Upgrading biogas to green gas

Bright Biomethane from Enschede is located at the Kennispark in Enschede, next to the University of Twente. Bright Biomethane develops and produces standardized biogas upgrading installations. By integrating these installations into existing or new biogas plants, green gas can be produced. Upgrading biogas to green gas is a good alternative for cogeneration applications. Bright Biomethane’s installations range from a capacity of upgrading 40 Nm3 to 5000 Nm3 biogas per hour. The resulting green gas can be injected into the existing natural gas network or can be compressed to fuel (transport) vehicles. Bright Biomethane has a strong focus on research and development of technology for practical applications and wants to become the leading supplier of biogas upgrading installations.

Bright Biomethane is part of HoST Holding B.V.

By applying highly efficient membranes, the separation of methane from biogas can reach an efficiency of more than 99.5%. In the membrane unit, the gas is separated using an imposed pressure difference over the membrane. Depending on the grid or user requirements, the gas can be upgraded to a preferred methane concentration.

The Bright Biomethane upgrading installations can be extended with a CO2 recovery module. In this module, the biogas is dried, and hydrogen sulphide and other contaminants are removed from the biogas using a double active carbon filter. Water is removed by cooling the biogas to approximately 5°C with a chiller. For the separation of carbon dioxide, Bright Biomethane uses membranes with the highest selectivity available in the market. They pass CO2 easier and quicker than methane. Using this method, the gaseous CO2 that is produced when upgrading biogas is liquefied. High-quality standards are met so that the liquid CO2 can be used in greenhouses, refrigeration installations, the food and beverage industry and slaughterhouses.

After the pre-treatment of the biogas, the biogas is compressed to the necessary pressure for upgrading by membranes. The heat of the drying of the biogas, the heat from the compressor and the heat from cooling the gas after the compressor may be recovered by using a patented heat recovery system. This option makes it possible to recover the optimal amount of heat, so less additional energy is needed for the fermentation process.

Bright Biomethane has been nominated for the British Renewable Energy Awards in the “smart energy systems” category. Nominees are assessed based on the following criterium: “a system that supports the roll-out, or take-up, of renewable energy and energy storage while enhancing value and usefulness”. It will be announced in June 2019 whether Bright Biomethane has won the award.