemed too worn for track use, they are pulled and disposed of, a practice which, according to T.C. Taylor, forms the basis for TiFuel’s business operation. “Proper disposal of crossties has been an issue for a long time now and a number of different approaches have been tried,” he says. “Years ago, one company had a machine they called the ‘tie destroyer’ which would run on the track, grind up the old ties that had been pulled, and spit the debris off to the side. While somewhat effective, it just created more of a mess for the railroad. Because of my experience, I knew that rail ties were an excellent fuel source and felt they should be used that way. So I contracted with railroad officials to get control of those ties and put them to a better use.” Taylor says he and his company have worked hard to build up a solid business relationship with Norfolk Southern Corp., Norfolk, Va., which he cites as one of the most innovative railroads operating today. That effort has paid off—Taylor says his company is one of only a few contractors ever allowed to work right alongside the railroad’s track gangs. The tie retrieval and grinding process is simple: through one of his businesses, Railroad Maintenance and Service Co. of America, a rail-mounted loader/handler (Taylor’s own patented design) gathers the ties that have been removed, loads them onto rail cars and brings them back to the TiFuel yard in Greeneville, Tenn. There, once again using the right-of-way handlers, the ties are offloaded and sorted according to quality: better ones for use as landscape timbers or retaining walls, the remainder for boiler fuel at an area paper mill.

“It is essentially the same approach we’ve been taking since I first got the idea to pursue this more than 30 years ago,” he says. “However, when we started, diesel was 39 cents per gallon and companies we approached thought we were crazy. It was a different story when diesel prices skyrocketed. Suddenly these ties, which have a BTU value almost double that of traditional biofuel, became a very cost-effective alternative for them.” CHANGES IN ATTITUDE

TiFuel’s yard in Greeneville is the picture of efficiency. At the long and narrow approximately 8-acre site (it was once a Norfolk Southern piggyback siding) , Taylor’s team has developed the unloading, sorting, grinding and trucking process into a science. Only nine people handle the entire operation, a number that belies both the constant, almost frenetic level of activity taking place, and the volumes done. Handling more than 1.3 million ties per year, the site’s volume is about half of all the used ties that Norfolk Southern generates. Of that number, 250,000 are slated for landscape use with the balance headed to the grinder for fuel. For the better part of three decades, that grinding effort had been handled by contract grinders who were paid to come in and take the fuel-grade ties down to the 3-inch minus size needed for delivery to the customer. That arrangement was not without its challenges, says Randy Cochran, general manager of the TiFuel operation. “For the most part, things worked out fine,” says Cochran. “But, because you are at the mercy of that grinding company, if for some reason they can’t get to you, you can be dead in the water. With that in mind, we decided to bring the grinding part of the business in-house. We did a lot of research, selected Morbark based on that research and its solid reputation, and started thinking about what we wanted in a grinder.” With a major capital investment at

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OPERATIONS SPOTLIGHT

ELECTRIC AVENUE When TiFuel, Marietta, Ga., researched its purchase of a grinder that could take on railroad ties, the company had concerns that ran much deeper than simply production. According to TiFuel’s managers, they saw the purchase as an opportunity to totally rethink the way they operate. Operating expenses were examined, as was safety and environmental impact. After several conversations with Steve Rawls, a field sales specialist with Morbark Inc., Winn, Mich., TiFuel placed an order for a Morbark electric-powered Model 4600XL grinder. “Steve was outstanding in helping us sort it all out,” says TiFuel General Manager Randy Cochran. “When it was all said and done, there were a number of reasons for us taking the route we did. After running the numbers, we saw that, with an electric machine, we could realize some really nice savings, not just in fuel—though that’s been the case—but also in maintenance and upkeep costs. We also liked the fact that we could avoid the risk of combining creosote-soaked ties, a hot grinder and diesel fuel. Finally, when you consider that there are

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no diesel emissions from this machine and it runs quieter than the machines feeding it, going electric just made so much sense.” TiFuel owner T.C. Taylor adds that the performance the company has experienced from the 4600XL since its installation in October has been a real eye opener. He cites a preconceived notion that because a grinder is powered by electricity it will have less power. That, he says, has not been the case at all. “This unit doesn’t even seem to change RPMs when a load of ties is running through the mill—it’s that consistent,” states Taylor. “It is clean, it is powerful and it is quieter than anything else I’ve ever heard. That works for me,” he adds. “We expect to send about 70,000 tons of crossties through the 4600 in 2012 alone, and have hopes to change a few things to increase that volume to 100,000 tons,” Taylor continues. “When we max things out, the limitation will not be due to the grinder—it will take anything we can give it—it will be because of other issues.”

