BY STEFAN ZORN, JANUARY 2005.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
1

INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................................. 2

BIOGAS COMPOSITION AND PROPERTIES................................................................................ 7

2.1

BIOGAS COMPOSITION.................................................................................................................. 7

2.2

BIOGAS PROPERTIES.................................................................................................................... 9

UPGRADING OF BIOGAS ............................................................................................................ 10

3.1

GAS CLEANING .......................................................................................................................... 11

3.1.1

Removal of water ............................................................................................................. 11

3.1.2

Removal of hydrogen sulphide ........................................................................................ 13

3.1.3

Removal of other contaminants ....................................................................................... 17

3.2

UPGRADING TECHNOLOGIES ....................................................................................................... 18

3.2.1

Membrane separation ...................................................................................................... 18

3.2.2

Pressure Swing Adsorption.............................................................................................. 19

3.2.3

Absorption of carbon dioxide without chemical reaction.................................................. 21

3.2.4

Absorption of carbon dioxide with chemical reaction....................................................... 23

3.2.5

Cryogenic removal of carbon dioxide............................................................................... 23

QUALITY STANDARDS FOR UPGRADED BIOGAS................................................................... 25

DISTRIBUTION OF BIOGAS......................................................................................................... 31
5.1

DISTRIBUTION OF BIOGAS IN THE NATURAL GAS GRID ................................................................... 32

5.2

DISTRIBUTION AS VEHICLE FUEL AT LOCAL FILLING STATIONS ........................................................ 35

LEGAL FRAMEWORK IN GERMANY .......................................................................................... 37

UPGRADED BIOGAS AS VEHICLE FUEL................................................................................... 44

USE OF UPGRADING BY-PRODUCTS........................................................................................ 47

BIOGAS UPGRADING IN EUROPE EXAMPLES AND TENDENCIES .................................... 48

10 FEASIBILITY OF PRACTICAL IMPLEMENTATION .................................................................... 52

10.1

UPGRADING TECHNOLOGIES AVAILABLE ON THE MARKET .............................................................. 52

10.2

COSTS OF PRODUCTION ............................................................................................................. 53

10.3

ASPECTS OF IMPLEMENTATION IN GERMANY ............................................................................... 57

11 CONCLUSIONS ............................................................................................................................. 59
REFERENCES ...................................................................................................................................... 62

INTRODUCTION

The scenario sustainability which was analysed by the Long Term Integration Research Team and
the System-Analysis Group of the Wuppertal-Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy has
shown, that a supply with renewable energies of 100% is feasible in Europe by 2050 [1].
A sustainable energy system will require massive reliance on renewable energy sources combined
with a sharp increase in energy productivity. Furthermore, a conscious personal decision for a limited
but sufficient energy consumption is necessary. The future energy supply is stamped by decentralisation and regional orientation, utilising locally available sources of renewable energies. Examples could
be the strengthened generation of electricity from wind power in coastal regions or the utilisation of
biomass for combined heat and power generation in rural areas.
Figure 1-1 illustrates the results of this sustainable scenario which shows the feasibility of an energy

Watt year/person

supply based on more than 90% renewable energy sources.

coal

nuclear

hydro power

solar

oil

gas

wind power

biomass

Figure 1-1: Scenario sustainability: Energy demand and production in Europe until 2050 [1]

Biomass is a widespread resource including wood and residues of the wood working industry, energy
crops, residues from agriculture and food-processing industry, manure, sewage sludge as well as the
organic fraction of municipial waste. This universal renewable energy source will play an important role
on the way to a sustainable energy supply as shown in Figure 1-1. Moreover, it creates a big chance
for agriculture and forestry to develop a second economic pillar of energy and feedstock production,
linked with positive effects on the employment structure in these sectors.
The White Paper Energy for the future: Renewable sources of energy of the European Commission
(1997) underlines the importance of biomass for the achievement of the overall target of doubling 1 the
share of renewable energy sources in the EU gross inland energy consumption to 12% by 2010 [2].
The main contribution of renewable energy sources growth could come from biomass, tripling the
current level of these sources [2]. However, the share of biomass in the EU gross inland energy consumption is currently rather low. In only a few member states (Austria, Finland, Sweden) has this
energy source has reached a considerable share in primary energy supply.
Currently, the utilised potential of wet biomass for conversion into biogas by anaerobic digestion is
very low in Europe. In the German agriculture, only 2% of the 190 Mio Tons of manure is digested and
only 0,1% of the potential cultivated area is utilised for growing energy crops for biogas production [3].
The balance for the overall biomass utilisation is also very low. The German Biogas Association
estimates that the technical potential of agricultural biogas production could cover up to 20% of the
current natural gas demand in Germany [4]. This would require around 150.000 biogas plants of
various sizes [4].

