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[GreenYes] Re: RDF burner promoted to "save" paper recycling plant (Minneapolis)


Looking at it from a homemaker's perspective of how I save energy and
time, maybe this is something to look into.

When I boil my soup or use my rice cooker, I always try to heat up or
steam another dish. From there you learn that not all food need the same
degree of heat to cook. So, why can't the paper and steel recycling
industries work together. Work on the basis that steel needs more energy
to breakdown compared to paper. Also, oil palm fibre have been used to
produce biodegradable packaging. The packaging breakdown with moist and
heat to become fertilizer.

What the players of these recycling industries should do is work
together to share heat resources in their processes. To make it happen,
funds will be needed I am sure.

Need green fund? Look for "birds of a feather".
http://greenbeingnancy.blogspot.com/2007/04/need-green-fund-look-for-bir
ds-of.html

Rgds
Nancy



<-----Original Message----->
>From: Alan Muller [amuller@no.address]
>Sent: 4/9/2007 1:23:12 AM
>To: GreenYes@no.address
>Subject: Re: [GreenYes] RDF burner promoted to "save" paper recycling
>plant (Minneapolis)
>
>http://www.twincities.com/localnews/ci_5564434?nclick_check=1#recent_co
mm
>
>St. Paul / Options to save plant narrow
>Best energy source for Rock-Tenn could prove controversial
>BY JASON HOPPIN
>Pioneer Press
>Article Last Updated: 03/31/2007 09:23:26 PM CDT
>
>It turns out that saving jobs, saving the city and saving the world
isn't that
>easy after all.
>
>A report outlining environmentally friendly options to fuel a new power
plant
>near University Avenue in St. Paul offers no simple alternatives to
>"refuse-derived fuel," which is processed from garbage and which many
neighbors
>oppose.
>
>The plant would provide heat and possibly power to the Rock-Tenn paper
recycling
>facility, which processes half of all the recycled paper in the state.
>
>Since 1983, Rock-Tenn has met its huge appetite for heat by getting
steam
>through a 5-mile pipeline connected to the High Bridge power plant near
downtown
>St. Paul. When Xcel Energy shuts down the coal-fired plant this summer,
the
>steam production will cease, forcing Rock-Tenn to look elsewhere for
heat.
>
>A study by Minneapolis' Green Institute outlines several biomass
options for
>fueling a plant at Rock-Tenn, including burning yard waste, demolition
materials
>or farmed native grasses. The report concludes that those options
appear to be
>too expensive, in need of further study or otherwise problematic.
>
>Local officials are deeply concerned about the fate of Rock-Tenn and
the 500
>high-paying jobs there. Having weathered the departures of industrial
giants
>such as Whirlpool, 3M and now Ford Motor Co., many do not want to see
another
>major business leave town.
>
>The key to keeping the company in town is replacing its source of steam
heat.
>But doing that is like solving a compli-cated
>
>
>Advertisement
>
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>
>
>
>puzzle.
>
>Rock-Tenn, the St. Paul Port Authority and District Energy - the
downtown energy
>utility that cools and heats much of the area by burning yard waste -
have
>signed an agreement to explore building a power plant on Rock-Tenn's
43-acre
>campus using renewable technologies. The Port Authority would own it;
District
>Energy would operate it; and Rock-Tenn would be the major customer.
>
>But in the report, none of those technologies emerges as a clear-cut
alternative
>to refuse-derived fuel (RDF), proving there is no magic bullet to save
Rock-Tenn.
>
>"To get an economically feasible plant working at Rock-Tenn, you have
to have a
>certain amount of RDF," said Anders Rydaker, the head of District
Energy, who
>has reviewed a draft of the report.
>
>That likely will cause a fair amount of teeth gnashing in the
neighborhoods that
>have grown up around Rock-Tenn since it was built in 1908. The Green
Institute's
>report was paid for by Ramsey and Washington counties, Rock-Tenn,
District
>Energy, the Port Authority, the city of St. Paul and Eureka Recycling
