Building Connections
World BioEnergy News examines global energy issues with a special focus on energy alternatives and solutions to soil recycling and land reclamation . We believe we have an obligation to our children to
safeguard our environment, that there are viable options to
the continued use of fossil fuels, and that there are profitable applications for green manufacturers and industries.
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Thermya releases an innovative biomass torrefaction technology to the market
 French company launches its new innovative biomass torrefaction technology called TORSPYD®.Villenave d'Ornon, 19 March 2010 – Thermya, a French engineering company leader in biomass energy recovery, announces today the release of its TORSPYD technological process for the torrefaction of non-food biomass. TORSPYD, which was designed by Thermya, is the most advanced and developed torrefaction technology currently available. It indeed is to date the only industrially proven process in Europe enabling the torrefaction of any type of agricultural and forestry non-food biomass, on a continuous way. TORSPYD technology innovative process is based on the “solid organics distillation principle”. This patented technology, designed and developed by Thermya, enables to fully dehydrate and then depolymerize the biomass in order to produce an absolutely hydrophobic and homogeneous solid fuel; it is characterized by the highest energy yields performance of all technologies known to date. Torrefaction by TORSPYD allows to convert all kinds of biomass into BioCoal. This BioCoal, which contains less than 1% moisture, retains 95% of the initial biomass energy and more than 90% of its initial dry mass. The BioCoal’s net calorific value is around 20500 kJ/kg; far greater than the one of non-torrefied biomass. BioCoal can be mixed to fossil coal and co-fired in thermal power stations without any modification of the facilities. Co-firing BioCoal, as a substitute for coal, eliminates mix-rate limitations, reduces CO2, SO4 and NOx emissions. On top of that, thanks to lower NOx emissions, co-firing BioCoal allows to achieve equivalent energy efficiency with reduced fuel consumption. As a result of its hydrophobic properties BioCoal cannot incur any biological degradations and can therefore be stored and shipped safely without any risk linked to climate conditions. The TORSPYD torrefaction column is energy self-sufficient: the re-injection of 4% of the BioCoal production into the torrefaction system allows to complement the process’s operational energy requirements. “Today, Thermya is the only company in Europe to offer an industrially proven, fully operational biomass torrefaction continuous process,” explains Jean-Sebastian Hery, Technical Vice-President and co-founder of Thermya. Thermya signed a first license agreement in 2009 with the Spanish company IDEMA, Group Lantec. Through this agreement IDEMA will build torrefaction units based on the TORSPYD process. “In summary, main benefits of our TORSPYD technology are unrivalled performance levels and extremely low operating costs. TORSPYD is the relevant response to the environmental and economical issues electricity producers, operating coal-fired power stations, are currently facing. It also opens up opportunities for manufacturers of classical wood pellets or forest operators, whose production could gain considerable value from torrefaction. Classical pellets are indeed commonly produced from sawdust or from co-products of the primary wood processing industry, whereas our technology is designed to produce premium quality biomass fuel (totally dry and hydrophobic) directly from forestry residues – hardly used at present. Besides all that, producing premium quality pellets from torrefied wood is less energy-consuming than producing classical wood pellets,” comments Hervé Chauvin, Managing Director and co-founder of Thermya. Thermya will attend the Globe 2010 exhibition in Vancouver (24-26th March 2010) to introduce its technology and initiate commercial and industrial long-term partnerships in the North-American marketplace. About Thermya:Thermya is a French engineering company founded in 2002, which specializes in the design of technological solutions to convert non food biomass into carbon or energy. Thermya has developed a unique and innovative proprietary torrefaction technology called TORSPYD®, that allows the concentration of almost all the energy contained in any ligno-cellulosic material. Thermya is also involved in the recycling of wood waste and organic solids. The company is headquartered in Villenave d’Ornon, close to Bordeaux, and has a staff of 15 people including five engineers and four scientists. For additional information please visit: www.thermya.com Press enquiries: Symorg Media Relations Agency Jean-Christophe Labastugue + 33 (0) 6 03 45 11 37 contact@symorg.com
California approves tough new green building code
California has again underlined its status as a pioneer of green legislation,
mandating tough new building
rules that will require all new buildings in the State to comply with
demanding environmental and energy efficiency standards by January 2011.
Known as Calgreen, the green building code, which was formally adopted late
last week, has been in development since 2007 by California's Building Standards
Commission (BSC).
It requires half of all construction waste to be re-used rather than sent to
landfills, and dictates that all non-residential buildings over 10,000 square
feet are inspected for energy efficiency.