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OPERATIONS SPOTLIGHT

hand, TiFuel’s considerations were many, and the company’s managers put considerable thought into the purchase before selecting an electric-powered Morbark model 4600XL grinder. (See the sidebar “Electric Avenue” on page 35.)

ness to speak of. As a result, I’ve got people who take pride in their work and we have a very low employee turnover rate. I couldn’t be happier with the way things are going now. I have an outstanding management team in Randy and Pat Wilson, our

vice president, great employees, and equipment like the grinder that I know will be contributing to our success for years to come.” e This story was submitted on behalf of Morbark Inc., Winn, Mich.

VALUED LESSONS

While a paper mill is the sole customer for TiFuel’s ground up material, its landscape-grade ties— roughly 1,000 flatbed trucks of them each year—go to customers ranging from home improvement stores like Home Depot and Lowe’s to independent landscapers. Never one to rest on his laurels, Taylor says the company has some plans in the works to grow the business even further. “We can’t expand any further at this site simply because of the physical size limitations,” he says. “But we are looking at setting up another location in which we will do an identical operation further south.” A 35-year veteran of the rail industry, Taylor says lessons his father taught him as a youngster helped shape the man he’s become and the career paths he has chosen. “My dad instilled a work ethic in me that I value and I’ve never lost,” he says. “He taught me that the dirtier and less-desirable a job is, the better the opportunity. I’ve taken that to heart and it’s served me well. It pains me to see a whole generation coming along who only want to get an MBA and become executives or managers. This country was founded on the principle of hard work; that’s something I’m afraid has gotten lost along the way.” Other companies may look for ways to cut corners at the expense of their workers, but Taylor says that is one area in which he will not scrimp. “This is not the most glamorous job around and everyone here, including me, knows that,” states Taylor. “So in all my operations I pay my people well, because I recognize that without them I wouldn’t have a busi-

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CASE STUDY

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CASE STUDY

TASTE OF VICTORY Anaerobic digestion and fuel cells help California’s Gills Onions fulfill a zero-waste commitment.

otivated by a zero-waste commitment, Gills Onions LLC, Oxnard, Calif., embarked on an industry-first sustainability journey that began to really take flight in 2005. As the nation’s largest fresh-cut onion processor, the company was facing several challenges in the areas of onion waste management and energy usage. At the time, Gills Onions was processing 0.8 million pounds of onions per day, generating 200,000 pounds of onion peel waste and 200,000 gallons of wash-down wastewater each day. The onion peel waste was being applied to fields, incurring extensive costs for hauling and insurance, while also posing risks for soil and groundwater contamination. In addition, the electrical requirements to operate the company’s 100,000-squarefoot processing and refrigerated warehouse space equated to a base load of 0.8 megawatts (MW) and an average annual spend of more than $1.4 million. TWO PROBLEMS, ONE SOLUTION

Gills Onions’ desire to reduce both waste and energy usage led them to collaborate with University of California, Davis to explore new ways to repurpose the waste rather than simply disposing of it. This exploration included testing the anaerobic

digestion of onion juice. The results of those tests proved that onion juice was, in fact, easily digestible and presented an opportunity for the company to self-generate power using biogas produced through the anaerobic digestion process. Choosing to partner next with HDR Inc., a multi-national engineering firm based in Omaha, Neb., the two companies put a team of engineers and contractors in place and moved ahead with a full-scale plan. The process involved the evaluation of several technologies and equipment for the final system components, research and supporting documentation for permitting with the City of Oxnard and the Ventura County Air Pollution Control District (VCAPCD), and all aspects of the mechanical, civil, process and controls engineering design. The team selected Netherlands-based Biothane to design and build an anaerobic digester customdesigned for processing the onion juice. The team also discovered an industrial fuel cell technology by FuelCell Energy of Danbury, Conn., that was selected to convert the methane into energy. The process behind the cleaning and conditioning of the resulting methane was led by the Gas Technology Institute, Des Plaines, Ill., and made possible through a grant awarded by the California Energy

BY NIKKI RODONI AND ASHLEY BECK

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CASE STUDY

‘‘

The multi-component system is broken down into four specific functions: onion processing (including juice extraction), biogas production by anaerobic digestion, biogas conditioning and energy production by fuel cells.

Commission. Before Gills Onions could begin construction of its new waste-to-energy (WTE) system, the company faced a challenge obtaining the required equipment permits from the local air district, the VCAPCD. Because systems like Gills Onions’ are newly designed and largely unprecedented, the permitting process does not follow standard protocol. Gills Onions contacted Yorke Engineering LLC, an environmental consulting firm based in San Juan Capistrano, Calif. Yorke specializes in air quality permitting and compliance throughout California and could help Gills Onions navigate the uncharted waters of WTE permitting. Yorke Engineering is no stranger to unusual WTE permitting situations. Founded in 1996, the consulting firm has routinely acquired permits for systems that produce power from landfill gas, sewage digester gas and wood waste, to name a few. The Clean Air Act Amendment of 1970 established the National Ambient Air Quality Standards. If a geographical area’s emissions pollutant levels are higher than these standards, the area is designated as “non-attainment,” and if

