Supplier news

SCS Engineers earns landfill gas to energy system contract in Florida

The Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC) has hired SCS Engineers, Long Beach, California, to expand its existing landfill gas (LFG) treatment and compression facility located at the Orange County Landfill, in Orlando, Florida. Expanding the LFG facility will double the nominal inlet flow capacity to 8,000 standard cubic feet per minute.

Doubling capacity will help support the OUC’s sustainability goal to offset non-renewable resources by using local renewable resources to generate energy at its coal-fired power plant. OUC says it chose SCS to design, build, test, and commission its facility because SCS’s environmental engineers and contractors could meet the strict project time frame and budget.

The treated LFG is used to heat water into steam, which drives turbine generators to produce energy. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), using LFG helps to reduce odors and other hazards associated with LFG emissions and helps prevent methane from migrating into the atmosphere and contributing to local smog and global climate change. The EPA also encourages the efficiency of using local resources such as LFG.

“We can deliver all project phases including permitting, design, and construction, as well as enhancement of the programmable logic controllers (PLCs) and the supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system,” says Gregory Hansen, project manager of the SCS team.

New Jersey Dunkin’ Donuts store installs Eco-Safe Digester

Technology provider BioHiTech Global Inc., has announced that its subsidiary, BioHitech America LLC, Chestnut Ridge, New York, is installing its commercial food waste disposal system at the second Dunkin’ Donuts location in New Jersey.

“As environmental concerns move up in the hierarchy of our corporate objectives, we understand the importance of reducing our carbon footprint,” says Bill Mulholland, franchisee owner of Dunkin’ Donuts in Haledon, New Jersey. “The convenience of having BioHitech’s solution located within the store provides a safer environment for our employees, especially those working the night shift.”

BioHitech America’s Eco-Safe Digester will be used to convert all of the store’s coffee grounds and other food waste into gray water so it can be transported through standard sewer lines, BioHiTech reports. The company points out that besides sending less waste to landfills, each Dunkin’ Donuts location can save money in reduced hauling fees since there is less waste to be picked up; reduce labor costs from eliminating the repetitive trips to the dumpster; and reduce services associated with pest control.

“We are thrilled to be working with a brand such as Dunkin’ Donuts committed to managing and improving the footprint of their operations,” says Frank E. Celli, CEO of BioHitech America. “Most of our Eco-Safe Digesters, which are installed at more than 300 locations around the globe, are at larger facilities like supermarkets, hospitals, hotels, and stadiums. Dunkin’ Donuts is a great example of how our solution can be used in smaller applications. Our on-site aerobic digester is odorless and compact enough to fit neatly in a small area.”

Envision CEO receives mixed waste processing device patent

Cleveland-based Envision Waste Services LLC has announced that the U.S. Patent Office awarded Patent No. 9,199,280 B2 to its CEO Steven Viny. The patent is entitled “Apparatus and Method for Separating Solid Waste.”

Viny is a 35-year veteran of the solid waste industry and considered by many a pioneer in mixed-waste processing and recycling. He also has served as international president of the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA), Silver Spring, Maryland, and was the first private-sector officer in the association’s history.

“I am very proud of this new cutting edge invention,” says Viny. “Separating solid waste is not an easy task. The ability to liberate clean, market spec recyclables from solid waste requires equipment that is robust enough to operate daily without fail, yet highly sensitive with the possibility for fine levels of adjustment to assure exacting separation.”

He adds, “This new device [moves] the reality of mixed waste processing or even single-stream recyclable processing to an entirely new level.”

The new invention allows for the screening of material by density and shape simultaneously in a manner that eliminates wrapping and clogging while at the same time providing many levels of just-in-time adjustment for a high degree of control, the company says.

More information is available at www.envisionwaste.net.

Ener-Core completes construction of Power Oxidizer unit in California

Irvine, California-based Ener-Core Inc., provider of Power Oxidation technology and equipment that generates clean power from low-quality and waste gases from a wide variety of industries, has announced the completion of primary construction of its first 2-megawatt (MW)-sized Power Oxidizer in December 2015. The unit was assembled on the industrial site of Combustion Associates Inc. in Corona, California, and will be integrated with a gas turbine to create what Ener-Core calls the first fully integrated 2-MW power station based on its proprietary technology.

