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Projects Updates for key objective: No name

  1. Zero Waste SWATeam: Student Sustainability Coordinators

    Below is a summary of the idea for Student Sustainability Coordinators:

    Appointed Student volunteers will be responsible for promoting Sustainability and Zero Waste policies and practices within their assigned unit. Students would work with the Zero Waste Coordinator and unit Zero Waste Contacts (who are selected by the Zero Waste Coordinator) in order to achieve and implement their goals and project ideas. 

    To see more ideas, reference the attached document, providing a few more details. Note that this discussion is in its preliminary stages. 

  2. Weekly Updates for Zero Waste

    Associated Project(s): 

    Hi Pete and Shawn--

    This past week, I reviewed and provided comments on the Zero Waste SWATeam's objectives for the 2020 iCAP. I sent them to Morgan so that she can integrate any of them that are useful into the F&S feedback to iWG. I let Julija Sakutyte know that I sent the comments to Morgan instead of back to to Zero Waste SWATeam.

    Best regards,

    Marya Ryan

  3. Weekly Updates for Zero Waste

    Associated Project(s): 

    Hi Pete and Shawn--

    This past week, I

    • Reviewed iWG Feedback Summary.
    • Heard from the Office Depot representative. We are finding a time to discuss toner cartridge recycling on campus.
    • Started writing my comments on the Zero Waste Objectives Review document that Julija Sakutyte distributed to the Zero Waste SWATeam.

    Best regards,

    Marya Ryan

  4. David and Sarthak's meeting notes from November 20

    David and I met on November 20, 2019 for our first meeting following his Biogas on Campus email on November 13th. David received an email from Doug Wolters from the College of ACES, and Doug said that he will discuss this project with his Dean. David had not heard from anyone else.

    We discussed how to proceed with this project. I will try to get in touch with Lance Schideman to get his opinion on this subject. I introduced David to the SWATeam Clerk of the Transportation and Zero Waste SWATeam, Julija Sakutyte. I will talk to the Transportation SWATeam about a possible collaboration opportunity with the Energy SWATeam and Zero Waste SWATeam. David will also talk to the Energy SWATeam about this possible collaboration.

    I have set up a biweekly meeting with David, and a monthly meeting with Meredith Moore for this project.

  5. Weekly Updates for Zero Waste

    Associated Project(s): 

    Hello Pete and Shawn--

    This past week, Julija Sakutyte put me in touch with Tim Stark to discuss input on the new iCAP. I had suggested that addressing the issue of transporting recyclable materials from the point where they are generated to centralized collection points would help boost departments' participation. I know we've touched on this issue in regards to EPS and glove recycling and had an inquiry about getting toner cartridges as well. I've reached out directly to Tim to talk about the best way to frame the suggestion for iCAP.

    I have also received the Zero Waste SWATeam objectives from Julija and will review them by the team's Dec. 2 deadline.

    Best regards,

    Marya Ryan

     

  6. Biochemistry Student working with F&S on an Anaerobic Digester study project

    Following is an email sent by David Rivera-Kohr regarding Biogas on-campus to several faculty and staff at the U of I.

    ------------------------------

    Hello,

     

    My name is David Rivera-Kohr and I’m a student member of the Energy SWATeam. I want to propose using biogas for energy on campus. Since burning biogas for energy is effectively carbon neutral, this would bring us closer to our iCAP goal of achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. 

     

    Biogas is a huge untapped resource for energy production at the U of I. Rather than utilize the methane from animal manure and carcasses and food waste, we allow much of it to escape into the atmosphere. The Sanitary District currently uses municipal waste, restaurant grease, industrial food processing waste and campus dining hall food waste as feedstocks for its own anaerobic digester to produce biogas which is burned to generate 25-30% of the facility's energy. However, the Sanitary District does not want to dedicate digestion capacity to manure due to the need to accommodate growth of the local area (i.e. anticipated growth of student population). Furthermore, the Sanitary District is not a UIUC facility, therefore its use of biogas does not alleviate campus energy demand or contribute to our net-zero emissions objective. 

     

    I have a few ideas for biogas production on campus I would like feedback on:

    1. Add a biogas siphoning system to the manure storage tanks at the Beef & Sheep Farm.

    2. Conduct a study to determine which UIUC facility produces the most methane from animal waste and construct an anaerobic digester there. The 2014 Anaerobic Digester Feasibility Study indicated the Swine Farms collectively had the highest methane output; Miles Redden told me the Beef & Sheep farm is the highest manure-producing farcilty, though ionophore feeding of beef cattle decreases methane output. It may be worthwhile to determine which single facility has the highest methane output in 2019-2020.

     

    Additionally, there are a few options in consideration for how to best use the biogas: 

    1. Burn it on-site in existing natural gas furnaces to meet facility heat demands. This could be used in conjunction with the deep direct-use (DDU) geothermal system that is being studied for the ACES Legacy corridor—the brine solution from the DDU system will bring the facility's hot water to ~110 degrees F and the biogas furnace could increase that temperature to 130 degrees. There would likely be a considerable excess of biogas, which could either be burned on-site to generate electricity for distribution to the local grid (which is less efficient than combined heat & power), transported to nearby facilities to burn in their furnaces, or...

    2. Upgrade the biogas (all or only the excess from idea #1) to pipeline-quality methane and inject it into the pipeline for use at Abbott Power Plant. There is a supply pipeline that runs through the ACES corridor where this methane could be injected. 

    3. Use upgraded biogas for compressed natural gas (CNG) to power F&S vehicle fleets.

     

    The 2014 Feasibility Study also discussed constructing a pressurized pipeline to deliver  waste from multiple facilities to the site of the anaerobic digester. This may be worthwhile if the biogas is to be used on a larger scale i.e. at Abbott Power Plant or some combination of the previous ideas.

     

    Life-cycle cost analysis of the above options should be studied to determine the most cost-effective and, more importantly, the lowest emissions option. If you can, please let me know which of these options for biogas production and use sound most feasible, or if better ideas come to mind.

     

    Finally, we need the support and expertise of faculty and staff to advance this proposal. If you are interested in backing or contributing to this proposal, or you know someone else who may be, please let me know. Thank you for your time, and I look forward to hearing from you!

     

    --

    Best,

    David A. Rivera-Kohr

    Undergraduate Student 

    University of Illinois @ Urbana-Champaign

    College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

    Biochemistry

    Dr. Rutilio Fratti's Lab

  7. ACES Approval

    David Rivera-Kohr shared this great news today: 

    ACES has decided to support the biogas initiative! This is a huge step in the right direction. I’ve made decent progress on the presentation (though I need more information before it’s complete) and deciding which options to write the recommendation for is an important future step. An anaerobic digester is best in terms of energy production and waste disposal, but it ultimately comes down to what the University will fund. The Zero Waste SWATeam is very supportive of this idea and if I can collect evidence that a digester alleviates the burden on agricultural land and water consumption, the Land & Water team will also be on board. Thank you all for your help thus far, let’s make this happen! Communication with our Associated Dean for Research Germàn Bollero and the College of ACES is supportive of this proposal.  As it moves forward, we will need to work together to determine the level of involvement that ACES faculty/staff are willing and able to provide.

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