The California Air Resources Board estimates that the mandatory provisions
will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 3 million metric tons equivalent in
2020.
It will also help address the state's growing drought risk, by requiring all
new buildings to deliver a minimum 20 per cent reduction in indoor water use on
current levels, as well as install separate water meters for non-residential
buildings' indoor and outdoor use, and moisture-sensing irrigation systems for
larger landscape projects.
Another upside of Calgreen is that building owners passing the code will be
able to label their buildings as Calgreen compliant without spending any money
on third-party certification programs, said the Governor's office. In contrast,
the US Green Building Council charges for LEED certification.
Calgreen is not the first building code that the Californian BCS has
introduced, but the last set of standards that it developed in 2008 were
implemented on a voluntary basis, while the new code will be mandatory and will
be backed by a formal inspection regime.
"The code will utilise the long-standing, successful enforcement
infrastructure that the state has established to enforce its health, safety,
fire, energy, and structural building codes making verification of the Green
Code for local building inspectors a simple transition," said the BCS in a
statement. Source: Business Green
Soil Recycling, Screening and Roof Gardens
When excavation for the construction of a building begins, deep
gouges of ground aggregate are scooped out and, typically, loaded onto
trucks and hauled to a dump somewhere. The Green Builder understands
that the onsite screening of soil aggregate – topsoil, dirt, rock, gravel and
sand - not only serves an environmental use but saves money. In
recent years, the popularity, benefits and importance of roof gardens
has caught the publics' attention. Properly designed and constructed to support the
load, a building's value is increased for having a roof garden - tangible
and intangible. Everyone can relate to the peace and calm that
one experiences in a garden. A quiet place to retreat in a very busy world – maybe the sound of water
moving in the background from a water feature. It’s the place employees
eat ther lunch, take their breaks and their work is better for it. A
roof garden can also support food-growing as its purpose which benefits
not only the employees and building occupants, but conceivably the
neighborhood and, thinking big, the community. A properly designed and constructed roof garden takes more time and effort but one task is easily solved - OMH Innovations
has created soil aggregate screener products that separates soil,
topsoil, rock, gravel, dirt and sand. Innovatively designed, the
screeners can be attached to bobcats, skid steers, backhoes and front
loaders. They are specifically designed for compact use where space is
an issue. OMH ProScreen has several models for the job at hand from the PVG-96 two-screener to the Big Bucket. Green
Builders understand the value of recycling and land reclamation. With
fuel costs and dumping fees rising and affecting the bottom line,
soil aggregate screeners for recycling is quickly becoming an important and necessary piece of equipment in the construction, excavation and landscaping industries.
New database on the world’s soils
A
new database on the world’s soils improves knowledge of the current and
future land productivity as well as the present carbon storage and
carbon sequestration potential of the world’s soils. It helps to
identify land and water limitations, and assist in assessing the risks
of land degradation, particularly soil erosion risks, said FAO this
week. Derived from the soil database, FAO has produced a global Carbon
Gap Map that allows for the identification of areas where soil carbon
storage is greatest and the physical potential for billions of tons of
additional carbon to be sequestrated in degraded soils.
Read More...
Land degradation is intensifying
Land
degradation is intensifying in many parts of the world, according to a
study using data taken over a 20-year period, FAO announced this week.
Defined as a long-term decline in ecosystem function and productivity,
land degradation is increasing in severity and extent in many parts of
the world, with more than 20 percent of all cultivated areas, 30
percent of forests and 10 percent of grasslands undergoing degradation. An estimated 1.5 billion people, or a quarter of the world’s population, depend directly on land that is being degraded. The consequences of land degradation include reduced productivity,
migration, food insecurity, damage to basic resources and ecosystems,
and loss of biodiversity through changes to habitats at both species
and genetic levels.
Read More...
Message from Willie Nelson, Flood Relief Efforts
June, 2008 Severe
weather in nine Midwestern states is devastating family farmers.
Disastrous floods in Iowa and Wisconsin have hit farmers especially
hard. More than 30 counties in Iowa alone have already been declared
federal disaster areas, and more areas are expected to be threatened by
rising flood water in the next few weeks. Farm Aid
is working now with local farm groups, churches, and rural
organizations to get emergency funds out quickly to flooded farmers.
Today we made our first grant of $10,000 to a local Iowa farm
organization to provide emergency assistance to farmers in need right
now. When major disasters like this strike, desperate farmers and farm
organizations call Farm Aid. With your help, Farm Aid can help by
providing emergency funds for families to buy food and cover living
expenses and by supporting emergency hotlines and organizations that
provide legal, financial and emotional counseling to farm families in
need.
