March 2017 - Technical Article

Chances for Bio-LNG

Author: Bakker, B. , Langerak, J. , Lems, R., Dirkse, E.H.M.

Keywords: Carborex® MS, Biogas, Bio-methane, Bio-LNG, Car fuel, Gas separation, Green gas, Highly selective gas membrane, Liquefaction, Membrane separation, Upgrading

Abstract: An increasing effort is put into the utilization of organic waste streams in anaerobic digesters, producing useful products such as fertilizers and biogas. It becomes increasingly attractive to upgrade biogas to natural gas quality and consequently liquefy the gas to Bio-LNG. DMT Environmental Technology has been developing biogas treatment plants for over 25 years, closely following market developments.

Natural gas is one of the cleanest fuels available nowadays. The carbon footprint is low, and local emissions of NOx and SOx are virtually zero in comparison to other fuels. It can be combined with petrol or diesel to keep a high flexibility in fuelling. Using Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) instead of
Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) can extend the travel range of vehicles or trucks to “normal” mileages. Therefore LNG becomes even more popular in the United Kingdom (UK) and in the rest of Europe.

LNG is not only used for transportation but also as natural gas source for remote villages and/ or industries which are not connected to the gas grid. Bio-LNG is made from biogas and has a few considerable advantages over LNG. The purity of Bio-LNG is higher, giving it a better quality. Bio-LNG can be locally produced saving transport costs and carbon emissions. And finally it is made from waste sources and therefore 100% sustainable.

DMT Environmental Technology combines the newest biogas upgrading technology, using high selective membranes, with small scale liquefaction. The result is a plug and play, containerized system; Carborex® MS. This system can be used in combination with a liquefaction unit for Bio-LNG. The derived product is much more valuable than biogas or bio-methane gas. In this article a glimpse into the future of Bio-LNG is provided.

Read the article here