Why biogas upgrading?

Biogas, which consists of approximately two thirds methane and one third carbon dioxide plus traces
of other gases, can be upgraded by removing the carbon dioxide and the undesired trace gases.
Motives for upgrading of biogas could be one or more of the following:

Reduction of fuel volume and thereby reduction of necessary storage capacity, including reduced
capacity of possible compression equipment and energy needed for compression.

Opening up of new fields of application.

Supply of a homogeneous product, either compatible with fossil fuel standards or new standards
developed specially for gases from renewable energy sources.

Purification of biogas from undesired components, which cause problems during the combustion
process and effect emissions of air pollutants.

Additional income from sale of carbon dioxide for industrial and agricultural purposes.

reference years 1997/98

The injection of upgraded biogas into the natural gas grid has been greatly discussed recently.
Various publications regarding biogas upgrading and the injection to the natural gas grid have been
issued [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]. Within the European framework, the injection of upgraded gas from biomass is being discussed related to the implementation of the liberalised EU internal market for gas
and electricity. The latest proposal of the European Commission for a directive concerning rules for
the internal market of gas and electricity claims a non-discriminatory access of biogas and gas from
biomass to the natural gas grid, if these gases comply with technical rules and safety standards [11].
In the present report only the exploitation of biogas from anaerobic digestion of wet biomass and the
perspective of upgrading technologies and opportunities for the utilisation of the gas shall be described. Besides this, there is an enormous potential for syngas production from solid biomass by means
of thermal conversion processes 2 , which shall not be discussed.
Anaerobic digestion technology has the obvious advantages of reducing climate sensitive methane
emissions 3 from manure and organic wastes (landfills) and additionally reducing carbon dioxide emissions through the substitution of fossil fuels utilising biogas for cogeneration of heat and power.
Some arguments for the implementation of biogas upgrading and injection into the natural gas grid are
as follows (mainly summarised in [6]):

As long as a connection with a sufficient capacity to the natural gas grid exists, all upgraded biogas can be accommodated in the grid. If the production is too high for the actual use, the gas is
transported to users further away.

Upgraded biogas could be used in the wide range of existing natural gas appliances for heating,
power production, combined heat and power production, cooling and refrigeration or as vehicle
fuel. Existing standards for the efficient use of natural gas will remain for biogas. Therefore, all
produced biogas will find an application with high energy efficiency.

The connection to the natural gas grid could ensure optimal dimensioning and loading for biogas
production plants. Interruptions in the production, e.g. for maintenance or by temporary lack of
biomass, would not effect local users.

Similar to green electricity, green gas could be sold to certain users. Green electricity could be
generated from green gas far away from where it is produced.

The existing natural gas grid and linked storage facilities provide a buffering of daily and seasonal
fluctuations of the gas demand. Injected biogas can benefit from the existing structure. A connection to the natural gas grid therefore will provide the possibility for peak shaving. Thus, 100% of
the biogas can be used for energy recovery.

gasification and/or pyrolysis

methane gas has an 21 times higher Global Warming Potential (GWP) than the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide

Biogas and gas from biomass may cover 10 - 30 % of the future 4 natural gas demand across
Europe and could therefore contribute to the security of gas supply in Europe, which is
increasingly dependent on imports [12].

Nevertheless, the following arguments should also be considered related to the transmission of biogas
in the natural gas grid and the application of biogas upgrading technologies 5 :

High energy efficiency is defined by a high degree of power generation from the available energy
content of the biogas and a subsequent use of the produced waste heat. In this context, priority
should be given to the decentralised co-generation of heat and electricity on-site at the biogas
plant with a high degree of heat utilisation. The build-up or extension of joint district heating and
cooling systems will allow an efficient use of the produced heat energy.

The security of supply of local consumers can also be ensured on-site at the gas production
plant. Current biogas installations are equipped with biogas storage facilities, which adjust
imbalances in the gas production as well as short interruptions due to maintenance
performances. State-of-the-art control devices for the microbiological process and intelligent
feedstock load management nowadays can assure a stable process of biogas production.

