Biogas plant in the Netherlands upgrades gas for use in transport, households

In September, the first installation in The Netherlands which retrieves biogas from the sewage treatment process for domestic and transport use officially entered [*.Dutch] service in the city of Beverwijk, after a year of trials.

The Hoogheemraadschap Hollands Noorderkwartier treats the sewage of around 1 million Dutch citizens in 20 plants. At its plant in Beverwijk some 1,5 million cubic meters of biogas gets released which, up til now, was used in two gas engines. The excess was flared. The old system needed replacement, and after a feasibility study it became apparent that an anaerobic fermentation system had several advantages: it is more efficient, requires less maintenance and reduces CO2 emissions.

The new system from BioGast Sustainable Energy upgrades biogas resulting from the fermentation of sewage sludge to biomethane which is then fed into the gas grid of ENECO Energie. The BioGast system is targeting yearly production of 650,000 m3 of gas—sufficient for more than 400 households.

A filling installation has been added to the BioGast which allows cars to fill up their tanks with the green gas. The Hollands Noorderkwartier Water Board will purchase natural gas fuelled cars which will run on the CO2 neutral biogas.

Interestingly, the installation is contained in a single container, allowing rapid replication of the system as a 'plug-in' that can be integrated with other sewage treatment facilities:
energy :: sustainability :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: anaerobic digestion :: sewage treatment :: biogas :: biomethane ::

The BioGast is an initiative of the Hoogheemraadschap Hollands Noorderkwartier, Biogast Sustainable Energy and ENECO Energie. Biogast sees similar installations in the agricultural sector, where dedicated biogas plants have become a common sight.

Across Europe biogas is being used more and more often as a direct replacement for natural gas. The fuel has some strong arguments in favor it (earlier post):

• Negative Carbon Balance – Biomethane produced from the decomposition of organic waste (e.g. anaerobic digestion) actually has a negative ‘well to wheel’ carbon balance. This is due to the fact that capturing, upgrading and burning the gas prevents methane from being released into the atmosphere when waste naturally decomposes, and also because methane is an inherently low carbon fuel. The ‘Biogas as a Road Transport Fuel’ report estimated that using biomethane as a fuel in the HGV and LGV fleets could provide a saving of up to 9.1 million tonnes of CO2 per year.
• Low Emissions of Local Pollutants – Methane fuelled vehicles have extremely low emissions of local pollutants, including NOx and particulates when compared to modern petrol and diesel vehicles. Substitution of diesel and petrol vehicles with biomethane (and also fossil methane) would have a beneficial effect on air quality.
• Low Noise – Methane fuelled engines run more quietly than petrol and diesel, vehicles, particularly so when compared with the latter. This can have a beneficial effect on urban environmental quality, and also have economic benefits where vehicle movements are restricted because of noise limitations.
• Link With Waste Management – Many local authorities are either developing, or planning to develop, anaerobic digestion facilities as an alternative pathway to landfill for organic waste. Vehicles are one of the best ways of using the biomethane produced from these plants. By tying the two areas together local authorities are provided with a disposal pathway for organic waste, reducing the amount of waste sent to landfill, and vehicles are provided with fuel. Costs are reduced for all parties through a joint approach.
• Compatibility With Existing ICE Technology – Methane fuel is used in modified internal combustion engines, therefore the fuel is able to take advantage of improvements in this technology. Using biomethane alongside other technologies can therefore provide significant co-benefits, e.g. a hybrid running on biomethane would benefit from the inherent carbon reductions produced by both technologies

When biomethane is produced from dedicated energy crops, it can yield more energy than any other current type of biofuel. The green gas can be made from a very wide range of biomass crops as well as from abundant crop residues. Scientists have found [*.pdf] that for temperate grass species, one hectare can yield between 2,900–5,400 cubic meters of methane per year, enough to fuel a passenger car for 40,000 to 60,000 kilometers (one acre of crops can power a car for 10,000 to 15,000 miles).

A recent 'Biogas Barometer' report, published by a consortium of renewable energy groups led by France's Observ'ER, cites a 13.6% increase growth in biogas use for primary energy production between 2005 and 2006 in the EU (earlier post).

The total energy potential for biogas in the EU has been the subject of several projections and scenarios, with the most optimistic showing that it can replace all European natural gas imports from Russia by 2020 (more here). Germany recently started looking at opening its main natural gas pipelines to feed in the renewable green gas. And an EU project is assessing the technical feasibility of doing the same on a Europe-wide scale (previous post).

Biogas as a transport fuel offers particularly interesting prospects for the developing world, where oil infrastructures are not yet developed extensively. By relying on locally produced biomethane used in CNG cars, these countries could leapfrog into a clean, secure and green post-oil future.

For comprehensive overviews of the latest developments in biogas research, development and applications, please search the Biopact website.

References:
ENECO Energie: Biogastinstallatie levert “groen” gas voor woningen uit rioolzuivering - September 7, 2007.

Biopact: Report: carbon-negative biomethane cleanest and most efficient biofuel for cars - August 29, 2007

Biopact: Experts see 2007 as the year of biogas; biomethane as a transport fuel - January 09, 2007

Biopact: Pre-combustion CO2 capture from biogas - the way forward? - March 31, 2007

Biopact: Biopact to chair Sparks & Flames conference panel on carbon-negative biofuels - August 08, 2007

Biopact: Hydrogen out, compressed biogas in - October 01, 2006