Biomethane is biogas cleaned of carbon dioxide and impurities to a quality close to natural gas. It can be injected into the gas grid or used as a transport fuel.
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Orlen Południe and the Polish Oil and Gas Company (PGNiG) signed a letter of intent on a network of biomethane plants. The investments are to be carried out by a special purpose company in which Orlen Południe will take 51% of the shares and PGNiG 49%.
Biomethane is settled on the basis of energy: a gas meter measures the volume and a chromatograph the calorific value. We describe the metering system, propane for calorific correction and quality supervision.
Gas in the grid must smell so that a leak can be detected. We explain what biomethane is odorised with, where, and in what dose, and how the odorant affects sulphur measurement.
The injection station is the last element of a biomethane plant: it measures the quality and quantity of the gas, regulates pressure, odorises and cuts off non-compliant gas. We describe the components and the order of the equipment.
Orlen Południe has taken over an unfinished biogas plant in the Ryn municipality and intends to complete it as a biomethane plant producing about 7 million m³ per year. Completion was planned for the end of 2022.
The Polish Power Exchange (TGE) and the Polish Oil and Gas Company (PGNiG) signed a cooperation agreement on building a biomethane market. The first stage is to use the register of certificates of origin and the system of guarantees of origin.
Operator Energinet reported that by the end of 2020 biomethane injected into the grid made up over 20% of Danish gas consumption, and on a single summer day the share exceeded 40%.
The EN 16723 standard specifies biomethane: part 1 for grid injection, part 2 as a fuel. We explain the scope, parameters and the relationship to gas quality standards and grid operator requirements.
Before CO₂ separation, biogas must be dried and cleaned of H₂S, siloxanes, ammonia and VOC. We describe desulphurisation methods, the order of equipment and design errors.
How much energy does biogas upgrading use? We convert kWh per m³ into a share of the energy of the biomethane produced and show how to add compression to the grid and pretreatment.
The President of the Polish Oil and Gas Company (PGNiG), Jerzy Kwieciński, announced a biomethane plant construction programme at the European Economic Congress in Katowice. The first installation was to start at the turn of 2020 and 2021.
Methane slip is the part of the CH₄ from biogas that goes into the off-gas instead of the biomethane. We calculate how many tonnes of CO₂e and how many zloty this means, using a 500 m³/h installation as an example.
Cryogenics separates CO₂ by cooling biogas to very low temperatures. We explain why the technology is linked to the production of bioLNG and liquid CO₂ and what limitations it has.
A report of the REGATRACE project, whose renewable gas work was coordinated by the EBA, compared biomethane markets in Europe: from 10 TWh in Germany to approx. 1.2 TWh in France.
Chemical absorption in amines gives methane losses below approx. 0.1–0.2% and pure CO₂, but requires heat of approx. 110–140°C. We discuss the energy balance and operating requirements.
Decree 2020-456 of 21 April 2020 set the French multiannual energy programme. The target for injected biomethane: 6 TWh in 2023 and 14–22 TWh in 2028.
Water scrubbing removes CO₂ thanks to its good solubility in water under pressure. We describe the absorption and desorption columns, the water balance, methane losses and limitations.
PSA separates CO₂ from methane using cyclic adsorption on a molecular sieve. We discuss the phases of the cycle, methane losses, pretreatment requirements and typical problems.
Polymer membranes separate CO₂ from methane on the principle of different permeability. We explain the multi-stage system, pressures, methane losses and pretreatment requirements.
Five families of technology remove CO₂ from biogas: membranes, PSA, water scrubbing, amine scrubbing and cryogenic separation. We compare the operating principle, methane losses and energy demand.
Chinese authorities published guidelines on the industrialisation of bio natural gas, i.e. biomethane: over 10 billion m³ a year by 2025 and over 20 billion m³ by 2030.
Dominion Energy and Vanguard Renewables announced more than USD 200 million for about 15 biogas projects at dairy farms, which will produce renewable natural gas (RNG).
Biomethane is biogas cleaned of CO₂ and impurities to natural-gas quality (usually over 95% CH₄). We explain the differences, the parameters and the routes to use.