Upgrading technologies do not necessarily need to obtain natural gas specifications. New and
existing appliances, which are adapted to biogenous gases, can reduce the need for gas processing. In this context, the build-up of independent local gas networks may be feasible.

Partial treatment of raw biogas (e.g. the removal of hydrogen sulphide and ammonia) could be
reasonable considering exhaust emissions and appliance life-time issues.

An extensive implementation of biogas injection will promote the expansion of the natural gas
grid. EUROSOLAR 6 states, that the general extension of energy transmission networks in the
European Union and neighbour states will reinforce the dependency on nuclear and fossil energy
sources and in this regard subsidise large-scale power plants [13]. The extension of the natural
gas grid will lead to a changed proportion of primary energy supply and enhance the market
situation of this fossil fuel. The contribution of biogas to the security of gas supply is depending on
the future energy demand and the structure of energy sources. Shares of biogas and gas from
biomass between 10 - 30% of the future natural gas demand, as mentioned in [12], have no significance without designation of underlying total values of expected natural gas demand. Anyhow,
the actual target should be the total substitution of fossil fuels by renewable energy sources.

Upgraded biogas also can be distributed as vehicle fuel without connection to the natural gas
grid. Existing applications have shown this in practice 7 . Public transport vehicles represent a
dedicated potential for this application.

~ 2030 - 2050

see also chapter 11

European Association for Renewable Energies, Bonn, Germany

see chapter 9

Upgrading of biogas is linked to energy losses in terms of electricity demand and small losses of
the greenhouse gas methane. Electricity is the only universal form of energy. Assuming the
overall efficiency of the current structure of electricity generation in Germany of around 35% with
very low shares of combined heat and power generation, electricity required for the upgrading
process would equal to three times higher demand of primary energy. If the upgrading process
requires 5% of the energy content of the upgraded gas, nearly 15% of the gas energy will be lost
in the upgrading process.

The present report shall give a survey of essential biogas treatment steps and available upgrading
technologies, current quality requirements for injection into the existing natural gas grid, utilisation
possibilities for upgraded biogas as well as upgrading by-products. Besides the description of actual
developments and tendencies in Europe, the economic feasibility of the implementation of biogas upgrading technologies shall be discussed on the basis of the German framework example.

BIOGAS COMPOSITION AND PROPERTIES

2.1

Biogas composition

Biogas is a gas mixture which is formed by various types of micro-organisms through the degradation
of organic matter under anaerobic 8 conditions. In nature this process occurs in all places where air is
excluded from organic matter.
Biogas consists of approximately two thirds of methane (CH4), one third of carbon dioxide (CO2), small
amounts of hydrogen sulfide (H2S), water vapour and ammonia (NH3) as well as traces of other gases.
Hydrogen sulphide results from the conversion of sulphurous components, while ammonia is the product of the degradation of nitrogenous components. Usually, ammonia concentrations in biogas are
rather low, due to its high solubility in water.
Technical applications for the production of biogas are as follows:
Sewage treatment plants: Sewage sludge from aerobic wastewater treatment plants is
anaerebically digested to stabilise the sewage and reduce its volume. The utilisation of
methane from sewage sludge digestion plants is used in large scale in many countries.
Extensive knowledge exists about this technology.
Landfills: Landfills contain considerable amounts of organic matter. Landfill gas production
through anaerobic conversion starts as soon as all atmospheric oxygen is consumed by the
aerobic degradation of the organic content. The biogas production peaks at about 20 years
after closure and continues for more than 50 years [6]. The landfill gas composition varies over
the active period. The gas is collected by vertical or horizontal perforated tubes and filtered.
The use of landfill gas as a source of energy is an important step to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions to the atmosphere. The best alternative to avoid these emissions would be to
separate organic matter from municipial waste before landfilling 9 . The digestion of this
material in biogas plants could help to close the natural nutrient and carbon dioxide cycle (see
below).
Biogas plants: Anaerobic digestion processes can be applied to clean high-concentration
waste waters from food processing industries, to produce energy from the organic fraction of
municipial waste or from animal waste slurries. Due to the different properties of the above
mentioned substrates, there are special digester configurations and operation modes for each
application.
8

anaerobic: free of gaseous and dissolved oxygen

in Germany obligatory as of 2005

Depending on the raw material and the digestion process, the composition of the produced biogas will
vary. Table 2-1 gives an overview of characteristic ranges of methane contents for different technical
applications for the production of biogas.

