#BiogasClass - Vol. 17: Desotec Biogas Bio-circular Carbon Plant | Evonik Biogas Technology | Valio Biogas Milk Truck | Missouri RNG Farm Grants

It's the 17th edition of Biogasclass LinkedIn Newsletter with Tusk Talent!

Please Follow???? Tusk Talent for jobs & industry updates in biogas/biofuels and also please subscribe to #Biogasclass if you haven't.

This is the BiogasClass-room, where we explore new information related to the biogas industry, covering topics such as bioenergy, RNG (Renewable Natural Gas), anaerobic digestion, SAF (Synthetic Aviation Fuels), feedstock, biofuels, biomass, and the transition to cleaner fuels in the evolving energy landscape.

If you reside in areas where organic waste is collected for biofuels production, do you have separate bins for food and garden waste? Have you considered donating this waste to be converted into energy? If not, we encourage you to reach out to your local governing body for support and guidance on how to participate in this sustainable initiative.

Bioenergy & Biofuels is valuable to us all, as waste is never wasted but transformed into various forms of value, including transportation fuels, energy, heating, fertilizers, cooking, and more!

??Company of the Edition

This goes to DESOTEC who have been previously Technology in an older edition. I was in contact recently with Florent Lesage the Marketing Manager and we discussed the revolutionary Biogas circular carbon production facility in Belgium.

To produce biogas or upgrade it to biomethane, a cost-effective, legally compliant, and sustainable H2S removal technology is essential but difficult to find in Europe. After years of R&D, they will open a unique production facility next summer that produces European-made activated carbon by recycling high-sulfur loaded carbon, specifically for the biogas market.

A Breakthrough in Europe's Biogas Market

This innovation, achieved through our team’s extensive expertise developed over decades, will revolutionize the biogas industry with a closed-loop purification solution that offers numerous advantages:

• Reduced Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions: By sourcing up to 80% less coal-based virgin activated carbon from outside Europe, they will significantly reduce feedstock-related GHG emissions. Additionally, integrating a turbine into our boiler will convert waste steam into electricity, enhancing our production's climate-friendliness.
• Cost Savings and Regulatory Compliance: Their closed-loop purification solution will help biogas producers achieve sustainability goals and reduce costs associated with the disposal of high-sulfur carbon. This also ensures compliance with stricter upcoming regulations on end-of-life treatment.
• Resilient Operations: A local supply of high-quality activated carbon will protect DESOTEC and European biogas upgrading companies from potential disruptions in non-EU supply chains, ensuring business continuity. This also reduces the need for global carbon transport, significantly lowering our carbon footprint.

??? Technology of the Edition

This goes to 赢创工业集团 who are transforming Biogas Upgrading.

Evonik's entry into the biogas upgrading industry in 2011 set new technology standards and revolutionized the market. The launch of highly selective SEPURAN? Green membranes, combined with a patented 3-stage membrane process, enabled high methane yields and high product purity with optimized energy consumption, all utilizing a single compressor. With over 150 references in North America and more than 1,000 globally, Evonik leads the industry in biogas membrane upgrading.

Evonik's patented biogas upgrading process maximizes the separation properties of the SEPURAN? Green membranes, achieving methane yields of over 99.5% from crude biogas. This process, which includes a 3-stage membrane design requiring only one compressor, significantly reduces operational expenses (OPEX) over the project's lifetime.

The core of this process is the innovative hollow fiber membranes from the SEPURAN? Green brand. Made from a high-performance polymer developed by Evonik, these membranes withstand high pressure and temperatures, ensuring robustness and stability for over a decade. The high selectivity of these membranes allows for the production of high-purity biomethane with superior methane recovery and exceptional uptime.

According to BiogasWorld’s Intelligence Report 2022, membrane technology is the preferred choice among system integrators worldwide, based on installed capacity and the number of units. Membranes are reliable, easy to operate, and maintenance-free, which leads to low OPEX costs. To meet the growing demand in the biogas market, Evonik has announced further expansion of SEPURAN? Green membrane production.