Please make an emergency contribution to Farm Aid’s Family Farm Disaster Fund right now and we will rush your funds to the stricken area. Stay Strong and Positive,
Willie Nelson Read the rest of Willie's message at his website WillieNelson.com
Building Green
Green building is the practice of creating structures and using
processes that are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient
throughout a building's life-cycle from siting to design, construction,
operation, maintenance, renovation and deconstruction. This practice
expands and complements the classical building design concerns of
economy, utility, durability, and comfort. Green building is also known
as a sustainable or high performance building. Green buildings are designed to reduce the overall impact of the
built environment on human health and the natural environment by:
- Efficiently using energy, water, and other resources
- Protecting occupant health and improving employee productivity
- Reducing waste, pollution and environmental degradation
For example, green buildings may incorporate sustainable materials
in their construction (e.g., reused, recycled-content, or made from
renewable resources); create healthy indoor environments with minimal
pollutants (e.g., reduced product emissions); and/or feature
landscaping that reduces water usage (e.g., by using native plants that
survive without extra watering).
There are a number of reasons to build green, including potential environmental, economic and social benefits. Some practices, such as using renewable materials or passive solar
design, date back millennia - ancient Greeks built entire cities so
that all the homes received solar heat in the winter. The contemporary
green building movement arose out of the need and desire for more
energy efficient and environmentally friendly building practices. The
oil price increases of the 1970s spurred significant research and
activity to improve energy efficiency and find renewable energy
sources. This, combined with the environmental movement of the 1960s
and 1970s, led to the earliest experiments with contemporary green
building. Source: US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Green building
How Soil Breathes and Carbon-Cycling
Enviornmental Expert : "Soil
respiration (SR) plays a major role in moving carbon from the ecosystem
to the atmosphere. Converting land for agricultural use accelerates CO2
emissions via SR. Planting trees (afforestation) has been heralded as a
potential climate change mitigation approach. However, new research
suggests that the effects of agricultural practices on peatland remain
for decades and can continue to influence CO2 emissions even 30 years
after afforestation.
Read More...
Soil Analysis for Improved Land Use
"Soil
variation occurs across multiple geographic scales ranging from vast
climatic regions of the Earth to a 50 acre farm field to the molecular
world of soil nano-particles in a pinch of soil. For example, in a forest or an agricultural field, soil properties
vary from the summit of a hill down to the base. Within a single soil
aggregate that may be less than a quarter inch in diameter, there is a
variable distribution of open spaces (soil pores), solids (soil
particles), and water and gas molecules, and within each of the
elements themselves there is variation, such as different pore shapes
and different elemental solids.
Read More...
Floods Threaten Global Corn Supply, Higher Food Prices Forecasted
by: Stevenson Jacobs, The Associated Press 6-14-08 TruthOut.com:
"Floods that have inundated the Midwest could reduce world corn
supplies and drive food prices higher at a time when Americans are
stretching their grocery budgets and when people in poor countries have
rioted over rising food costs. The U.S. government will report in late
June on how many acres of corn were lost to flooding, but farmers and
agriculture experts say the toll appears grim, with thousands of acres
probably destroyed in the region that grows most of the world's corn.
Read More...
Can Americans Grow Enough Biofuel?
"The high price of petroleum, government incentives to reduce
dependence on imported oil, and growing efforts to address climate
change have created a perfect storm for bio-based products, driving
demand for alternative feedstocks for biofuels and chemicals and
cleaner biotech-based production processes. Industrial biotechnology
has enhanced the efficiency of biofuel production and made possible
production of a range of polymers and chemicals from agricultural
starting materials. The next challenge facing the biorefinery industry
is producing, harvesting and delivering abundant feedstocks in an
economically and environmentally sustainable fashion." according to
Brent Erickson, executive vice president of Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) Industrial & Environmental Section.
Read More...
Will Democrats Go Green?
Leadership changes in key Congressional commitees point toward a dramatic shift in US energy policies, none more
so than the replacement of Oklahoma Republican James Inhofe as chairman of the Senate
Environment and Public Works Committee by California Democrat Barbara Boxer. "Nowhere is there a greater
threat to future generations than the disastrous effects of global
warming," Boxer said at a Senate Democratic Caucus meeting.
"One of my top priorities will be to spotlight this issue ... with the
goal of ultimately bringing legislation to the Senate floor."
Read More...
UK Stern Report on Climate Change
There is still time to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, if we take strong action now, according to the Stern Review Report on the Economics of Climate Change. The scientific evidence is now overwhelming: climate change is a serious global threat, and it demands an urgent global response.