and was
>intended to counter an earlier county study.
>
>Many neighbors do not want refuse-derived fuel burned there, and two of
the
>three City Council candidates running to represent the area have come
out
>against it. While backers say it doesn't smell, there is a fear that is
does,
>since it is processed from household garbage.
>
>Xcel Energy operates two refuse-derived fuel facilities in the state,
one in Red
>Wing, Minn., and one near Mankato, Minn. A spokeswoman for the company
said no
>complaints have been received in connection with either of those
facilities.
>
>But that may not be enough to ease the fears of Rock-Tenn's residential
neighbors.
>
>For years, the plant has been a good neighbor, even striking a "good
neighbor
>agreement" with surrounding community groups. But the loss of its steam
heat
>because of Xcel Energy's High Bridge plant converting to a natural gas
facility
>presents options that no one, not even Rock-Tenn, likes.
>
>For one thing, until a new plant is built, Rock-Tenn will be allowed to
burn
>fuel oil to fire its plant. It has always had the permit but rarely has
it fired
>up its boilers. Rock-Tenn's permit allows it to pump almost 300 tons of
>particulate matter into the atmosphere.
>
>That's why everyone's searching for a better option. But making it work
is
>proving to be a challenge.
>
>The Green Institute's report notes that wood waste, which District
Energy uses
>to fire its downtown plant, is a limited source. Construction and
demolition
>waste is in need of further study because the availability and the cost
of
>separating materials contaminated with lead and arsenic from burnable
materials
>is unknown.
>
>Other options, such as burning farmed grasses, have not been tried and
likely
>would prove more expensive than burning natural gas, which is itself
becoming
>extremely pricey.
>
>"I think there are some options out there," Rock-Tenn plant manager
Jack
>Greenshields said. "Whether it's a cost-effective alternative to RDF is
another
>question."
>
>It's apparent that using refuse-derived fuel is, at the very least,
going to
>take some convincing. While the state officially considers it a
renewable
>resource, it's another matter at the street level.
>
>"The neighbors don't seem to consider that a renewable source," said
Justin
>Eibenholzl, an environmental coordinator for the Southeast Como
Improvement
>Association, a Minneapolis neighborhood group. "If that's going to be
>considered, I think there's going to have to be a lot of selling."
>
>Whatever the final solution is, it likely will be an outcome that
represents a
>delicate balance of community concerns, technological possibilities and
>economics. But one thing everyone seems committed to is saving
Rock-Tenn.
>
>Not only does it provide high-paying jobs and, on a daily basis,
recycle 1
>percent of all the paper recycled in the United States, but the company
also
>pumps $75 million into the state's economy in spending on goods and
services,
>the Port Authority's Lorrie Louder said.
>
>"We are not talking small potatoes. We are talking about a huge
economic benefit
>to the state of Minnesota," Louder said.
>
>Jason Hoppin can be reached at jhoppin@no.address or
651-292-1892.
>
>Rock-Tenn
>
>Built: 1908
>
>Jobs: 500
>
>What it does: Processes half of all recycled paper in Minnesota. Uses
heat to
>turn paper and cardboard into pulp.
>
>Losing steam: A source of cheap steam goes away this summer when Xcel
Energy
>shuts down its riverfront coal-fired plant.
>
>Looking for heat: The firm is considering building a heat plant fired
by
>"refuse-derived fuel."
>
>Refuse-Derived Fuel
>
>What it is: Processed household garbage.
>
>Where it's used: Xcel Energy plants in Red Wing and near Mankato and a
Great
>River Energy plant in Elk River.
>
>Odor: Some worry about the smell, but backers say it does not stink.
>
>Pros: Takes what would ordinarily be headed for landfill and uses it to
produce
>energy.
>
>Cons: Some environmentalists say waste should be reduced,
>
>=== message truncated ===


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