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the pollutant levels are below the established thresholds, the area is designated as “attainment.” Gills Onions is situated in a non-attainment area. Some of the important items Yorke Engineering had to consider for Gills Onions’ project were the types of air emissions the equipment would produce and methods of compliance with existing government rules and regulations. Criteria air pollutants that were accounted for included ozone (nitrogen oxides combined with volatile organic compounds, or VOCs), nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, carbon monoxide and particulate matter. The specific requirements of such a unique permit depends on the pollutants and quantities emitted by the system. Part of Yorke Engineering’s job was to quantify criteria pollutant emissions, perform a health risk assessment, complete a regulatory analysis, and present them to the VCAPCD in a formal permit application. Yorke Engineering also used its specialized knowledge of complex and constantly changing local and federal rules and regulations to demonstrate that Gills Onions would be in compli-

ance with air quality regulations once the system was permitted. In addition to the VCAPCD’s established rules, the WTE system had to meet air toxic health risk requirements, National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants and New Source Performance Standards. The federal New Source Review can require emission offsets, or units of mitigation often purchased or sold by companies to compensate for produced emissions, demonstration that the air quality will not be significantly impacted by the new equipment, and a means of control for emissions, or Best Available Control Technology (BACT) and Lowest Achievable Emission Rate (LAER). MEETING STANDARDS

In Gills Onions’ case, to comply with BACT/LAER, different systems were installed to control the pollutant emissions and to reduce possible nuisance odors. The system used an enclosed flare, an iron sponge a bio-filter, and a carbon polishing treatment system to control hydrogen sulfide emissions as well as odors. The company also utilized a boiler to heat the bioreactor to a specified nitrogen oxide concentration and two fuel cells to generate electrical power. To address potential odors, which can present a nuisance to nearby homes, Gills Onions used a biological scrubber and wet scrubber. Permits usually require some form of emissions monitoring to demonstrate compliance. Types of monitoring can include recordkeeping, source testing and/or continuous emissions monitoring system. The VCAPCD required source testing of the boiler, flare and bio-filter every two years, recordkeeping to measure monthly natural gas use, and providing regular maintenance, inspection and repair records of the biofilter and iron sponge. Gills Onions has tried to incorporate operational flexibility into the design of its WTE system to avoid having to make any drastic agency-required changes later on. It was also important to wait for permit approval before proceeding with construction to ensure all requirements would be met.

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CASE STUDY The District was committed to understanding the processes, components, and functions of the new units. Gills Onions received their Permit to Operate¬ with operating conditions, which enabled installation of the Advanced Energy Recovery System (AERS). Gills Onions unveiled the resulting sustainable AERS in 2009. The multicomponent system is broken down into four specific functions: onion processing (including juice extraction), biogas production by anaerobic digestion, biogas conditioning and energy production by fuel cells. This WTE process produces more than 100 cubic feet per minute (cfm) of biogas, which is conditioned and used to generate 0.6 MW of clean electricity, fulfilling up to 100 percent of the processing plant’s base load electricity requirements. Gills Onions’ pioneering efforts in environmental sustainability has earned them numerous honors and awards, including: • 2010, 2011 WRAP (Waste Reduction Award Program) recipient • 2011 U.S. Innovation Award from McDonalds • McDonald’s 2010 Best of Sustainability Supply Chain Award in the categories of Climate/Energy and Waste Management • 2010 Food Plant of the Year from Refrigerated Frozen Food magazine • 2010 California Green Leadership Award – Waste Management category winner in partnership with a grant from the California Energy Commission • American Council of Engineering Companies’ (ACEC) 2010 Grand Conceptor Award for our Advanced Energy Recovery System (AERS) • 2010 Platts Global Energy Awards Recognition Finalist – chosen from over 200 worldwide nominations • Ventura County Resource Conservation District Recognition 2010 • 2009 Governor’s and Environmental and Economic Leadership Award

‘‘

(GEELA) • Pacific Coast Business Times 2009 Business of the Year • 2009 Energy Solutions Center Partnership Award for Innovation Energy Solutions • Cool Plant Project Winner 2008 ABOVE AND BEYOND