Biogas from

Methane content [vol%]

Agricultural wastes

55 75

Sewage sludge

60 70

Organic high-concentration waste waters

50 85

Organic fractions of municipial waste

55 65

Municipial waste in landfills

35 60

Table 2-1: Typical range of methane contents for technical applications [14] (supplemented)

Special features of biogas compositions for selected applications shall be discussed subsequently.

Biogas from agricultural wastes

For farm and large scale digestion plants, the major biomass resource is animal manure. Most of
these biogas plants are fed with additional organic wastes from agriculture or the food processing
industry to increase biogas production.
Due to high amounts of sulphurous components in animal manure, the biogas contains considerable
amounts of hydrogen sulphide (up to 0,5 vol%). Ammonia content will be increased if nitrogene rich
material is digested. Other contaminants are negligible.

Biogas from landfills and from sewage treatment plants

Due to the multitude of different waste components (landfills) and substances in waste waters
(sewage treatment plants) there are various trace components which can volatilise and enrich in the
produced biogas. The most problematic trace components are hydrogen sulphide, halogenated hydrocarbons (particularly chloro- and fluoro-compounds) as well as silicon compounds [15]. For landfills
there is additionally the possibility that the biogas contains considerable amounts of oxygen and
nitrogen which result from leaks in the transport system or a discharge of air through the landfill.

2.2

Biogas properties

Table 2-2 shows a comparison of the characteristics of biogas and natural gas.

Key numbers

Unit

Natural gas 10

Biogas 11

CH4 (methane)

vol%

91,0

55 - 70

C2H6 (ethane)

vol%

5,1

C3H8 (propane)

vol%

1,8

C4H10 (butane)

vol%

0,9

C5+ (pentane)

vol%

0,3

CO2 (carbon dioxide)

vol%

0,61

30 - 45

N2 (nitrogen)

vol%

0,32

0-2

H2S (hydrogen sulfide)

ppm

~1

~ 500

NH3 (ammonia)

ppm

~ 100

Water dewpoint

< -5

saturated

39,2

23,3

10,89

6,5

MJ/kg

48,4

20,2

Density

kg/Nm3

0,809

1,16

Relative density

Net calorific value

MJ/Nm

kWh/Nm

Upper Wobbe index

0,625

0,863

54,8

27,3

49,6

25,1

73

~ 135

MJ/Nm

Lower Wobbe index

MJ/Nm

Methane number

Theoretical air requirement

Nm /Nm gas

10,4

6,22

Adiabatic flame temperature

2040

1911

Water dewpoint (flue gas)

59,7

59,2

Water vapour (flue gas)

vol%

18,8

19,3

Table 2-2: Characteristics of different fuel gases [8] (supplemented)

Due to its content of hydrogen sulphide and (in certain cases) halogenated hydrocarbons, the
combustion of raw biogas causes problems through formation of acids, which can corrode metallic
surfaces [15]. Silicon compounds result in silicate fouling 12 , which can cause damage on engines,
exhaust pipes and catalytic converters [15].

10

natural gas which is distributed in the Danish gas grid.

11

for calculation of flue gas data, physical properties and combustion key numbers the biogas composition:

65 vol% CH4 and 35 vol% CO2 is used.

12

fouling (in general): formation of deposits/layers on surfaces

Latest findings point to the fact that ammonia concentrations in the range of a few 10 ppm affect the
ignition properties of biogas during the combustion in CHP engines [16].
Carbon dioxide, the second largest component of biogas, is an inert gas which lowers the calorific
value. In order to obtain natural gas specifications or to reduce storage capacity for the use as vehicle
fuel, carbon dioxide has to be removed.
Biogas from anaerobic digesters is saturated with water vapour and might contain dust particles and
foam.

