Parallel Session 9 – Biogas, Biomethane and Biohydrogen

Thursday 24 October 2024, 8.30-10.00 BRT

Video recording of the session

Moderator: Birger Kerckow (FNR, Germany)

Speakers:

Panelists (L-to-R): Rogério Meneghetti, Berend Vreugdenhil, Jan Liebetrau, Bruna Moraes, Julio R. Meneghini, Birger Kerckow.

Selected conclusions and key messages:

  • There is no silver bullet for technology choices. Several choices are complementary, and their success also depends on regulations and markets.
  • Brazil has new laws that have created the legal framework for low-carbon H2 (including biomass based) and the legal framework for the “Fuel of the future”, which creates mandatory demand for renewable fuels, including biomethane. These laws will boost the development of renewable gas in Brazil.
  • Biomethane can be fed into the existing gas infrastructure and provides the path of least resistance to reduce GHG emissions in natural gas applications. There are three main routes to produce biomethane (see figure below): (1) anaerobic digestion of (wet) biomass to produce biogas; the biogas is further upgraded to biomethane; (2) gasification of (dry) biomass to produce syngas; the syngas is cleaned, conditioned and synthesized to biomethane (SNG); (3) e-methane, produced through the combination of renewable hydrogen (from electrolysis) with CO2. The biogenic CO2 can be provided by bioenergy processes.
  • Biogas solutions have many benefits beyond energy and climate. They reduce fugitive methane emissions, protect water quality, reduce pathogen content of slurries, produce biofertilisers, reduce smells, and improve air quality. Moreover, biogas installations can be designed for flexible operation to complement variable renewables.
  • The upgrading process of biogas to biomethane produces a highly concentrated CO2. Biogenic CO2 will be increasingly required in the future as substitute for fossil CO2, as source for CO2 for Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) and as renewable carbon source for GHG neutral carbon based gaseous or liquid fuels. The market is emerging.
  • Biomass gasification coupled with methanation is an emerging pathway to produce biomethane, but it needs more recognition. Future hydrogen inclusion (to react with CO2 from the syngas) can roughly double the methane output; when the CO2 is captured and stored it is possible to reach negative emissions.
  • A carbon tax on fossil fuels should stimulate development and drive the transformation towards renewables whilst simultaneously providing a common base for competition between renewable technologies. Diverging policies can be a major barrier.
  • Integrating science, technology, education and government is key to sustainable development. It is necessary to create, integrate, develop, incubate and showcase intelligent solutions, e.g. in a ‘living lab’. There are initiatives to go beyond the generation of biogas and digestate, aiming to yield both bio-hydrogen and biomethane from these installations.
  • Ethanol to hydrogen reforming may be a promising route to decarbonize public transportation and heavy-duty transport in Brazil.

 

Pathways to renewable gas: from presentation Berend Vreugdenhil (source of the graph: ERIG, 2021).