Gills Onions didn’t stop there. In 2012, the company added a significant new improvement to its facility’s energy efficiency during peak usage hours through the installation of the patented VRB® Energy Storage System manufactured by Prudent Energy of Bethesda, Md. Because of the VRB, Gills Onions will not only inventory onions, but electricity as well, and save hundreds of thousands of dollars on its utility bills in the process. Like many industrial power consumers who rely on the grid for all or some of its electricity, Gills Onions’ utility costs spike during high-use periods, especially during six afternoon hours when the local utility, Southern California Edison (SCE), uses peaking generators to meet demand. This additional cost of power production is passed to the customer via time-of-use (TOU) rates. But SCE also has a demand charge that can hit hard on customers’ power bills. Unlike the charge for the energy itself, the kilowatt (KW) demand charge is assessed for the peak use during the month, as measured in 15-minute intervals. For example, the Gills Onions plant may have a fairly steady power usage, as would be typical for a 24-hour food processor, varying between 1,000 and 1,200 KW. However, if a number of motors or compressors started up at once, the usage during the 15-minute period could spike, and the measured demand could increase by 300 to 500 KW. This short spike in power would then set the demand charge for the entire month, which could be three times higher than off-peak. Avoid these charges, and the

potential for significant savings becomes clear. That’s exactly where Prudent’s VRB® system kicks in. Prudent Energy will typically charge its giant battery during nighttime, offpeak hours, storing electricity like a warehouse might hold any other commodity. That power from the 600-KW, six-hour battery system will then be used during peak pricing and usage hours, which is where the savings pour in. And according to Prudent, its VRB system has additional value: it is durable, produces virtually no air emissions, and requires very little maintenance or support. With daily time-of-use rates and costly demand charges from the electric utilities, not to mention the compelling business need to show a commitment to sustainability, Prudent says California’s commercial and industrial companies can look to benefit from its advanced energy storage system as a way to manage their electricity costs. Peak demand pricing and TOUs are not unique to California. Many utilities across the country already use them, and the trend is growing as new power generation becomes increasingly expensive and the grid becomes more strained. The flow battery addition was unveiled at a co-hosted invitation-only ribbon cutting ceremony held on July 11, 2012. e Co-author Nikki Rodoni is director of sustainability at Gills Onions LLC and coauthor Ashley Beck is technical editor at Yorke Engineering LLC.

This WTE process produces more than 100 cubic feet per minute (cfm) of biogas, which is conditioned and used to generate 0.6 MW of clean electricity.

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Renewable Energy from Waste

7/16/2012 9:30:51 AM

WASTE CONVERSION CONGRESS

MUCH TO LEARN Attendees at the Waste Conversion Congress East Coast in Philadelphia heard about several waste conversion technologies and approaches toward successful implementation. B Y K R I S T I N S M I T H

avigating through the many different waste conversion technologies, understanding the various feedstocks, deciding what type of fuel or energy to produce, and overcoming the economic and legislative hurdles toward commercialization can be quite daunting. The Waste Conversion Congress East Coast, held in Philadelphia in June, was organized by Renewable Waste Intelligence. It delved into the many issues facing the waste conversion industry through panels of speakers involved in the financing, planning and implementation of waste-to-energy (WTE) projects and technologies ranging from gasification to anaerobic digestion to landfill gas. Harvey Gershman of Fairfax, Va.based consulting firm Gershman, Brickner and Bratton Inc. (GBB) told attendees his firm has identified close to 600 technology providers and developers representing a waste conversion technology. “It is just unbelievable how many people are out there,” he said. Of the nearly 600 companies, he said 150 claim to have commercial facilities. “That is of interest, to know there are that many out there,” he said. Gershman compared the footprint of a WTE facility to that of a landfill. “Waste to energy, even though it is an expensive way to make energy per production unit, it is a very land-efficient system, and it doesn’t need more land as time goes on as a landfill does.” He also illustrated how the different fuel or energy products produced from a WTE system can impact the bottom line. Ethanol is much more valuable than electricity, but can be more costly to produce, he said.

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GASIFICATION IN MOTION

Mauricio Vargas, executive vice president of Plasco Energy Group, provided an update on his company’s construction of a commercial scale gasification system in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The Plasco Trail Road demonstration facility in Ottawa has served as an example of “superior environmental performance, validated by Ontario’s Ministry of Environment,” said Vargas. Ottawa’s city council has approved a 20-year contract with four 5-year extensions for Plasco to build a 3-module commercial-scale plant. The waste conversion contract was approved in early June, reported Vargas. Vargas says the Ontario government played a critical role in helping Ottawabased Plasco move the project forward. The Ministry of Research and Innovation provided a $4 million loan early on and the Ministry of Energy worked with the Ontario Power Authority to ensure acceptance of Plasco’s power. The new facility will have a capacity of 150,000 tons per year with an expected throughput of 128,000 tons per year. It is expected to produce 153,000 megawatts per year of renewable base load power and eliminate more than 4.7 million tons of CO2 over the contracted period. OVERCOMING OBSTACLES

Unlike in Ontario, the U.S. has been largely unsuccessful in commercialscale gasification. During a session on gasification, panelists delved into the successes and pitfalls of the technology. Shapoor Hamid, senior scientist for URS Corp., San Francisco, said he recalled teaching people in the 1990s that gasification would soon be in the U.S.