UPGRADING OF BIOGAS

Upgrading of biogas to natural gas quality requires a number of steps. Usually at first, water vapour,
H2S and other potential contaminants have to be removed. Accepted techniques for these treatment
steps are reviewed in chapter 3.1 Gas cleaning. Depending on the configuration of special upgrading
technologies, certain treatment steps can be omitted, if these processes are insensitive to the gas
components or can remove them trouble-free together with the carbon dioxide. The actual upgrading
process is basically a separation of methane and carbon dioxide of the pre-cleaned biogas, in order to
obtain the caloric value, Wobbe index and relative density which is required for the appropriate use.
Widely used techniques for the removal of carbon dioxide are dicussed in chapter 3.2 Upgrading
technologies.
If the gas is meant for input in a natural gas grid, the gas has to be compressed and dried to the
condensation point of the ground temperature at the actual pressure. Dust and (halogenated)
hydrocarbons also have to be removed. If the gas is injected into a low pressure pipe of the natural
gas distribution grid it needs to be odorised 13 for safety reasons [3].

13

odorising: addition of small amounts of sulphurous substances (tetrahydrotiophen or mercaptans) to the gas,

which can be easily detected by the strong smell in case of gas leaks

10

3.1

Gas cleaning

The removal of water, hydrogen sulphide and other possible contaminants is required for all commonly
used gas appliances like boilers, CHP-engines, vehicles or the distribution in the natural gas grid.
Table 3-1 shows qualitative requirements for the removal of main components from biogas according
to its applications.

Application

H2S

CO2

H2O

Gas heater (boiler)

recommended

No

no

Stationary engine (CHP)

yes

No

no condensation

Vehicle fuel

yes

Recommended

yes

Natural gas grid

yes

Yes

yes

Table 3-1: Qualitative requirements for the removal of biogas components [7] (modified)

3.1.1

Removal of water

Removal methods for water are commonly based on separation of condensed water or gas drying by
absorption or adsorption processes. Together with water, other impurities such as foam, dust and
some ammonia can also be removed.
Biogas leaves the digester saturated by water at process temperature, which is higher than ambient
temperature. Thus condensation occurs immediately in the gas pipe. Condensation of water from
saturated or unsaturated gases appears on cold surfaces, when the temperature is below the
condensation point of the moisture in the gas. The maximum partial pressure of water vapour in gases
and gas mixtures, which is equal to the condensation point, depends on the temperature and the
overall pressure.
A commonly used method to remove condensate from the biogas is the installation of siphons or
condensate wells on the lowest point of the gas pipe. If a higher dehumidification is required for gas
appliances, the following drying principles can be used:
Drying by cooling: The biogas is cooled in heat exchangers and the condensed water is separated
from the gas. Normally a chiller is used for refrigeration. The condensation point can only be lowered
to approx. 1C due to problems with freezing on the heat exchangers surface. To achieve lower
condensation points, the gas has to be compressed before cooling and then expanded to the desired
pressure.

11

Absorption drying
Water can be absorbed with glycol, tri-ethylene-glycol or hygroscopic salts [6]. The drier consists of an
absorption vessel filled with these salt granules. The wet gas is fed from the bottom and the salt is dissolved as it absorbs water [6]. The saturated salt solution is withdrawn and replaced by new granules
[6] or pumped into a regeneration unit to be regenerated by heating to a temperature of approx. 200C
[17].

Adsorption drying
Water vapour is adsorbed and reversibly 14 bound on the surface of drying agents like silica gel. Alternative adsorption materials are e.g. activated carbon, molecular sieves, aluminium oxide or magnesium oxide [6] [17]. An adsorption drier normally consists of two vessels filled with drying agents which
are switched between adsorption and regeneration mode.
Regeneration can be performed in different ways:

by evaporation of water by heating [17]

using a minor amout of dried, depressurised gas, if drying is performed at elevated

pressure [6]

using air and a vacuum pump, if drying is performed at atmospheric pressure [6]

The latter method has the disadvantage of mixing air into the gas and is therefore not suitable for the
drying of biogas [6].

14

reversibly: the process can take place in both directions: binding to and release from a surface

12

Removal of hydrogen sulphide

There are various techniques for the removal of hydrogen sulphide with a wide range of removal
efficiencies. Basically H2S can be removed either in the digester, from the raw biogas or in the actual
upgrading process. Table 3-2 shows several possible removal techniques.

Removal category

Removal technique

Principle

In-situ removal

oxygen/air dosing

biological oxidation

FeCl3 dosing

chemical reaction

FeSO4 dosing

chemical reaction

Fe2O3 pellets

chemical adsorption

membrane separation

physical separation

biological treatment

biological oxidation

activated carbon

physical/chemical adsorption

sodium hydroxide scrubbing

chemical absorption

polyethylene glycol scrubbing

physical absorption

water scrubbing without regeneration

physical absorption

Raw gas treatment

Upgrading technology

Table 3-2: Overview of different H2S removal techniques

In-situ removal techniques

Hydrogen sulphide removal techniques which operate directly in the digester (or alternatively in the
effluent storage system) are commonly used and very cost effective.

