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The nation of China – once regarded primarily as the world’s leading coal user and polluter – is now supporting aggressive developments in the in the biomass industry for its energy portfolio in addition to solar and wind alternatives.

According to a report in Renewable Energy World, the Chinese central government has established policies boosting biomass energy development. These favorable policies may foster an era of accelerated growth for alternatives to fossil fuels.

Biomass energy has been increasingly favored by a number of energy firms for its clean, efficient, safe and sustainable features. Some multinational energy companies, including BP, American International Petroleum, BASF and DuPont, as well as the major Chinese players (CNPC, Sinopec and CNOOC) are expanding their presence into the biomass energy sector through direct investments.

On March 4, the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) entered into a cooperation framework agreement with the government of Shandong province to establish a fuel ethanol and biodiesel production facility. Following this agreement, Sinopec formed a cooperation agreement with China’s largest food processing manufacturer and trader, COFCO. Both companies will jointly build a fuel ethanol manufacturing facility that over the next five years will have an annual capacity of 100,000 tons.

China’s National Development and Reform Commission has reinforced agreements like these, issuing guidelines concerning structural changes within the industry that encourage the development and application of technologies for producing non-grain biomass fuels, including ethanol from cellulosic biomass and bio-diesel.

According to China’s five-year plan for renewable energy during the 2011-2015 period, the country plans to increase the annual usage of ethanol fuel to three million tons by 2015. As reported in April by Renewable Energy World, a renewable energy development strategy report from the Chinese Academy of Engineering states that biomass energy capacity in China is twice that of hydropower and 3.5 times that of wind power.

Tsinghai University’s chemical engineering professor Xing Xinhui said, “while China has built a number of biomass energy projects since the beginning of the last five-year period (spanning 2006-2010), the country still lags far behind other countries in terms of biomass energy investments and has not yet made any breakthrough in biomass energy technology. As a result, it behooves the central government to provide additional support for the industry by increasing its investment in research and development of biomass energy technologies, so as to speed up the development of the industry.”

China has substantial biomass resources, including and residues and leftover waste from the country’s agricultural and forestry. Biomass development is also an appealing economic proposition where non-grain plants can be grown on marginal land and converted to energy.

Presently, China produces 5 million tons of grain annually, generating some 700 million tons of straw that can be used as the main source of biomass energy. Additionally, organic materials like poultry manure, fallen leaves and industrial waste, can be added to the supply mix and converted to biomass energy. The country has announced it will build large biomass production plants in southwest and northwest regions.

This all looks promising as a means for China to move away from dependence on coal energy.

Source: Clean Technica

PHOTO: Inverter-China.com http://www.inverter-china.com/blog/articles/green-energy/biomass-power-in-china.html

A new rapid-mulching product may assist in prolonging the lives of municipal landfills, providing nutrient-rich composts and fertilizers in the process.

A Nevada-based company, Ecologico-Logic, is launching an aerobic machine that has been aptly named the Muncher.

The reason this is good news? A number of cities around the world now sort their municipal trash, diverting organic matter into large anaerobic composters that turn it into nutrient-rich soil. Such systems can be very expensive and the composting process is time-consuming.

Jacob Jacobson and Mohammed Memon claim to have solved the time problem and the accompanying odors that often turn people away from composting locales. The Muncher converts organic waste into mulched and liquid compost in less than an hour via aerobic digestion.

Memon says 11 years have been invested in developing this machine and the accompanying technologies. “It’s been a long road to get it to where it is today – a working prototype.”

This should be good news for the landfill and waste management industries. The two men are out presenting their prototype to interested corporate and municipal parties who they report their interest. One principal reason for garnering interest is how fast the system works. A normal mulching process might require anywhere from 30 to 365 days to convert waste into useable mulch. The Muncher can accomplish this same work within 15 minutes, Jacobson says.

This machine features a patented accelerated waste digestion process. It commences with mechanically shredding pre-separated organic garbage, followed with aerobic microbes within the system and a proprietary chemical treatment that rapidly breaks the matter down into a marketable product. For existing municipal systems the resulting compost can then be used for city projects or sold to agricultural or landscaping entities.

The results can be impressive. Not only is the organic waste kept out of the landfill, it also takes up much less space. Momin reports that one ton of garbage can be converted to about 600 pounds of solid cake mulch and liquid effluent. In addition, he says the Muncher creates no toxic gases, hazardous compounds or foul odors, that it kills pathogens in the garbage, and that the compost it produces contains no harmful chemicals.

There are also economic considerations. A big factor in the solid waste business is the cost of dumping fees. Reducing the mass that ends up in the landfill makes for a positive proposition, says Jacobson. In addition, the end products are nutrient-rich compost and fertilizers – potentially valuable commodities.

Ecologico-Logic is currently looking at building industrial Munchers that are capable of processing up to 50 tons of waste per day. Memon believes the return on investment for the Muncher is between two and five years. Down the road these men also hope to develop smaller units that might be used by restaurants or in homes.

For those people following the trail of trash that gets shipped to the landfill every day, consuming more landfill space, the Muncher may have some good solutions.