The rated power capacity of the next-generation Power Oxidizer is eight times greater than the power capacity of the products that Ener-Core had installed to date. The company says this ramp-up in size represents a significant step forward for its business and product offerings, for two key reasons. First, the volume of waste gas that can be used as a fuel to generate energy with this larger-size Power Oxidizer is more closely aligned with the volumes that are produced by most of the industrial facilities within Ener-Core’s current commercial pipeline. Second, the economies of scale associated with this larger unit are expected to result in a significantly lower and hence much more attractive cost of power generation.

The 2-MW prototype unit will be used initially to complete the testing of certain operational performance parameters required by a purchase order received by Ener-Core in August 2015. Ener-Core says the testing, also known as the “Full Scale Acceptance Test” or FSAT, is the final technical milestone of its product scale-up efforts. After the FSAT is completed (expected in Q1 2016), Ener-Core will commence construction of the two next-generation units to fulfill the purchase order.

“The construction of the first-ever 2 MW power station unit represents a significant milestone in the development of our industrial-sized product offerings,” says Ener-Core CEO Alain Castro.

ABUTEC supplies combustion units to Roeslein Alternative Energy’s biogas project

Roeslein Alternative Energy, St. Louis, says it is paving the way for environmental sustainability with a new waste-to-energy endeavor and has selected Kennesaw, Georgia-based ABUTEC as the flare supplier for the project. Roeslein’s partner, a producer of packaged pork products, houses almost 2 million pigs that produce enough manure to generate 2.2 billion cubic feet of natural gas.

According to the Roeslein Alternative Energy website, the companies are collaborating to convert this waste into renewable energy by trapping the biogas released from manure lagoons and storing it for a repurposed use—energy production. ABUTEC designed a custom 1.5-megawatt enclosed combustor for the project that will burn off the excess waste gas that is not converted to energy, assisting in continued operation and production.

The ABUTEC unit burns at a greater than 98 percent destruction and removal efficiency, according to the company. Upon completion of the project, ABUTEC will manufacture 88 of these combustor units, one for each of the client’s manure lagoons. Roeslein selected ABUTEC’s combustion technology to aid as a backup unit for its system. To customize the units for this project, ABUTEC had to consider the manure lagoons’ potential to emit (PTE) possible corrosive contaminants within the gas composition and the functionality of its combustors with the Roeslein system.

“We were honored to be chosen as the flare supplier for Roeslein’s innovative project,” says Andy Smith, ABUTEC president and CEO.

Bandit adds two dealers

Bandit Industries, Remus, Michigan, has added CTW Equipment Co., Williamston, North Carolina; and ACT Construction Equipment, based in Charlotte, North Carolina. to its network of authorized Bandit whole tree chipper dealers.

CTW, based in will offer customers Bandit’s complete lineup of whole tree chippers, in addition to service from factory-trained technicians and Bandit-approved replacement parts.

ACT is stocking Bandit’s compact line with a wide range of hand fed chippers and stumpers in stock and ready to show and demonstrate. It is fully stocked with parts and trained to service hand fed chippers and stump grinders.

ACT has been in business for more than 40 years with locations in North Carolina—Winston-Salem, Charlotte and Wilmington.

CTW is owned by Wayne Cale and Ben Twiddy, logging industry veterans.

Horizon Power Systems selects Capstone for flare gas project

Capstone Turbine Corp., Chatsworth, California, a manufacturer of microturbine energy systems, has announced receiving an order for three C800 systems and two C1000 systems from Horizon Power Systems, Victoria, Texas, for a total of 4.6 megawatts for a large flare gas energy project in North America.

“The global slowdown in the energy industry is shifting customers away from exploration to an increased focus on lowering operating costs at existing assets and converting on-site flare gas to power generation,” says Darren Jamison, Capstone president and CEO. “This is one way Capstone microturbines can be used to lower oil and gas users’ monthly operational costs. We have recently added additional oil and gas sales resources at Capstone, and we are encouraging our key distribution partners, like Horizon, to do the same,” he adds.

Horizon Power Systems is the exclusive Capstone Turbine distributor for Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Arizona, the Rocky Mountain states, Intermountain Regions, Gulf Coast states and the western provinces of Canada. The new orders will bring Horizon’s total fleet to more than 600 microturbines in operation.