Air/oxygen dosing to the biogas system

The easiest way to remove considerable amounts of H2S directly in the digester is the addition of small
amounts of oxygen (approximately 5% of the gas production as atmospheric air, depending on the
H2S content). Specialised aerobic mirco-organisms, which require a liquid-wetted surface, oxidise H2S
to mainly elementary sulphur by the following reaction:

2 H2S + O2 2 S + 2 H2O .

The elementary sulphur formed is discharged with the digested material or remains in the digester on
inner surfaces. The only equipment for this technique is an air pump and an easy monitoring system to
control the air flow. There are no special operational costs. A reduction of H2S levels down to 20 - 100
ppm and removal efficiencies between 80 - 99% have been achieved in operating biogas plants [17].
H2S levels obtained from this treatment technique are sufficient for a direct use of biogas in gas
engines, but are mostly too high for the use as a substitute of natural gas or vehicle fuel. Due to the
addition of air during the removal process, nitrogen will occur in the cleaned biogas which could
conflict with natural gas specifications.
Biological H2S removal has been widely used in farm-based applications in Germany and Denmark.
13

This removal method should not be applied in ordinary steel reactors due to corrosion problems
caused by the addition of air. When a covered effluent bassin is used as biogas storage, air can alternatively be dosed into the gas storage.

Addition of iron chloride to the digester slurry

Iron ions, which are supplied by adding iron chloride to the digester, react with sulphide ions to
insoluble iron salts by the following reaction:

2 Fe2+ + 3 S2- 2 FeS + S.

Hydrogen sulphide levels down to 100 ppm can be reached with this method [17]. The investment
costs are rather low since the only equipment needed is a dosing system. Operational costs depend
on the total amount of H2S formed and can be too high if materials rich in sulphurous components are
digested.

Addition of iron sulphate to the digester slurry

This technique follows the same principles as the technique mentioned above. Iron ions, which are
supplied by adding iron sulphate to the digester, react with sulphide ions to form insoluble iron salts by
the following reaction:

Fe2+ + H2S FeS + 2H+.

A complete precipation of all the sulphide in the slurry demands a 4 - 5 times higher amount of iron
sulphate than the matter of sulphuric compounds [18]. This method is rather expensive for materials
rich in sulphurous components.

Treatment of the raw biogas

Adsorption using iron oxide pellets or mixtures of iron oxides

The conversion of H2S using iron oxides is a commonly used technique. The chemical reaction for the
use of Fe2O3 pellets is as follows:

3 H2S + Fe2O3 . 3 H2O Fe2S3 + 6 H2O.

Normally two circular reactor vessels filled with Fe2O3 pellets are used to provide a continuous operation with simultaneous adsorption in one vessel and regeneration in the second. Regeneration is
performed with oxygen and elementary sulphur is formed which remains adsorbed on the cleaning
material. Thus a reduction of the reactive surface occurs. In practice up to a loading of 25 % (by
weight) of elementary sulphur, a sufficient cleaning effect can be reached [19]. Used adsorption
material has to be replaced by fresh material.
Removal efficiencies of more than 99% can be reached for moderate H2S concentrations in the raw
gas. Even for higher concentrations (up to 5000 ppm H2S), concentrations below 100 ppm in the clean
gas can be assured for this system [19].
This technology is simple, cheap and easy to operate and maintain [17]. Disadvantages result from
great amounts of heat released during regeneration, which in worst case can cause spontaneous
ignition [20].The material is also sensitive against high water contents of the biogas. Further on, toxic
dust emissions can occur [17].

14

A similar technique, which is marked as SulfaTreat [6], uses naturally occuring mixtures of iron
oxides instead of iron oxide pellets. The SulfaTreat material is consumed and not regenerated [6].

