Biofrigas for the municipality
The production of biogas in municipal facilities typically comes from sewage sludge from treatment plants or from the municipal collection of food waste. With population growth and higher requirements on food waste collection, municipal biogas production looks set to increase. In smaller facilities, biogas is used for electricity production or heating, and in larger facilities, the gas is typically upgraded to vehicle gas, which is upgraded and compressed biogas, also known as CBG.
The use of vehicle gas in the transport sector is mainly for passenger cars, taxis, paratransit, and local bus traffic. Bus traffic accounts for an average of about half of all vehicle gas fueled today. As passenger car traffic, including paratransit and taxis, as well as bus traffic, moves towards electrification, the need for vehicle gas is expected to decrease as the existing vehicle fleet is phased out. The availability of vehicles powered by vehicle gas has also decreased in recent years, making it harder to procure.
As the production of biogas in municipal operations is predicted to increase while the traditional outlets are expected to decrease in the coming years, a large number of municipalities will need to rethink their strategy. Some municipalities have therefore started projects to convert vehicle gas to liquefied gas. Liquefied gas is currently used for heavy vehicles with long driving distances, such as heavy trucks and long-distance buses, and its use is in a rapid growth phase. From being only a few percent a few years ago, liquefied gas now constitutes a quarter of all usage in the transport sector, and the growth looks set to increase. There is a strong supply of vehicles from major truck manufacturers, and the transport industry is investing heavily in converting its fleet from fossil to fossil-free alternatives. Another reason for the growing interest in liquefied gas is that a vehicle with liquefied gas has a much longer driving range than those running on vehicle gas. When vehicle gas is converted to liquid, it becomes three times more compact, thus accommodating more energy in the fuel tank and, therefore, increasing the driving range.
Biofrigas offers two solutions to the municipal biogas industry
- CryoSep addresses the smaller facilities and liquefies biogas into liquid gas, enabling a greater climate benefit than the production of electricity or heat since the efficiency of those processes is relatively low.
- CryoSep P addresses facilities that currently produce vehicle gas. Through its design, CryoSep P can further purify the vehicle gas so that it can be converted to liquid, thus opening up to address heavy vehicle traffic and the rapidly growing segment.
Investing in a liquefaction facility is a relatively small investment compared to the existing facility and is therefore a manageable commitment to be able to transition and address a new and growing market and to protect the existing investment.