Benefits of SEPURAN? Green Membranes:

- Lower Energy Consumption: Achieve recycling rates of 30–40%.

- High Selectivity and Purity: Ensures high methane recovery.

- Ease of Operation: Simple, continuous separation process.

- H2S Tolerance: Up to 3%.

- Low Maintenance: No rotating parts, ensuring reliability.

- Quick Start-Up: Operational within seconds with 95% onstream time.

- Flexibility: Adaptable to variations in feed gas and flow, with a turndown ratio down to 20%.

- Longevity: Membrane lifespan of over 10 years.

- Cost Savings: Low methane loss (<0.5%), low fugitive emissions, and reduced initial and operational costs.

?Latest Bioenergy News Updates

Valio reveals new biogas-powered milk truck in Finland

Since early May, a new biogas-powered milk truck has been transporting milk to Valio 's dairies in Riihim?ki and Jyv?skyl?, Finland. This truck, fueled by liquefied biogas (LBG), produces 85% lower emissions compared to a diesel-powered truck, according to Valio. The company aims to gradually increase the number of biogas-powered milk collection trucks as the biogas distribution network expands. Valio’s goal is to achieve a zero-carbon footprint for milk by 2035.

The new truck operates on LBG produced from industrial by-products and municipal waste. It collects milk from farms in Hartola, Sysm?, and Joutsa, covering approximately 800 kilometers daily, and refuels in Jyv?skyl? or Lahti. Currently, Valio operates six LBG-powered trucks, with additional trucks set to start in autumn and early 2025.

The primary challenge to rapidly increasing the number of biogas-powered vehicles is the limited refueling infrastructure. However, as the network of refueling stations grows, the number of these vehicles is expected to rise more swiftly in the coming years.

"Using renewable biogas in transports is the circular economy at its best. The new biogas-powered collection truck is more powerful than previous biogas-powered trucks, and therefore it can collect and transport larger quantities of milk than the previous less powerful gas-powered trucks," says Laine Petteri , Head of Logistics with responsibility for milk collection and transports.The truck can take on as much as ca. 48 tonnes, i.e. on average, the milk from about 18 Valio’s dairy farms. Transporting more milk in a single load cuts costs and emissions.”"Optimising logistics, saving kilometres and reducing emissions are part of the day-to-day work of Valio’s logistics, both in milk collection and distribution," Laine continued."In addition to reducing our own emissions, we are also helping our customers to achieve their emission reduction targets. Although transport accounts for only around 1.5% of the carbon footprint of the milk produced by Valio, reducing fossil emissions from logistics is important not only for Valio’s climate targets, but also for those of Finland as a whole.”

Senator Tammy of Wisconsin Announces Grant for Wisconsin Farmers & Small Businesses

Wisconsin U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin ( Tammy Baldwin for Senate ) (D-WI) announced that over a dozen Wisconsin farmers and rural small business owners will receive more than $2 million in grants aimed at improving energy efficiency, reducing costs, and enhancing the resilience of their operations.

“Wisconsin farmers and small businesses are the backbone of our rural communities, and I’m working to help them cut costs, innovate, and grow for the future,” said Senator Baldwin. “I am proud to secure this funding, which will help Made in Wisconsin businesses reduce their energy costs, create jobs, and improve operational efficiency for years to come.”

This funding is provided through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Rural Energy for America Program (REAP), which received a $2 billion boost from the Baldwin-supported Inflation Reduction Act. The REAP program offers grants and loans to help agricultural producers and rural small business owners adopt wind, solar, and other clean energy technologies and make energy efficiency improvements.

That's all for this edition of the?#biogasclass and hope you enjoyed the industry updates and please connect and follow below!

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Feel free to comment, feedback or suggest topics of interest. Also let me know if your bioenergy related company would like a feature on the Newsletter.

That's all folks and looking forward to marking your attendance in the next Biogas Class!