Zero Waste Energy to Convert Organic Waste into CNG Fuel
Zero Waste Energy LLC (ZWE), Lafayette, Calif., has announced the groundbreaking of an anaerobic digestion (AD) facility in South San Francisco, Calif., that will convert organic waste into compressed natural gas (CNG) and compost.
The Blue Line Biogenic CNG facility will convert 11,200 tons per year (TPY) of food and green waste into more than 100,000 diesel equivalent gallons of CNG fuel, according to the company. ZWE says each collection vehicle will collect enough organic waste during just one route to fuel it for an entire day, creating what the company describes as a true closed-loop system.
The Blue Line Biogenic CNG Facility will be developed in a partnership with Blue Line Transfer Inc., South San Francisco Scavenger Co. Inc. and ZWE. The project is essential in addressing numerous Assembly Bill 32 (Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006) requirements, diverting almost 95 percent of the organic waste feedstock from landfills. The project will include a Smartferm anaerobic digestion facility that will transform 11,200 tons of food and green waste per year into CNG. The system also will produce heat to run the facility and will include an in-vessel composting system that will mitigate odor issues and provide digestate that will be matured into compost.
“Smartferm will give us the ability to reduce the organics going into the landfill by converting that same waste into CNG fuel to power our collection routes. Good for us, the cities we serve, and California as well,” says Doug Button, president of South San Francisco Scavenger Co. and Blue Line Transfer. The facility is scheduled to commence operation in the second quarter of 2014.
Smartferm is a dry anaerobic digestion system that processes organic waste feedstocks and generates renewable energy. Smartferm systems can include biogas processing technology for combined heat and power (CHP) generation as well as CNG.
In addition, in-vessel composting options can provide partial or complete maturing of compost for the wholesale or retail market. Smartferm facilities can process 4,000 TPY to 100,000 TPY of almost any organic material, according to ZWE.
RRT Breaks Ground on Minnesota Plant’s Expansion
RRT Design & Construction, a design, engineering, construction and consulting firm based in Melville, N.Y., has broken ground on a mixed waste material recovery facility (MRF) in Perham, Minn. According to RRT, the 40-ton-per-hour preprocessing system will process mixed waste and recover ferrous and nonferrous metals, fiber, noncombustible materials, glass and fines prior to waste-to-energy conversion.
The owner of the facility, the Prairie Lakes Municipal Solid Waste Authority, chose RRT to design the project following a competitive bidding process. The expansion is part of the authority’s plan to increase throughput, recover recyclables and improve the facility’s efficiency and energy output.
The company says the new MRF will improve the characteristics of the incoming solid waste by removing noncombustibles and undesirable waste before burning it in the plant’s combustors, reducing the overall costs of the waste-to-energy plant and increasing the capacity of the facility. Additionally, the MRF has been designed to recover recyclables from the incoming municipal solid waste (MSW), which reduces the amount of ash sent to the landfill and also generates revenue from the sale of recyclables.
When completed, the waste processing capacity of the facility will increase from 116 tons per day to 220 tons per day, RRT says.
RRT’s service includes engineering, design, equipment supply, installation, wiring, startup, commissioning and acceptance testing. The system includes apron feed conveyors, sorting platforms, an 8-foot diameter rotary trommel, two overhead belt magnets, an eddy current separator, belt conveyors, two balers, a fines removal and cleanup system, a stationary compactor, access platforms and support steel. RRT also is providing an electrical control system.
Mike Hanan, the authority’s director of solid waste, says, “We are excited to have the RRT construction and construction management teams on site. We look forward to the successful commissioning and testing of the recovery systems they have designed.”
Nathiel Egosi, president of RRT, says, “This system will be another successful example of RRT’s unique abilities and expertise to integrate waste preprocessing for materials recovery and feedstock preparation with various downstream technologies including those for energy recovery, composting, biofuel production and other conversion approaches.”
Greenlane Biogas to Install Upgrading System at California AD Facility
Greenlane Biogas Ltd., Burnaby, British Columbia, has announced plans to install a Totara biogas upgrading system for CR&R Waste and Recycling Services’ Perris, Calif., facility. The biogas will be generated from an anaerobic digestion (AD) system using the green and food waste in the municipal solid waste (MSW) stream as a feedstock.
Sean Mezei, president of Greenlane Biogas, says “Generating renewable natural gas (RNG) from green and food waste via anaerobic digestion is an excellent way to generate revenue and profit from organics diversion programs. Greenlane’s prior experience of providing efficient and reliable systems in similar service in Europe will ensure this project becomes an excellent full-scale demonstration of this renewable energy pathway in the U.S.”
“We are very excited to be teamed up with Greenlane,” says Michael Silva, CR&R project manager. “After several years of researching various technologies, we are pleased that our project is now fully permitted, and we are proceeding into the construction stage.”
Silva continues, “Greenlane’s biogas upgrading technology will allow us to run our entire fleet off of renewable natural gas generated from the local organic waste stream.”
Greenlane’s process uses water to upgrade biogas to become interchangeable with conventional natural gas.
HDR Awarded Contract for Heartland Biogas Anaerobic Digester
HDR Constructors Inc., Kansas City, Mo., has been awarded a contract with Heartland Biogas LLC, to design, construct and start a 20-megawatt-equivalent anaerobic digester facility in Weld County, Colo. The digester facility will produce three outputs, including a renewable natural gas, organic compost amendment and liquid soil amendment products. Construction started in August 2013.
HDR Constructors Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of HDR Inc., Omaha, Neb. The company’s engineering design and construction services include subcontracting, procurement and startup operations.
The Heartland Biogas project was developed by AgEnergy USA, Hampton, N.H. EDF Renewable Energy, the owner of the project, participated in late-stage development activities.
