Catalytic upgrading of biogas

Catalytic upgrading of biogas to biomethane

In 2022, the European Commission provided a strong response to the energy crisis caused by the conflict in Ukraine to reduce dependence on Russian gas. Through the REPowerEU plan, included in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) funds, the aim is to finance key investments and reforms to diversify Europe’s energy supply sources. Among others, biomethane plays a primary role: the target set for 2030 is to achieve an annual production of 35 billion cubic meters within the EU, compared to the current 3 billion cubic meters per year (2021 data, EBA). The second target is to reach 95 billion cubic meters by 2050. The challenge facing European countries is therefore considerable.

Among the actions promoted by the REPowerEU plan are investments in research and innovation to develop and strengthen new biomethane production technologies. It is in this context that our direct biomethane production process from biogas, using a catalytic method, is applied.

The solution we have developed and patented is a process for the catalytic production of biomethane from biogas.

The process involves directly treating purified biogas, without any prior separation or upgrading, in a newly designed multi-stage catalytic reactor. Inside, the Sabatier reaction takes place: the CO₂ contained in the biogas reacts with hydrogen, converting into methane and water. The required H₂ is produced by an electrolysis stage, powered by renewable energy.

The choice of the best reactor configuration, alongside the optimization of operating conditions and catalyst formulation, was key to obtaining biomethane sufficiently pure for injection into the national grid. Additionally, the unit makes optimal use of the high exothermicity of the reaction, significantly reducing the energy consumption required for the process.

The result is twofold:

- CO₂ is no longer a waste product but a resource: with this technology, there are no carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere.

- Efficiency is 100%, compared to the current approximately 50%, for the same amount of biogas, as all the carbon in the CO₂ is used to produce pure CH4 (>98%), which can be injected into the national gas grid or used as vehicle fuel.

The technology has been extensively validated in the laboratory. In 2023, as part of both the Smart&Start and Brevetti+ projects, we received two grants from the National Agency for Investment Attraction and Economic Development, part of the Italian Ministry of Economy. We are currently building a pilot plant for demonstration in an industrially relevant setting.