Editor’s Prologue:
“ Recently, I spoke with two former Supervisors of Evans, New York, Tom George and Mary Hosler, along with Bill Smith, the current Economic Development Director, about their municipality’s waste challenges. Universally, they pointed to one major culprit: wood waste. When processing clean hardwood, standard pyrolysis works beautifully to produce agricultural biochar. However, the municipal waste stream is an unsorted mix, heavily laden with pine. Pine, as it turns out, is an exceptional feedstock for Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). To validate this, I consulted my long-time colleague, Professor Chandra Theegala—an engineering professor at LSU. We have collaborated on green energy and recycling projects in the past, including consulting work for the Petrobras biodiesel plant in Salvador, Brazil. Professor Theegala, who holds a foundational patent in gasification, confirmed that while SAF production is scientifically sound, the operational reality is plagued by tar. This mixed municipal feedstock is a chemical ‘mystery meat’; its volatile compounds rapidly shift, poisoning the reaction and producing prohibitive amounts of ash and viscous tar. Fortunately, pine is naturally low in ash, and the secondary thermal cracking of that troublesome tar yields precisely what we originally sought: premium biochar. We can solve the chemical poisoning while closing the loop. The solution exists. It is time to explore the thermochemical rabbit hole facing New York State and our Great Lakes neighbors.”
CHAPTER I: THE HIDDEN AVALANCHE OF PALLETS AND DEMOLITION WASTE…