WE DESIGN AND BUILD AND SERVICE BIOGAS STATIONS

Not really. Unlike propane-butane, which is called liquefied gas, biogas cannot be liquefied at normal temperatures. Biogas is methane gas. As temperatures drop, carbon dioxide liquefies before methane. Methane evaporation temperature is -161.5 °C. Typically, methane is stored in cylinders not liquefied, but purified from CO2 and compressed under a pressure of 200-300 atmospheres. Producing liquefied biomethane is possible, but will not be cheap. In this case, biogas-to-methane enrichment and cryogenic technology are required.

It is possible, but such storage facilities are expensive. Typically, low-pressure gas tanks are designed for storage for 1-4 hours. There are spherical gas holders of medium pressure for 2-5 days. For long-term storage, biogas must be enriched to methane and compressed under high pressure. In this case, storage facilities must be underground, as for natural gas.

The price of a station depends on the size of the station, the type of raw materials, and the set of equipment. The smaller the station, the more expensive it is per kW of installed capacity. The station can cost 1400 Euro per 1 kW when building a 10 MW station on a silo. On manure, a station can cost 2000-3000 Euros per 1 kW for construction of 1-2 MW. 300 kW stations cost 5000 Euro per kW. There are simple stations using cattle manure, and there are complex ones with contaminated raw materials, which require special preparation.

The price of a station depends on the size of the station, the type of raw materials, and the set of equipment. The smaller the station, the more expensive it is per kW of installed capacity. The station can cost 1400 Euro per 1 kW when building a 10 MW station on a silo. On manure, a station can cost 2000-3000 Euros per 1 kW for construction of 1-2 MW. 300 kW stations cost 5000 Euro per kW. There are simple stations using cattle manure, and there are complex ones with contaminated raw materials, which require special preparation.

The payback period for biogas stations ranges from 2-3 years to 6-7 years. The larger the project, the shorter the payback period. Projects using waste that cannot be sold pay off better than projects using corn silage. However, there is a special technology for corn silage, and on a large scale and using silage it is possible to reach 3-4 years. The payback period for biogas stations also depends on the concept. This is the replacement of gas or the sale of electricity at a feed-in tariff. Everything depends on energy prices and the availability of feed-in tariffs in a particular country. The return on investment of projects is greatly influenced by the reliability of technical solutions and the professional experience of the engineering company. You can buy cheap equipment, even if it is of high quality, but with the wrong technology or an insufficiently thought-out concept.

Usually companies use one technology. Most use CSTR. "Zorg Biogas" is distinguished by the fact that it uses all technologies. We use high-load technologies (HLR) for silage, vertical reactors (vCSTR) for sugar pulp, CSTR for manure and litter, and dry method for solid waste. With all this, by use we do not mean the prospectus, but the operating stations.

Classic CSTR technology implies a load of organic dry matter of 2-4 kg per m³ of reactor per day. We use HLR and achieve a WWS load of 5-16 kg per m³ of reactor per day. There are even stations with a load of 18 kg of WWS.

CSTR has 3-10% dry matter in the reactor. HLR has 16-18%.

Reactors using HLR technology are 3 times smaller in volume and 2 times cheaper compared to CSTR.

The dry method allows you to process heavily contaminated municipal solid waste without deep sorting. When using CSTR, fine sorting is mandatory. The dry method is many times cheaper and no less effective.

There is Fischer-Tropsch technology for converting natural gas into liquid hydrocarbons. However, such installations cost hundreds of millions of euros. Liquid fuel does not have to be liquid to be used as a vehicle fuel. Biogas enriched to methane can be filled into cylinders. Such installations are relatively inexpensive.

The best raw materials are free, pure and high in calories. But you need to start not from the best, but from what exists and calculate the payback period of the project, compare with others.

Many people will answer such a question that it is possible and necessary. We believe that sometimes the raw materials are so different that it is better not to mix. For example, manure liquid effluent and silage have different fermentation periods and are best fermented in different reactors. Each time you load slurry, unfermented silage will be lost. You can mix similar raw materials.

Yield, m³/t per Substrate

46 Cattle manure (natural 87% humidity)

22 Self-floating Cattle manure (95% humidity)

100 Bedding Cattle manure (60% humidity)

25 Self-floating pig manure (95% humidity)

150 Cellular poultry manure (65% humidity)

200 Poultry litter (50% humidity)

240 Corn silage (65% humidity)

36 Whey, (94% humidity)

600 Grain, flour, bread

134 Fruit and vegetable pulp (80% humidity)

168 Beet pulp (75% humidity)

633 Molasses

65 Grain stillage (90% humidity)

50 Molasses stillage (90% humidity)

110 Brewer's grains (78% humidity)

100 Corn pulp (80% humidity)

32 Potato pulp (91% moisture)

800 Fat (pure, 0% moisture)

200 Fat from grease traps (fat pulp) 150

Slaughterhouse waste (blood, cane, soft tissue)

100 Root vegetables

250 Technical glycerin

100 Municipal solid waste

330 Ground straw ( 20% humidity)

530 Straw pellets (10% humidity)