“Unfortunately I taught at that time that we would have [a commercial gasification system] up and running in the U.S. in five or six years. Now 20 years later, we are still talking about commercialization,” he told attendees. He gave two reasons for the lack of commercialization of gasification technology in the U.S.: lack of understanding of the technologies and cost. He talked about the delays with the City of Los Angeles in adopting gasification. “We put a strategic action plan together that was supposed to be up in running in 2007 and they are still evaluating that,” said Hamid of city officials. Hamid said the definition of gasification needs to be addressed, pointing to some public authorities that say gasification is not conversion, but rather transformation because of the introduction of oxygen in the process. “We are working to change this definition to bring gasification into the conversion technologies definition because it is not a complete combustion [process],” said Hamid. Hamid said that even the term gasification “is a little difficult” when comparing different technology suppliers’ systems because there are so many out there. “These will probably be the obstacles until we have one system in the U.S. on a commercial basis processing municipal solid waste,” said Hamid. The Waste Conversion Congress East Coast took place June 12 and 13, 2012, at the Radisson Plaza-Warwick Hotel in Philadelphia. e The author is managing editor of Renewable Energy from Waste and can be reached at ksmith@gie.net.

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WASTE CONVERSION CONGRESS

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Renewable Energy From Waste

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research developments Gas Technology Institute Releases Report on Landfill Gas The Gas Technology Institute (GTI), Des Plaines, Ill., is publicizing a report titled “Guidance Document for the Introduction of Landfill-Derived Renewable Gas into Natural Gas Pipelines.” According to the report, the integration of renewable gas from non-traditional sources can provide significant benefits, including cost-effectively reducing greenhouse gas emissions and increasing available resources. An initiative launched by GTI is establishing parameters for evaluating the suitability of biomethane products—derived from dairy waste and landfills—for safe and proper introduction into existing natural gas pipelines and to assure compatibility with existing supplies. Sponsored by the natural gas industry, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and members of the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA), these projects have been adding to the industry’s understanding of the chemical and biological composition of renewable gas. The Landfill Guidance Document provides analytical and other key information to pipeline companies and natural gas local distribution companies (LDCs) so that parameters specific to clean biomethane can be identified to support a productive discussion between these parties and the suppliers for contract development. The document includes a list of constituents and methodology for testing, as well as statistical analysis of the acquired data. It provides information about specific instrumentation for identifying and monitoring trace constituents, and cleanup technologies for removing them. Previously, under the sponsorship of a consortium of gas companies, including Operations Technology Devel-

opment (OTD)—and working with a number of universities and dairy farms throughout the United States—GTI scientists developed the first national biogas guidance document for introducing methane from dairy waste into existing pipelines, entitled Pipeline Quality Biomethane: North American Guidance Document for Interchangeability of Dairy Waste Derived Biomethane. Kristine Wiley, project manager says, “GTI is exploring alternative and renewable energy resources that can integrate with the U.S. energy distribution network and support the expansion of the nation’s energy supply. Evaluating and mitigating the effects of new fuels on the delivery infrastructure is a critical aspect to enable the use of this renewable resource.” The full report is available at http://media.godashboard.com//gti/120007_Landfill_Guidance_Document_ FINALREPORT-05-9-2012.pdf.

ACEEE Backs Aggressive Energy-efficiency Goals According to a new report from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), America is thinking too small when it comes to energy efficiency, while also making the mistake of “crowding out” economically beneficial investments in energy efficiency by focusing on riskier and more expensive bids to develop new energy sources. Titled “The Long-Term Energy Efficiency Potential: What the Evidence Suggests,” the new ACEEE report outlines three scenarios under which the U.S. could either continue on its current path or cut energy consumption by the year 2050 almost 60 percent, add nearly two million net jobs in 2050, and save energy consumers as much as $400

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billion per year (the equivalent of $2,600 per household annually). ACEEE Executive Director Steven Nadel says, “Large-scale energy efficiency advances will require major investments. But the good news is that the investments will generate a significant return in the form of large energy bill savings. After paying for the program costs and making the necessary investments as we pay for them over time, the economy will benefit from a net energy bill savings that ranges from $12 trillion to $16 trillion cumulatively from 2012 through 2050. In other words, the energy efficiency scenarios outlined in our report will spur an annual net energy bill savings that might range up to about $2,600 per

household annually in constant 2009 dollars.” The full text of the ACEEE report can be found at http://aceee. org/research-report/E121. According to ACEEE, the secret to major economic gains from energy efficiency is a more productive investment pattern of increased investments in energy efficiency, which would allow lower investments in power plants and other supply infrastructure, thereby substantially lowering overall energy expenditures on an economy-wide basis in the residential, commercial, industrial, transportation and electric power sectors.