Membrane separation
Hydrogen sulphide can be separated from the raw biogas using a semi-permeable membrane with a
high selectivity to this molecule. In this case only hydrogen sulphide can pass the membrane whereas
methane and carbon dioxide remain on the raw gas side. There is no data available about practical
applications of selective H2S membrane separation.
Biological treatment
This method for the removal of hydrogen sulphide from biogas uses the same principle as the biological in-situ removal technique mentioned earlier. The H2S is reduced by specialised aerobic mircoorganisms which oxidise H2S to elementary sulphur or sulphuric acid by the following reactions:
2 H2S + O2 2 S + 2 H2O.
H2S + 2 O2 H2SO4.
These micro-organisms are naturally available in the digester slurry. As for the biological oxidation in
the biogas reactor, the sulphur forming species of these micro-organisms is desired. For the biological
oxidation of hydrogen sulphide, filter vessels (columns) filled with plastic carriers are used. A liquid,
made up from gas condensate and liquid phase of digested slurry, is continuously or intermittently
recirculated into the top of the column.
Depending on the H2S concentration, 5 - 10 % by volume of air is mixed into the raw biogas coming
from the digester and fed into the bottom of the column. The micro-organisms, which are fixed on the
carrier material, convert the dissociated H2S mainly into elementary sulphur, if the pH-value is in the
neutral range. The circulated liquid is necessary to supply the micro-organisms with nutrients and
trace elements, to provide a wet environment and to allow the absorption and dissociation of the H2S.
The liquid also removes the formed sulphur from the filter material and therefore has to be replaced
from time to time.
Biological treatment installations have been widely utilised in Danish biogas plants since 1993 [6] [8].
Similar technical development is reported from a German institution [21]. Danish experience shows
that the H2S content can be reduced from 2000 - 3000 ppm down to 50 - 100 ppm [6]. Advantages of
this technique result from lower operational and investment costs compared to e.g. chemical cleaning
[6]. Regarding to natural gas standards, after-treatment could be required for this technology. The
addition of air (as for all biological removal methods) could conflict with natural gas standards.

15

Adsorption on activated carbon

Hydrogen sulphide can be removed by either chemical or physical adsorption on activated carbon.
For chemical adsorption, H2S is adsorbed on activated carbon, which is impregnated with potassium
iodide (KI) or sulphuric acid (H2SO4) [6]. The adsorption is catalytic and the carbon acts as catalyst.
H2S is oxidised with air-oxygen to elementary sulphur by the following reaction:
2 H2S + O2 2 S + 2 H2O.
The reaction works best at a pressure of 7 - 8 bar and a temperature of between 50 - 70 C [7]. Biogas
cleaning by chemisorption on activated carbon can be operated with or without regeneration of the adsorbent. The latter is the most common method for this technique [6]. At higher input concentrations of
H2S (> 3000 ppm) the process normally is designed as a regenerative system [7]. Regeneration is
done in one of two reaction vessels with hot nitrogen or steam. The sulphur will be vaporised and,
after cooling, will liquefy at approximately 130C [6]. Due to the addition of air during the cleaning
process, nitrogen will occur in the cleaned biogas, which could conflict with natural gas specifications.
Chemi-sorption on activated carbon is best suitable for gases with a low or moderate content of H2S.
Physical adsorption, which only leads to a binding of the hydrogen sulphide to the surface of the activated carbon, is suitable for biogas with a higher amount of hydrogen sulphide, but no oxygen. When
activated carbon cleaning processes operate at ambient temperature, the carbon will adsorb considerable amounts of moisture from the gas, which means losses in capacity for the H2S removal. This
can be minimised by keeping the relative humidity of the gas at around 50 %, which means to keep
the temperature approx. 10 K over the condensation point temperature of the gas.

Absorption by sodium hydroxide scrubbing

The absorption liquid used for this removal method is a water solution of sodium hydroxide (NaOH).
Adding chemicals to the water results in a greatly enhanced absorption capacity compared to pure
water. NaOH reacts in an absorption column with hydrogen sulphide to form sodium sulphide or
sodium hydrogen sulphide [7]. The formed salts have to be disposed and cannot be regenerated.
Advantage of this technique compared to water scrubbing processes (see chapter 3.2.3) is a lower
requirement for column volumes and less pumping demands.
The disadvantage is the disposal of large volumes of water contaminated with sodium sulphide [7]. For
large anaerobic digestion plants this method may become economically more feasible [17]. There is
no data available regarding removal efficiencies or reachable output levels of H2S.
Absorption by a selective polyethylene glycol scrubbing
Polyethylene glycol scrubbing is a purely physical absorption process (see chapter 3.2.3).The cost for
selective hydrogen sulphide removal by this method has not yet shown to be competitive [7]. A simultaneous removal of carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulphide in the actual upgrading process is basically
possible. Disadvantages of a common removal of CO2 and H2S are discussed in chapter 3.2.3.