The Capstone product was chosen because of its superior overall value proposition, according to Horizon Power.

“Capstone microturbines have become the preferred choice for our customers because they want the high reliability and low emission benefits of our products,” says Sam Henry, president of Horizon Power Systems. “Additionally, customers need solutions that can burn poor quality flare gas and operate in extremely harsh environments, which is precisely what Capstone microturbines deliver 24 hours a day, 365 days per year.”

Capstone says its new and repeat customer orders globally help demonstrate the confidence its distributors and end users have in Capstone’s microturbines, and why Capstone is their first choice for around-the-clock on-site energy production.

“Our inverter based generation systems provide flexibility that very few other solutions can provide,” says Jim Crouse, Capstone’s executive vice president of sales and marketing. “Capstone microturbines have become the go-to power source for customers that want extremely reliable, high quality, easy to deploy and low emission on-site power solutions. The Horizon order indicates our customers’ satisfaction with our clean and green solutions.”

TerraSource Global appoints new president

TerraSource Global, a St. Louis-based provider of material handling and size reduction solutions for power, mining, forest products and other industries, has announced a new leadership appointment along with updates on strategic initiatives designed to enhance service for customers worldwide.

Jason Burlage has been appointed president of TerraSource Global, succeeding Mark Kohler, who announced his retirement earlier in 2015. Burlage joined TerraSource Global in 2014 as vice president of service and strategy, after 14 years within the portfolio of Hillenbrand Inc., TerraSource Global’s parent company.

“TerraSource Global was built from a heritage of quality, collaboration and trust created by three industry leaders,” Burlage says. “We’re expanding on that heritage today, ensuring that customers benefit from the full breadth of our expertise, crossing a wide range of industries, applications and geographies. Whatever the material handling or size reduction challenge, we are ready to help our customers develop, deploy and maintain the ideal solution.”

TerraSource Global unites the product portfolios of three brands —Gundlach Crushers, Jeffrey Rader and Pennsylvania Crusher—to deliver what it calls a full range of solutions covering every stage of the customer life cycle, from application design to equipment build and installation to ongoing field service and OEM parts.

In 2015, the company expanded its resources in Asia and Russia, placing personnel, equipment and OEM parts closer to its customers to minimize response times and maximize service quality.

The expansion has included the opening of new manufacturing and procurement facilities in Wuxi, China, and a warehouse and field service hub in Russia, complementing existing facilities in the United States, Canada, India and Sweden, and independent sales agents in more than 30 countries on six continents.

“The industries we serve are rapidly evolving, and TerraSource has made tremendous progress over the past year in our strategic initiatives to stay ahead of our customers’ needs,” says Burlage.

GBB makes promotion

Gershman, Brickner & Bratton Inc. (GBB), Fairfax, Virginia, has announced that Ljupka Arsova, who joined the firm in 2012, has been promoted to the position of senior consultant.

With more than eight years of experience in the solid waste management industry, Arsova specializes in anaerobic digestion and advanced technologies for processing organic and mixed solid waste. Her experience goes beyond the U.S. borders in assisting public and private clients through strategic, technical and economic feasibility analysis; feedstock availability projections; and supporting procurement processes, according to GBB. For private-sector clients, Arsova has completed due diligence for projects and technologies investment, market research studies for private companies considering emerging technologies and assisted in strategic development of project proposals.

“Ljupka is responsible for overseeing GBB’s comprehensive and unique database of conversion technologies on both U.S. and worldwide markets and has become, over the years, a key GBB go-to expert on especially anaerobic digestion and pyrolysis technologies and projects,” says Harvey Gershman, GBB president. “Her passion for sustainability issues, along with her versatility and high level of motivation, make her a great asset for both GBB and our clients.”

Arsova says, “The ability to work closely with GBB clients to help them evaluate and develop sustainable and economically viable programs and projects is very rewarding and I am very excited to further advance my contribution with GBB both with clients and with business development efforts.”

Prior to joining GBB, Arsova was a project manager and research associate at Columbia University’s Earth Engineering Center, where she worked on emerging solid waste management technologies and practices for material and energy recovery from different waste streams. As part of her research for her master’s degree, she worked on a novel approach for food waste processing currently pending patent approval, according to GBB. Previous experience also includes serving at the Cason Family Foundation and at the Clinton Global Initiative.