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research developments Covanta Introduces Commercial Gasification System Covanta Energy Corp., an owner and operator of infrastructure to convert waste to energy, has completed the commercial demonstration testing on what it calls a first-of-its-kind gasification technology. Covanta says the technology has demonstrated the ability to gasify unprocessed post-recycled municipal solid waste (MSW) in a commercial setting, while reducing emissions and increasing energy efficiency. Morristown, N.J.-based Covanta says the commercial demonstration of the project paves the way for Covanta to offer a new 300-ton-perday modular system, called CLEERGASTM (Covanta Low Emissions Energy Recovery Gasification). “We are always working to stay on the cutting edge of technology to convert waste into clean energy,” says Anthony Orlando, Covanta’s president and CEO. “This new gasification technology is truly exciting. Communities interested in emerging technologies can now partner with Covanta’s industry-leading team to assure successful project execution.” Covanta’s gasification unit has been processing 350 tons per day of post-recycled municipal solid waste and has demonstrated superior reliability at greater than 95 percent availability. Municipal solid waste, which does not have to be pretreated, is subjected to high temperatures and reduced air on the gasification platform, where it undergoes a chemical reaction that creates a synthesis gas (syngas). The syngas is then combusted and processed through an established energy recovery system, followed by a state-of-the-art emissions control system. “Successfully completing this

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commercial demonstration was a major step in developing new facilities capable of gasifying unprocessed post-recycled municipal waste,” says John Klett, executive vice president and chief technology officer. “Moving forward, our research and

development efforts will continue to improve the syngas quality created in the gasification process. One day, we anticipate this syngas will be utilized as a fuel in a combined cycle facility and potentially, in the production of liquid fuel.”

BALERS THAT WORK AS HARD

AS YOU DO

6220LP • Specifically designed for light materials. • Lid press ensures infeed density • Can be used with either lid press or shear • Latch on Lid Press ensures no back pressure against cylinder

www.americanbaler.com Bellevue, Ohio / 800-843-7512 sales@americanbaler.com

A common problem that plastic recyclers face when baling is due to the weight of the incoming material it has a tendency to rise up while the plunger is stroking forward. This results in a slower baling time and lighter bales being produced. To overcome this American Baler offers a two ram baler with a lid press. There are three advantages to this; first the lid press ensures that all material fed into the charge box is being compressed, second bale weights and production times per bale are increased, and thirdly improves thruput during grade changes. This baler is fitted with a shear blade so that when baling over-sized materials the lid press can be disengaged and you can operate the baler as a standard two-ram.

7/12/2012 3:59:35 PM

association news Pennsylvania Biomass Energy Association is Established The newly established PA Biomass Energy Association (PBEA), Harrisburg, Pa., describes itself as “an industry-driven, non-profit association working to advance the environmentally responsible use of biomass for clean heat and for combined heat and power applications.” The West Penn Power Sustainable Energy Fund (WPPSEF, wppsef. org), stating in a news release that it recognizes biomass as a strategic initiative, has provided the PBEA with an administrative and educational grant, “providing the association with the start-up funding necessary to hit the ground running.” The PBEA describes itself as the Keystone State’s “first industrydriven organization that is working to advance the environmentally responsible use of biomass for clean heat and power energy applications in Pennsylvania.” “A group of companies and individuals involved in the biomass industry in Pennsylvania had been discussing the need for an industrydriven association for some time, and with the financial support offered by the West Penn Power Sustainable Energy Fund, we have been able to put that collective thought into reality,” says Jay Clark of AFS

Energy Systems and president of PBEA. The grant from WPPSEF will co-fund PBEA’s general administrative activities through 2013 and fund development of a Pennsylvania biomass energy prospectus that will be used to document the current status of the industry and what is needed for growth. The grant also will be used to support PBEA meetings and educational field tours. As well, WPPSEF funding will support PBEA’s annual fall conferences in 2012 and 2013. The WPPSEF invests in the deployment of clean energy technologies throughout the West Penn Power service region in Pennsylvania. Investments are made to promote the use of renewable and clean energy, energy conservation and energy efficiency, and the attraction, establishment, and retention of sustainable energy businesses. “The West Penn Power Sustainable Energy Fund grant enabled the former PA Biomass Working Group to evolve into an industry-driven, non-profit association,” says Joel Morrison, WPPSEF director. “We hope this grant will provide the necessary infrastructure to facilitate the growth of the industry and drive

OWMA Names Covanta VP to Board The Ontario Waste Management Association (OWMA) has named Joey Neuhoff, vice president of business development for Covanta Energy Corp., to its board of directors. Neuhoff was elected to a two-year term during the OWMA’s annual general meeting. “Through this appointment, I hope to offer our expertise and contemporary thinking on waste disposal and resource recovery, while working alongside and on behalf of this esteemed group of waste service providers and influencers for the ultimate benefit of Ontarians,” says Neuhoff. “OWMA supports an integrated waste management solution that includes landfills, transfer stations, organics processing, material recovery and EfW (energy-from-waste) facilities,” says Robert Cook, OWMA’s CEO. “Our members are always looking to advance the ways we serve our communities, and EfW is a component of an integrated waste management system with the potential to contribute to Ontario’s long-term self-sufficiency in waste management,” he adds.

