UPCO2

Upgrading of biogas to biomethane with CO2 sequestration

In 2022 the European Commission gave a strong response to the energy crisis caused by the conflict in Ukraine, in order to limit dependence on Russian gas: with the REPowerEU plan, included in the PNRR funds, the aim is to finance investments and key reforms to diversify energy supply sources in Europe. Among others, biomethane plays a primary role: the goal set for 2030 is in fact to achieve an annual production in the EU of 35 billion cubic meters, against the current 3 billion cubic meters per year (2021 figure, EBA). The second objective is 95 billion cubic meters by 2050. The challenge facing European countries is therefore considerable.

Among the actions promoted by the REPowerEU plan, there is investment in research and innovation for the development and consolidation of new biomethane production technologies. It is in this context that our process of direct production of biomethane from biogas by catalytic way, developed in recent years, finds its application.

It has two main advantages: 100% efficiency and total absence of CO2 emissions, finally valorized to CH4.

Our solution consists in directly treating the purified biogas, without any separation or upgrading, in a newly designed multistage catalytic reactor. The Sabatier reaction takes place inside it: the CO2 contained in the biogas comes into contact with the hydrogen, converting into methane and water.

The choice of the best configuration for the reactor, the operating conditions, the catalyst, is the key to obtaining a highly pure biomethane. The unit also makes optimal use of the high exothermicity of the reaction, to considerably reduce the energy consumption required to carry out the process.

The project funded by Regione Veneto allowed to develop the design of the multistage reactor, finding out many improvements in the management of the first and of the second part of the reaction.

Optimizing the operative conditions, namely temperature, pressure, and contact time between the biogas and the catalysts, and testing different material formulations, we completed the configuration of the final reactor, overcoming the critical issues related to the formation of undesirable by-products (CO and soot). The equations that will be used by the technology users for the reactor scale-up have thus been obtained.

Project funded with Programma Operativo PF FESR 2021-2027

Specific Objective 1.1, Action 1.1.3