Photos:  Jacob Dickinson

Source: Clean Technica (http://s.tt/12SW0)

This guest post from Lenore Holditch reports on a few of the leading colleges that provide degree programs on green issues. GRM

Colleges have played a huge role in the environmental revolution from its beginnings. For decades, universities across the nation and world have sought to educate students in environmental science and environmental law. Learning about the history of environmentalism, the impact consumerism has on our land, and ways to reduce our imprint on our world, college students are geared to become better citizens of the world after their four-year educational endeavor.

These three universities offer inspiring and innovative degree programs in environmental science, environmental law, and agricultural sustainability that encourage students to get active in living green and become innovators for a new generation.

1. Wellesley College: Ranking near the top of the list among green colleges in 2011, Wellesley receives some of its highest marks for its efforts in environmental sustainability. Wellesley’s Environmental Studies degree is an interdisciplinary program at the university that trains students to address pressing issues in environmentalism and environmental science. Wellesley’s environmental studies program focuses on the biodiversity crisis, involving the collapse of oceanic fisheries, toxic waste disposal, global climate change, green building design, and the inequities and causes of environmental degradation. The program emphasizes hands on involvement from its students in internships, directed studies, and field trips. Wellesley works to develop students that are knowledgeable and capable of real action when they complete their academic pursuits.

2. Montana State University: Dedicating an entire college to the study of sustainable food systems and sustainable agricultural research, Montana State University’s College of Agriculture is unique in the world of academia. Students enrolled at the College of Agriculture are also students in the College of Education, Health, and Human Development. With an interdisciplinary curriculum, Mo State develops students who are prepared to learn about the environment and sustainable agriculture as well as teach future students about sustainability and pressing environmental issues. With a two-plus acre vegetable farm on campus, students in the College of Agriculture put their knowledge to work each and every day on the farm, practicing sustainable agriculture. This innovative sustainability program leads to careers in bioenergy production, food safety, and agricultural biosecurity.

3. Arizona State University: As one of the leading institutions in environmental activism for many years now, ASU offers several programs dedicated to environmental conservation and education for future leaders in the world of sustainability and environmentalism. The environmental technology management program is one of the strongest of its kind offered in the United States. Offering a curriculum that is prepares individuals to face and conquer environmental and emergency management challenges. This program teaches students the scientific and technical aspects of controlling environmental pollution as well as the economic, political, and legal problems facing managers in today’s business climate. In addition to the program in environmental education, ASU also developed the Global Institute of Sustainability, focusing on the affects of urbanization on our ecosystem. This institute allows students, professors, and community leaders to joint in the mission to create solutions for the world’s most pressing environmental emergencies today.

This guest contribution was submitted by Lenore Holditch, who specializes in writing about top online colleges. Questions and comments can be sent to: holditch.lenore@gmail.com .

PHOYO: My Majors

Fracking trucks circle a natural gas well site

The drive to replace coal-burning electricity with natural gas continues to run into environmental speed bumps.

Research scientists writing for Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS) report that while directional drilling and hydraulic-fracturing technologies are dramatically increasing natural-gas extraction, the aquifers overlying the Marcellus and Utica shale formations of northeastern Pennsylvania and upstate New York, show systematic evidence for methane contamination of drinking water associated with shale-gas extraction.

The PNAS report directly cites hydraulic fracturing as a contributor: “the process of hydraulic fracturing generates new fractures or enlarges existing ones above the target shale formation, increasing the connectivity of the fracture system. The reduced pressure following the fracturing activities could release methane in solution, leading to methane exsolving rapidly from solution, allowing methane gas to potentially migrate upward through the fracture system.”

Active gas-extraction areas having one or more gas wells within a 1-kilometer average not only imperil drinking-water wells, they are also potential explosion hazards, the report states.

The report continues: “These δ¹³C-CH₄ data, coupled with the ratios of methane-to-higher-chain hydrocarbons, and δ²H-CH₄ values, are consistent with deeper thermogenic methane sources such as the Marcellus and Utica shales at the active sites and matched gas geochemistry from gas wells nearby. In contrast, lower-concentration samples from shallow groundwater at nonactive sites had isotopic signatures reflecting a more biogenic or mixed biogenic/thermogenic methane source.

The researchers concluded “greater stewardship, data, and – possibly – regulation are needed to ensure the sustainable future of shale-gas extraction and to improve public confidence in its use.”

Beyond renewable energies, natural gas is one of the cleaner energy sources out there for those wishing to leave a green footprint. However, the techniques being used to obtain this gas are starting to make some worry.

During the last Congress, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce launched an investigation to examine the practice of hydraulic fracturing in the United States.  The committee asked the 14 leading oil and gas service companies to disclose the types and volumes of the hydraulic fracturing products they used in their fluids between 2005 and 2009 and the chemical contents of those products.

For those interested in knowing more, visit FracFocus – a chemical disclosure registry operated by the Groundwater Protection Council and the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission. The details are here for all lookers wanting to search for information about the chemicals used in the hydraulic fracturing of oil and gas wells.

This report was originally published in CleanTechnica.

Photo: from the J Henry Fair exhibit at the 2011 Earth Day Fair in Grand Central. Location of site in Dimock, Pennsylvania.

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