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more biomass projects within the Commonwealth,” he adds. PBEA efforts are focused on three areas: • Promoting and supporting the use of Pennsylvania feedstocks in heat and combined heat and power markets; • Promoting and providing guidance on clean, efficient, biomass heat and combined heat and power technologies and installations; and • Educating end users and policy makers on how biomass can be used to meet the heat and power needs in Pennsylvania in a cost effective, environmentally responsible manner. In April 2012, PBEA selected the Pennsylvania Energy Resources Group (ERG) to manage day-to-day operations of the association and to assist in PBEA’s strategic planning to ensure long-term viability of the organization. “ERG has worked with biomass energy companies for five years, developing and financing projects,” says ERG Partner John Nikoloff. “Each company has told us they needed an association to serve as the voice for these industries. We are very pleased to have played a role in the association’s inception, and we’re excited to be helping biomass related firms remain a key segment of Pennsylvania’s energy future,” he adds.

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7/12/2012 3:48:30 PM

product spotlight

Precision AirConvey EcoPAC Baler. The new

EcoPAC baler from converting machinery manufacturer Precision AirConvey Corp., Newark, Del., is now available. Features include: • Bales edge trim, label matrix and other converting, printing, mailing and packaging material • Proprietary, rotary process designed to automatically densify material into a bagged, palletized cube for easy removal via lift truck • Collects and densifies paper, plastic film, PSA (pressure sensitive adhesives) or other material conveyed from a pneumatic trim system used in conjunction with a material and air separator while diverting the air to an acceptable location

Visit www.precisionairconvey.com for more information.

GCS Compact Density Separator. Grinder-

CrusherScreen (GCS), Smyrna, Ga., has introduced the GCS Waste Density Wizard 1000 and 1200 models of density separators. Features include: • The patented machines are designed to take a commingled product such as a mixture of wood, rocks, dirt and plastic and separate it into piles of similar products • Consists of only one machine that will screen the material, air separate the light film plastic or paper, water separate the rocks from the wood and pull out the sludge Visit www.grindercrusherscreen.com for more information.

Wastequip Organics2Go. Wastequip, based

in Charlotte, N.C., has launched its Organics2Go program designed for the safe and easy collection, storage and transport of organic waste. Features include: • Programs are customized and based on volume of organic waste, as well as other customer priorities • Organics2Go line includes a range of products for the safe collection, storage and transport of organic waste including containers, carts, cart lifters, biofiltration systems and digesters • The BiobiN system creates an aerobic environment to minimize odors and attraction of pests

Visit www.wastequip.com for more information.

UNTHA RS 150 Four-Shaft Shredder.

UNTHA Shredding Technology America Inc., based in Hampton, N.H., has introduced the RS 150 four-shaft shredder to the U.S. market. Features include: • Four-shaft shredding system first coarsely shreds material and then finely shreds it, all in a single operation • Designed to handle a variety of materials • UNTHA’s patented Torque Drive System, designed to combine the flexibility of a hydraulic drive with the reliability of an electric drive Visit www.untha.com/us for more information.

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Renewable Energy from Waste

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datebook July 30-Aug. 1 Financing the Commercialization of Biofuels and Bio-based Chemicals: The Tutorial, San Diego, Calif., Information Forecast Inc., www.infocastinc.com/index.php/ conference/667 Sept. 11-12 The Renewables Event, Birmingham, U.K., eMap, www.therenewablesevent.com or +020-7-728-3785 Sept. 16-18 5th Annual Waste-to-Fuels Conference & Trade Show, Mystic, Conn., Southern Waste Information eXchange and Association & Conference Management LLC, www.waste-to-fuels.org Sept. 23-25 C&D Recycling Forum, Long Beach, Calif., Recycling Today Media Group, 800-456-0707 or www.CDRecycler.com/Forum Sept. 30-Oct. 3 Global Waste Management Symposium, Phoenix, Penton Business Media, www.wastesymposium.com Oct. 10-11 Advanced Renewable Energy Project Finance & Analysis, New York,

Aug. 14-16 WasteCon, Washington, D.C., Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA), www.wastecon.org Information Forecast Inc., www.infocastinc.com/index.php/ conference/670 Oct. 29-31 BioCycle Energy, St. Louis, BioCycle, www.jgpress.com/ biocycleenergy/index.html Nov. 12-15 Venice 2012 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Fourth International Symposium on Energy from Biomass and Waste, Venice, Italy, International Waste Working Group (IWWG), www.venicesymposium.it Oct. 10-11 Energy Solutions 2012, London, United Business Media (UBM), www.energysolutionsexpo. co.uk

