RNG NEWS
Stay up to date with the latest stories, insights, and announcements.Long Beach Switching Heavy Fleet to RNG From LNG
By Paul Clinton, HDT Trucking Info.
The City of Long Beach (Calif.) has transitioned its heavier vehicles to run on renewable liquid natural gas (RNG) and is discontinuing the use of fossil liquid natural gas (LNG) to reduce emissions and fuel costs, according to the agency.
The move will affect 85 LNG-powered vehicles including 55 refuse trucks, 78 heavy-duty Class 8 trucks, 16 street sweepers, three dump trucks, two tractor trucks, and two rear loaders. The city's fleet operations division didn't need to make any modifications to the vehicles, said Oliver Cruz, fuel operations program officer.
The city switched over the vehicles in October, and will rely on two existing 16,300-gallon RNG storage tanks located on city property.
"We do not expect any changes for the amounts of RNG we store on-site," Cruz said.
Republic adds to its expanding CNG fleet collection
By Arlene Karidis, Waste Dive.
- Phoenix, AZ-based Republic Services added eight compressed natural gas (CNG) solid waste collection trucks to its Raleigh, NC operations that serve 8,000 Homeowners Associations, municipalities, and commercial customers.
- The replacement of older diesel vehicles will bring the number of CNG-powered refuse trucks Republic owns and operates in North Carolina to 25.
Missouri $120 Million Animal RNG Operation to Start in 2016
By Allan Gerlat, Waste 360.
A $120 million animal waste-to-energy (WTE) operation in Missouri is under way and should begin operations by mid-2016.
St. Louis-based Roeslein Alternative Energy is nearly 50-percent through Phase One of the project, which will generate renewable natural gas (RNG), from several of food producer Smithfield Foods Inc.’s Missouri farms, according to a news release. Phase One involves the installation of impermeable covers and flare systems on the 88 existing manure lagoons at Smithfield Foods large hog finishing farms in northern Missouri. The developments were disclosed at Ruckman Farm, is one of nine Smithfield Foods Missouri hog production facilities involved in the project. That is one of the largest concentrations of finishing hogs in the Midwest. Smithfield Foods in based in Smithfield, Va.
Clean Energy Provides Bunkering Services and Fuel to World’s First LNG-Powered Container Ships
From Press Release.
Clean Energy Fuels Corp. participated in a little history last month when it supported General Dynamics (GD) NASSCO’s launch of the Isla Bella container ship, the first of its kind to operate on LNG fuel. Clean Energy provided bunkering services and fuel from its Boron, CA liquefaction plant for the GD NASSCO-built cargo ship, which was delivered to TOTE Maritime in San Diego. Clean Energy will also be providing bunkering services next month to the second GD NASSCO-built ship, the Perla Del Caribe.
“As the maritime industry begins its transition to LNG, Clean Energy is able to bring our many years of fueling services to ensure an easy and seamless transition,” said Andrew J. Littlefair, president and CEO of Clean Energy. “We applaud NASSCO and TOTE as world leaders in the introduction of the clean fuel to the commercial shipping industry. The use of natural gas is continuing to expand across the various transportation sectors and is the best choice economically and environmentally.”
Ways and Means battle hinges on Speaker
By Sarah Ferris, The Hill.
The head-to-head contest for the chairmanship of the House Ways and Means Committee will hinge Wednesday on the man who last held the powerful panel’s gavel: newly minted Speaker Paul Ryan.
Reps. Kevin Brady (R-Texas) and Pat Tiberi (R-Ohio) have been in a tight, two-man battle for the gavel since Ryan’s ascension. After repeatedly refusing to reveal his pick, the Wisconsin Republican is expected to cast the deciding votes, marking one of his first major decisions as the top House leader.
Both contenders will make their final plea Wednesday afternoon to the 33 members of the House Republican Steering Committee they have each courted intensely over the last week.
Coffee Grounds Could Foretell Future Of Methane Emissions
By Scott Weeden, E&P Magazine.
Imagine how many pots of coffee are brewed each day and the incredible amounts of coffee grounds that are tossed in the trash. What if those coffee grounds could be used for methane carbon storage instead? Would that be the end of fl aring as we know it? That’s when you could use a good fortune teller to divine the future of carbon storage from reading coffee grounds, tea leaves or wine sediments.
Researchers at the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) in South Korea have found a way to modify used coffee grounds into a carbon-capture material, according to an article in the September 2015 journal Nanotechnology from IOP Publishing. Of course, the researchers had to use the best coffee grounds—100% Colombian coffee, dark roast, fine ground—to devise a simple, inexpensive method for removing methane from the atmosphere.
The coffee grounds were steeped in a solution of potassium hydroxide, heated to 65 C (149 F) and stirred for 24 hours. The mixture was then dried.
Autoclaving MSW Could Quadruple Biogas Production from Anaerobic Digestion
By Ben Messenger, Waste Management World.
Dorset, UK based autoclave manufacturer, Aerothermal Group, has published research which is claimed to prove that pre-treating black bag municipal waste in an autoclave before sending it to anaerobic digestion could increase methane generation by over 300% and substantially reduce the amount of material requiring disposal.
The research was carried out by the firm’s senior research manager, Dr. Zhengjian Wang, and its technical director and principle engineer, Dr. Nigel Baily at a test facility in Poole, in the South West of England.
Aerothermal explained that as part of the research, experiments were conducted in triplicate on two waste streams. The first waste stream consisted of a sample of MSW feedstock with large items removed.
UN Study says biogas from human waste could power millions of homes
By Magdalena Mis, Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Biogas from human waste has the potential to generate electricity for millions of homes while improving health and protecting the environment, a United Nations University institute said on Tuesday.
The biogas potentially available from all the human waste in the world would be the equivalent of up to $9.5 billion (€8.67 billion) worth of natural gas a year and could produce electricity for as many as 138 million homes, the UN Institute for Water, Environment and Health said in a study.
In low-income countries, the use of biogas - generated by bacteria breaking down the waste - could finance development, it said.
"Just say no" strategy on the Clean Power Plan fizzles
By David Roberts, Vox Media.
Back in March, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell encouraged states to "just say no" to the Clean Power Plan. He meant that they should refuse to develop state plans to implement the rules, which would require all states to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from their electricity sectors.
As a political gesture, it was petulant. As advice, it was ... a political gesture. What's remarkable is that McConnell got the media and the political class to take it seriously, at least for a while.
But now it seems that states are abandoning McConnell's strategy, having discovered that it is stupid. The signals are becoming ever clearer that although a notional partisan battle over the Clean Power Plan will continue, behind the scenes almost all states have resigned themselves to developing compliance plans. The reasons are simple:
Clean power takes off with 'breakthrough' into low-income communities
By Barbara Grady, GreenBiz.
When California was building its carbon emissions cap and trade program, environmental justice activist Vien Truong came to the state with an idea.
The green economy had been leaving out the people most hurt by pollution — the low-income communities near highways and ports and power plants who breathe in exhaust and particulate matter.
Because by law the proceeds of the cap and trade system must be invested in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, Truong, director of Green For All, suggested setting aside a percentage to assure that disadvantaged communities most affected by pollution benefit.
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