Container-Sized CO2 to Methane: Design, Construction and Catalytic Tests Using Raw Biogas to Biomethane

Rohit Gaikwad,Philip Loldrup Fosbøl,Flemming Bjerg Grumsen,Per Møller,Lars Pleth Nielsen,Sebastian N B Villadsen,Gary Gildert,Jan Pihl Rasmussen

doi:10.3390/catal10121428

Rohit Gaikwad, Philip Loldrup Fosbøl + Show 6 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/catal10121428

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Abstract

Direct catalytic methanation of CO2 (from CO2/CH4 biogas mixture) to produce biomethane was conducted in a pilot demonstration plant. In the demonstration project (MeGa-StoRE), a biogas desulfurization process and thermochemical methanation of biogas using hydrogen produced by water electrolysis were carried out at a fully operational biogas plant in Denmark. The main objective of this part of the project was to design and develop a reactor system for catalytic conversion of CO2 in biogas to methane and feed biomethane directly to the existing natural gas grid. A process was developed in a portable container with a 10 Nm3/h of biogas conversion capacity. A test campaign was run at a biogas plant for more than 6 months, and long-time operation revealed a stable steady-state conversion of more than 90% CO2 conversion to methane. A detailed catalytic study was performed to investigate the high activity and stability of the applied catalyst.

Highlights

The biogas market is growing in Europe [1]
This paper presents the results from thermocatalytic biogas upgradation to methane from the Methane Gas for Storage of Renewable Energy (MeGa-StoRE) demonstration project
Similar observations were seen from catalyst characterization, where no significant carbon formation was observed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), BET, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), which could suppress or inhibit the catalyst activity

Summary

Introduction

The biogas market is growing in Europe [1]. As the European gas network is trying to limit their dependency on fossil fuels and external suppliers, biogas is growing in its importance. By 2040, biogas may be the largest gas contributor to the grid in both the UK and the Netherlands [2]. As CO2 reduces the burning value by diluting the CH4 , biogas is considered a low-quality gas. Many impurities must be removed before the biogas can be injected into the natural gas grid [6,7]. The process of purifying the CH4 from the biogas is referred to as a first-generation biogas upgrading [8]. The amount of first-generation upgrading plants throughout

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