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Nov. 13-14 Food Waste Reduction Conference, Charlotte, N.C., Carolina Recycling Association, www.cra-recycle.org Nov. 27-29 Biorefining Conference & Trade Show, Houston. BBI International, www.biorefiningconference.com or (866) 746-8385 2013 Jan. 28-31 USCC 21st Annual Conference & Tradeshow, Orlando, Fla., U.S. Composting Council, www.compostingcouncil.org March 12-14 8th Annual World Biofuels Markets Congress & Exhibition, Rotterdam, the Netherlands, Green Power Conferences, www.worldbiofuelsmarkets.com

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ad index American Baler – www.americanbaler.com...............................................45

Hammel New York – www.hammelny.com.....................................................13

Biogas USA East & Midwest – www.greenpowerconferences.com ..............................36

Machinex – www.machinextechnologies.com..................................28

Bulk Handling Sytstems – www.bulkhandlingsytems.com........................Back Cover

Recycling Today Media Group – www.recyclingtoday.com..............................................36

C&D Recycling Forum – www.cdrcecycler.com/forum.......................................... 3

Sierra International Machinery LLC – www.sierraintl.com........................................................ 9

CP Group – www.thecpgp.com........................................................ 7

SSI Shredding System – www.ssiworld.com............................ Inside Front Cover

Doppstadt US – www.doppstadtus.com.................................................11

Steinert US – www.steinert.com.........................................................17

EFactor3 – www.efactor3.com.......................................................15

Van Dyk Recycling Solutions – www.vdrs.com.............................................................. 5

General Kinematics – www.gkrecycling.com...................................................23

Vecoplan – www.vecoplan.com................................................ 26-27

Gershman, Brickner, & Bratton, Inc. (GBB) – www.gbbinc.com.........................................................49

Waste-to-Fuels Conference & Trade Show – www.waste-to-fuels.org................................................29

Granutech-Saturn Systems Corp. – www.granutech.com.............................Inside Back Cover

West Salem Machinery – www.westsalem.com....................................................37

GreCon – www.grecon-us.com....................................................16

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Renewable Energy from Waste

7/12/2012 3:55:22 PM

ONE TO WATCH [SIERRA ENERGY]

SMALL WONDER

ounded in 2004, Sierra Energy was the need for long waste supply contracts formed to develop and commercialize and reducing complications with financing the FastOx gasifier derived from the and permitting. Additionally, the flexibility of steelmaking blast furnace. Mike Hart, the FastOx enables it to handle nearly any type founder of Sierra of waste regardEnergy, saw an opless of geographic portunity to create a region and seasonal universal gasification variation. technology in an What new otherwise segmentprojects or ed industry. systems have you Sierra Energy been focusing on specializes in waste this year? gasification and is currently focusSierra Energy is ing on small-scale commercializing modular systems Sierra Energy says its FastOx gasifiers can be used to create renewable energy in many forms. a modular, turn-key and biofuel applicasystem called the tions. The company FastOx Pathfinder. This waste gasification says its FastOx gasifiers convert nearly system is designed to handle up to 25 any form of waste into an energy-dense tons of feedstock each day and can be and versatile syngas that can be used configured to produce either electricity or to create biofuels, electricity and other fuels. The FT model is capable of producrenewable end products. ing 42 gallons of renewable fuels from one Sierra Energy has been demonstrating metric ton of charged waste. its pilot gasifier at the Renewable Energy Testing Center at McClellan Business Where do you see your company Park in Sacramento, Calif. The company five years from now? recently secured the land and completed environmental impact reports for its first Sierra Energy hopes to see hundreds commercial facility in the Sacramento of its FastOx Pathfinders operating in area. the field creating renewable energy and What makes you different from sustainable income for its customers. It your competitors? intends to expand its Pathfinder configuration options to include renewable gasoline In an industry that is obsessed with and green chemicals. Additionally, it hopes large-scale, massive-sized facilities, to field systems internationally to improve Sierra Energy is focused on small-scale the livelihood of residents in underdevelapplications. Small systems allow more oped communities by eliminating unopportunities for small and rural communiregulated trash dumps and by providing ties to implement waste conversion without power, heat, or other resources. e

Q A

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AT A GLANCE

Company: Sierra Energy

Headquarters: Davis, Calif.

Principals: Mike Hart, founder and CEO

Year Established: 2004 No. of Employees: 11 Website: www.Sierra EnergyCorp.com Services Provided: Waste gasification; focus on small-scale modular systems and biofuel applications

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;

In an industry that is obsessed with large-scale, massive-sized facilities, Sierra Energy is focused on small-scale applications.

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