Biogas purification and methane-

enrichment
Lise Appels
1
, Raf Dewil
1
, Jan Baeyens
2,3

1
Department of Chemical Engineering, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
2
Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Birmingham
3
School of Engineering, University of Warwick
Introduction
Biogas from anaerobic digestion
Composition:
CH
4
: 65-70%
CO
2
: 30-35%
Water vapour
Traces of H
2
S, oxidised sulphur compounds, H
2
, halogenated
compounds (landfills), siloxanes,
Not useable as such for introduction in gas grid
or as CNG
Need to increase energy content and remove trace
gases

Removal of impurities
Required gas quality = function of application




Purification methods
Traditional: scrubbing, pressure swing adsorption,
cryogenics
Gas membranes
Application H
2
S CO
2
H
2
O Traces
Gas heater
(boiler) < 1000 ppm no no yes (e.g. siloxanes)
CHP < 1000 ppm no
avoid
condensation yes (e.g. siloxanes)
Vehicle fuel yes yes yes yes
Gas Grid yes yes yes yes
Carbon dioxide removal
Removing CO
2
leads to:
Increased heating value
Consistent gas quality, similar to natural gas
Removal options:
Absorption (scrubbing)
Pressure swing adsorption
Cryogenic separation
Membrane technology
Absorption
Simultaneous removal of H
2
S and CO
2

(polar comounds)
Most common solvent = water
Efficiency = function of solubility
Dependent on P, T, pH
Pressure scrubbing

Absorption (2)
Other adsorbants
Ca(OH)
2
solution (formation of CaCO
3
and CaS)
Organic solvents:
Polyethyleneglycol (Selexol, Genosorb )
Alkanol amines
Low presure generation is possible here
Regeneration of organic solvent with steam
Pressure swing adsorption
Adsorbents such as activated carbon and
molecular sieves
Selectivity: different mesh sizes
Adsorption: high pressure
Desorption: depressurisation

Simple design & operation
Costly with high pressure drops & heat
requirements
Dry biogas is needed

Cryogenic separation
Boiling point:
CH
4
: -160C
CO
2
: -79C
Removal of CO
2
in liquid form by cooling biogas
mixture at elevated pressure
Expensive, only tested in pilot plants
Recovery of CO
2
is easily feasable
Membranes
Transport of components through membrane
driven by partial pressure and is dependent on
the permeability of the component through the
membrane
Selectivity of silicone membrane
Component Selectivity
N
2
~O
2
1
CO
2
1.4
CH
4
2.2
C
2
H
6
6.0
C
3
H
8
10.1
Membranes (2)
High pressure is required (flux)
Some permeabilities:




Some CH
4
losses occur
Silicone 0.20
PEI/dehesive 0.18
PEI/PDMS 2.99
PVDF/dehesive 0.33
Economic evaluation
Relative costs for 55m
3
/h digester biogas
Removal of water
Mostly achieved by
Condensation
Drying over silicagel or Al
2
O
3
if low dew points need
to be achieved
Alternative
Absorption in glycol or hygroscopic salts
Removal of H
2
S
Concentration in gas can be limited
Fe
3+
addition
Activated carbon catalyst
Micro-organisms
Desulphurisation of biogas
Addition of oxygen (safety!)
Biological removal by biofilm
NaOH scrubbing
Removal of siloxanes
Adsorption on activated carbon
(difficult to desorb)
Other adsorbents (molecular sieves, silica gel,
polymer pellets)
Cryogenic condensation
Chemical abatement
Caustic or acidic catalysed hydrolysis of Si-O bond

Biogas compression and storage
Pressure Storage device Material
Low
(0.14 - 0.41 bar)
Water sealed gas
holder Steel
Low Gas bag Rubber, plastic, vinyl
Medium
(1.05 - 1.97 bar)
Propane or butane
tank Steel
High (200 bar)
Commercial gas
cylinders Alloy
Conclusions
Biogas applicable as such in a limited number of
beneficiation methods
Purification is required for transportation/storage
Various purification methods are applicable
Mostly a combination is necessary because of
the myriad of pollutants present