Read More...
Future Biofuel Trends
“New Opportunities in US Biofuel Market (2006)”,
a strategic report by the market research and analysis firm RNCOS, provides an updated and detailed analysis of the US biofuel market. The
report provides an overview of the global biofuel market, with
exclusive focus on the US markets. It is also highly informative about
the current and future market trends. The emphasis has been put on the
analysis of critical aspects of the industry such as supply and demand
structure, challenges & opportunities and others that will help
clients to gain exclusive information about the industry.
Key Findings- The Biofuel industry in the US is poised for tremendous growth in
future. Past trends have shown that the industry is growing at the rate
of about 40-50%, particularly driven by large Biodiesel demand in the
preceding 3 years.
- The US concern for high oil import levels will stay here for
at least the next 20 years, which will force the government to promote
Biofuels by providing more liberal policies.
- There is a lot of excitement with regard to production as many new production plants are under construction.
- The demand for ethanol has been increasing tremendously and has
surpassed supply in the last two years. This is a clear indication of
the expanding needs of the country.
- Demand will continue to grow as biofuels finds new applications in aviation sector, automobile sector, fuel cell sector etc.
According to Giles Clark of BioFuel Review "Production and consumption of Ethanol in the USA skyrocketed in June
'06. This was mainly due to the continuing rise in the number of
Ethanol pumps and increasing number of people becoming conscious about
helping their country to reduce its reliance on oil."
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 Jatropha curcas is a promising source of biofuels. It is a particularly important plant because it can be grown on arid and semi-arid land that is not agriculturally suited for food crops. Read More ...
Gaia Capitalist Names Santa and Mrs. Claus "Gaia Capitalists of the Year"
The big guy in the red suit and his eternally cheery partner deserve
kudos for all their work and dedication, and it is thus our honor to name Santa and Mrs. Claus our 2006 “Gaia Capitalists of the Year”.
With a ho-ho-ho and a visual branding that Coca Cola can only dream of,
the jolly St. Nicks have created the epitome of a profitable enterprise. Read More
New Biofuel Discovery
"Researchers at the University of Minnesota have developed a new,
carbon-neutral way to convert vegetable-based fuels to syngas, a
breakthrough that could allow producers to power hydrogen fuel cells or
create a replacement for America's dwindling supplies of natural gas,
all without relying on fossil fuels.
We've all had the experience of watching cooking oil smoke once a
pan reaches a certain temperature—and suffered the indignity of having
to scrub off the caked-on, carbonized gunk that results. A similar
problem plagued researchers trying to convert biofuels: When heated,
they clogged the pores of the catalyst used to transform them into
syngas, which is a mixture of gases that include hydrogen, carbon
monoxide and carbon dioxide.
Read More...
Schwarzenegger Seeks to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions
"Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced an executive order that joins California's landmark global warming law with
the Northeast's program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
It is the first step in creating a system that
helps California's largest manufacturers comply with stricter
environmental regulations, a Schwarzenegger administration official
said. Industrial corporations and utility companies must cut their
greenhouse gas emissions by roughly 25 percent by 2020.
Read More...
Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership
Aimed at all stakeholders in the energy debate, the 2nd Annual
European Energy Policy Conference is part of a 5-year commitment to the
development of debate and critical discussion on the issues surrounding
the energy industry, energy policy, sustainability and relations with
the wider energy industry. Key
issues covered include security of supply, LNG, renewables,
investment climates, emerging markets, global energy consumption,
energy efficiency, EU ETS and current projects in place that are
helping to drive forward cleaner production of energy.
REEEP's International Director, Marianne Osterkorn, presented at the event.
Read More...
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OMH ProScreen, Inc. USA
- which produces topsoil recycling screeners for skidsteers, backhoes,
bobcats and frontloaders has generously offered to sponsor this World BioEnergy News
Site.
Click here for more information about their topsoil screener equipment, their products and business philosophy. Also, please visit their site at www.omhproscreen.com.   The eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which range from
halving extreme poverty to halting the spread of HIV/AIDS and providing
universal primary education, all by the target date of 2015, are
galvanizing unprecedented efforts to meet the needs of the world’s
poorest.
United Nations Earth Charter
Some of the art on this site was done by children all over
the world to raise funds for the United Nation's Earth Charter Initiative. The goal "To establish a sound ethical foundation for the emerging global
society and to help build a sustainable world based on respect for nature,
diversity, universal human rights, economic justice and a culture of peace."
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