The organic wastes or feedstock will include cow manure from local dairy operations and other organic wastes or substrate from the Denver metropolitan area such as restaurant grease trap waste, spoiled products from retail grocers and food processing residuals.
The Heartland digester facility is expected to be fully operational in 2015 and capable of exporting 1.5 billion cubic feet (BCF) of renewable natural gas per year, making it one of the largest anaerobic digester facilities in North America, according to HDR.
Environmental Solutions Group Opens Arizona Manufacturing Plant
Environmental Solutions Group (ESG), headquartered in Chattanooga, Tenn., has opened a new manufacturing facility in Phoenix.
The company says the expansion was needed to address the growing demand for its various products in the western United States.
Bob McMackins, ESG vice president of manufacturing, says, “Our manufacturing operations have been primarily located in the Southeast.”
McMackins adds, “Having a large-scale manufacturing option in the western part of the U.S. makes perfect sense for our customers. We can now manufacture our products much closer to their point of use, reducing freight charges for our customers.”
The Phoenix facility initially will manufacture the company’s Marathon brand of compactors and balers, which are used in solid waste and recycling applications. It will also manufacture anaerobic digestion systems produced in partnership with Zero Waste Energy of Lafayette, Calif.
Production at the new facility was slated to begin in October 2013 as the company moved operations from its Marathon plant in Yerington, Nev. to the new Phoenix location.
“Our new Phoenix plant is well positioned to help us meet the increased West Coast demand for our products efficiently and cost effectively. We are excited about the trust which customers place in our brands and about our expanded capacity for meeting their needs,” says Pat Carroll, ESG president.
In addition to Marathon, ESG, a part of Dover Corp., manufactures products under company names Heil Environmental, Bayne Premium Lift Systems and The Curotto-Can Co.
Agrilab Technologies Expands Compost-Powered Energy
Agrilab Technologies LLC, Enosburg Falls, Vt., which is involved in providing compost heat-recovery technology, has launched a containerized compost heat recovery system that has been designed to help compost producers and farmers with creating high-value compost while capturing predictable combustion-free heat.
Agrilab installed its first compost heat recovery system in Vermont eight years ago. More recently, the company has installed systems at the Jasper Hill Creamery in Greensboro, Vt., and at the University of New Hampshire.
The new mobile version of Agrilab’s compost heat recovery system can produce up to 200,000 Btu per hour continuously, depending on the amount of compost in production, by pulling heat out of compost, according to the company.
According to Agrilab, the energy extracted is worth up to $50,000 per year at current fossil fuel costs. The technology works by pulling air through the compost, aerating the material and eliminating the need for tumbling. The hot vapor that is pulled out of the compost is run through a patented Isobar heat exchanger to generate hot water for space-heating and washing.
Agrilab adds that the Containerized Isobar Unit, (CIU) comes with a bank financed lease-to-own option that enables customers to have positive cash flow in the first year with minimal up-front investment required.
Alamo Group to Acquire Bandit Industries
Alamo Group Inc., headquartered in Seguin, Texas, has entered into a letter of intent to acquire Bandit Industries Inc. and its related affiliates. Bandit designs, manufactures, distributes and services wood and brush chippers, whole tree chippers, stump grinders, forestry mowers and other related equipment.
Alamo Group and Bandit have received approval for the acquisition under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act. The finalization of the transaction is subject to completion of an acquisition agreement and other preclosing requirements.
Bandit, based in Remus, Mich., principally sells its products across North America and international markets through independent agents and dealers as well as direct to certain markets and customers. In searching for a prospective buyer, Bandit owners Jerry Morey, Mike Morey Sr. and Dianne Morey say they were adamant about finding a company that was interested in further building the Bandit brand without changing their successful formula.
“It was vital for us to find a company that would keep the Bandit name, the operations, the people and everything that has made Bandit such a success,” says Jerry Morey.
It is expected that Bandit Industries will remain headquartered at its current Michigan location and that its existing operations, including the workforce, management team and sales distribution network, also will remain in place. Jerry Morey, along with Bandit co-owners Mike Morey Sr. and Diane Morey are expected to continue to be involved with the company following the sale and during the transition to Alamo.
Ron Robinson, Alamo Group’s president and CEO, says, “This is an exciting development for Alamo. Bandit is a well-respected and major player in the tree care, land and utility line clearing, recycling and biomass energy markets. This acquisition would greatly broaden our presence in the area of vegetation maintenance. We believe this combination would be further enhanced by Alamo’s strong international presence.”
Alamo Group designs, manufactures, distributes and services equipment for right-of-way maintenance and agriculture. Its products include truck and tractor-mounted mowing and other vegetation maintenance equipment, street sweepers, snow removal equipment, pothole patchers, excavators, vacuum trucks, agricultural implements and related after-market parts and services.
BHS Names Regional Sales Manager
Bulk Handling Systems (BHS), an equipment company based in Eugene, Ore., has named Rich Reardon regional sales manager. He will oversee BHS, Nihot and NRT product sales in the U.S. Southwest through Texas, as well as Western Canada. Reardon has more than six years of experience with BHS in a sales leadership function.
“Rich has a great mind for system development and has been a major factor in BHS’ success over the years,” says Steve Miller, CEO of the company. “This is a tremendous addition to our outside sales team; Rich will provide great value to our customers in his region.”
“I’m looking forward to the direct customer interaction. As a manager, the best part of my job was in the field, strategizing and following through on systems solutions,” Reardon says. “Now, I’ll be able to do this on a daily basis, and I can’t wait to hit the ground running.”
BHS designs, engineers, manufactures and installs sorting systems and components for the solid waste, recycling, waste-to-energy and construction and demolition industries.