Upgrading biogas produced at dairy farms into renewable natural gas by methanation

Renewable natural gas can be produced from raw biogas, a product of the anaerobic decomposition of organic material, by upgrading its CO2 content (25‐50%) via thermocatalytic hydrogenation (CO2 methanation). The H2 needed for this reaction can be generated by water electrolysis powered by carbon emission‐free energy sources such as renewable or nuclear power, or using surplus electricity. Herein, after briefly outlining some aspects of biogas production at dairy farms and highlighting recent developments in the design of methanation systems, a case study on the renewable natural gas generation is presented. The performance of a system for renewable natural gas generation from a 2000‐head dairy farm livestock manure is evaluated and assessed for its economic potential. The project is predicted to generate revenue through the sale of energy and carbon credits with the payback period of 5 years, with a subsidized energy price.

[1]  D. Simakov,et al.  Thermal management of a Sabatier reactor for CO2 conversion into CH4: Simulation-based analysis , 2017 .

[2]  N. Rabe.  On farm data sharing in Ontario – the precision Ag advancement for Ontario Project (Partners: Grain Farmers of Ontario, Niagara College, University of Guelph, and Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs) , 2017 .

[3]  Carlos Peregrina,et al.  Techno-economic and Life Cycle Assessment of methane production via biogas upgrading and power to gas technology , 2017 .

[4]  D. Simakov.  Renewable Synthetic Fuels and Chemicals from Carbon Dioxide , 2017 .

[5]  S. Amaducci,et al.  Economics of GHG emissions mitigation via biogas production from Sorghum, maize and dairy farm manure digestion in the Po valley , 2016 .

[6]  M. Fowler,et al.  Benchmarking and selection of Power-to-Gas utilizing electrolytic hydrogen as an energy storage alternative , 2016 .

[7]  Hartmut Spliethoff,et al.  Comparison of synthetic natural gas production pathways for the storage of renewable energy , 2016, Advances in Energy Systems.

[8]  D. Möller,et al.  Economics of anaerobic digestion in organic agriculture: between system constraints and policy regulations. , 2016 .

[9]  R. Granell,et al.  Meta-analysis of methane yields from anaerobic digestion of dairy cattle manure , 2016 .

[10]  M. Götz,et al.  Review on methanation – From fundamentals to current projects , 2016 .

[11]  Lide Chen,et al.  Comparison on batch anaerobic digestion of five different livestock manures and prediction of biochemical methane potential (BMP) using different statistical models. , 2016, Waste management.

[12]  F. Graf,et al.  Renewable Power-to-Gas: A technological and economic review , 2016 .

[13]  J. Thöming,et al.  Predicting optimal temperature profiles in single-stage fixed-bed reactors for CO2-methanation , 2015 .

[14]  Chakib Bouallou,et al.  Economic assessment of a power-to-substitute-natural-gas process including high-temperature steam electrolysis , 2015 .

[15]  Rainer Reimert,et al.  Improvement of three-phase methanation reactor performance for steady-state and transient operation , 2015 .

[16]  Jiajian Gao,et al.  Recent advances in methanation catalysts for the production of synthetic natural gas , 2015 .

[17]  Jens Bo Holm-Nielsen,et al.  Dynamic biogas upgrading based on the Sabatier process: thermodynamic and dynamic process simulation. , 2015, Bioresource technology.

[18]  Andreas Orth,et al.  Methanation of CO2 - storage of renewable energy in a gas distribution system , 2014, Energy, Sustainability and Society.

[19]  J. D. Ward,et al.  Design, control and comparison of fixed-bed methanation reactor systems for the production of substitute natural gas , 2014 .

[20]  M. Klemm,et al.  Dilute gas methanation of synthesis gas from biomass gasification , 2014 .

[21]  Rainer Reimert,et al.  Novel methanation concepts for the production of Substitute Natural Gas (Poster) , 2014 .

[22]  M. Götz,et al.  Evaluation of Organic and Ionic Liquids for Three-Phase Methanation and Biogas Purification Processes , 2013 .

[23]  Jiajian Gao,et al.  Enhanced fluidized bed methanation over a Ni/Al2O3 catalyst for production of synthetic natural gas , 2013 .

[24]  Jerry D. Murphy,et al.  A roadmap for the introduction of gaseous transport fuel: A case study for renewable natural gas in Ireland , 2011 .

[25]  Tilman J. Schildhauer,et al.  Fluidized-Bed Methanation: Interaction between Kinetics and Mass Transfer , 2011 .

[26]  Tilman J. Schildhauer,et al.  Methanation in a fluidized bed reactor with high initial CO partial pressure: Part I—Experimental investigation of hydrodynamics, mass transfer effects, and carbon deposition , 2011 .

[27]  Maria Sudiro,et al.  Synthetic Natural Gas (SNG) from Coal and Biomass: a Survey of Existing Process Technologies, Open Issues and Perspectives , 2010 .

[28]  Martin Seemann,et al.  Fluidized Bed Methanation of Wood-Derived Producer Gas for the Production of Synthetic Natural Gas , 2010 .

[29]  Maria Sudiro,et al.  Simulation of a structured catalytic reactor for exothermic methanation reactions producing synthetic natural gas , 2010 .

[30]  W. Maier,et al.  The impact of dopants on the activity and selectivity of a Ni-based methanation catalyst , 2009 .

[31]  Wen-Yueh Yu,et al.  Pt/titania-nanotube: A potential catalyst for CO2 adsorption and hydrogenation , 2008 .

[32]  W. Raróg-Pilecka,et al.  Supported ruthenium catalysts for selective methanation of carbon oxides at very low COx/H2 ratios , 2008 .

[33]  Filip Logist,et al.  Derivation of generic optimal reference temperature profiles for steady-state exothermic jacketed tubular reactors , 2008 .

[34]  Robert J. Kee,et al.  Methanation of carbon dioxide by hydrogen reduction using the Sabatier process in microchannel reactors , 2007 .

[35]  Mohamed Najib Sannaa.  The Development of Biogas Technology in Denmark: Achievements & Obstacles , 2004 .

[36]  Denis Dochain,et al.  Optimal temperature control of a steady‐state exothermic plug‐flow reactor , 2000 .

[37]  Masato R. Nakamura,et al.  Mechanisms of methanation of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide over nickel , 1991 .

[38]  J. Hopper,et al.  Kinetics of the hydrogenation of carbon dioxide over supported nickel , 1983 .

[39]  G. Weatherbee.  Hydrogenation of CO2 on group VIII metals: II. Kinetics and mechanism of CO2 hydrogenation on nickel , 1982 .

[40]  P. Stolpman,et al.  Environmental Protection Agency , 2020, The Grants Register 2022.

[41]  J. Rostrup-Nielsen,et al.  Deactivation Phenomena of a Ni-based Catalyst for High Temperature Methanation , 1980 .

[42]  D. D. Perlmutter.  The catalyst handbook , 1971 .

[43]  Jolien Huybrechts,et al.  THE EUROPEAN UNION EMISSIONS TRADING SYSTEM , 2022 .