16

H2S removal in the actual upgrading process

As shown in the following chapter 3.2, different upgrading technologies are able to remove hydrogen
sulphide together with the carbon dioxide. Nevertheless, in most cases a pre-cleaning of H2S is recommended due to operational or energy aspects.
Only the water scrubbing process without regeneration of the wash water seems to be able to treat uncleaned biogas with moderate amounts of hydrogen sulphide (see chapter 3.2.3).

3.1.2

Removal of other contaminants

The content of traces of other contaminants highly depends on the raw material and the production
process. The most relevant substances and their cleaning technologies available shall be shortly
discussed below.

Particles
Particles are common in biogas, but can be removed together with separated water. If a higher purity
is required for the appropriate application, dust cyclones or particle filters have to be used.

Halogenated hydrocarbons
Halogenated hydrocarbons, particularly chloro- and fluoro-compounds, can be removed with
impregnated activated carbon. In this process small molecules like methane, carbon dioxide, nitrogen
and oxy-gen pass through, while larger molecules are adsorbed [6].

Ammonia
Ammonia can, if required at all, be removed with activated carbon units. There are also some
upgrading processes, for example adsorption processes and water scrubbing, which are able to
remove ammonia [6]. However, some ammonia will already be removed together with water
condensate.

Organic silicon compounds

Organic silicon compounds, which can cause severe damages to gas driven engines through silicate
fouling, can be removed by absorption, adsorption or condensation processes.
Absorption techniques are usually applied as counter flow columns with or without regeneration of the
washing liquid [19]. As washing liquids, light fuel oil or organic solvents with special ability to absorb
the silicon compounds are used [19].
For the removal of silicon compounds by means of adsorption, activated carbon is employed. To prevent a water saturation of the activated carbon, the biogas has to be heated before the actual treatment or to be dried by means of condensation.

17

Another removal possibility is the condensation of the main silicon components at condensation point
temperatures - around 30C [19].
3.2
3.2.1

Upgrading technologies
Membrane separation

Membrane separation is based on selective permeability of membranes for different fluid components.
In the case of gas separators, each gaseous component of the mixture has a characteristic
permeation rate through the given membrane material. The rate is highly dependent on the ability of
the gas to dissolve in and diffuse through a polymeric membrane of given characteristics [5]. The
driving force for the flux of each component is the difference in partial pressure over the membrane.
In order to obtain a high methane recovery and purity, the membrane has to have a good selectivity,
which means that the difference in permeability of methane and carbon dioxide must be high.
Membranes can be constructed as hollow fibre modules, which have the advantage of a large surface
per volume and hence form compact units [6]. Several polymers can be used for solid membranes.
For acetate-cellulose, the permeability of CO2 is 20 times higher and the permeability of H2S is 60
times higher than for methane [6].
Membrane separation systems can be classified by the pressure level which is required to separate
the gas components.

High pressure gas separation

Pressurised gas in the range of 25 - 40 bar [6] which has been cleaned from hydrogen sulphide, halogenated hydrocarbons, particles and oil vapour from the compressors is heated and fed to the membrane modules.
Membranes made of acetate-cellulose separate small molecules such as carbon dioxide, moisture
and the remaining hydrogen sulphide, but are not effective in separating nitrogen from the biogas [7].
For membrane separation systems there is a general conflict between high methane yield 15 and high
methane purity in the upgraded gas.
The purity usually is improved by increasing the number of modules, but a larger amount of methane
will permeate through the membranes and is therefore lost [6]. In practice the biogas is upgraded in 3 4 stages to obtain progressively a clean gas with 96% methane or more [7].

15

methane yield is defined as percentage of the amount of methane in the clean gas to the amount of methane in

the feed gas

18

The methane yield can be improved by recirculation of a part of permeated CO2-enriched gas. In the
case of several modules connected in series, different recirculation operation methods are described
in literature. According to [7] for a 3 stage membrane system, the waste gas from the first two stages
is recycled for methane recovery, the waste gas from the last stage is flared or used in steam boilers
as it still contains 10 to 20% methane. According to [6], the best result is obtained with recirculation of
only the permeated gas from the last module.
The following advantages result from the use of high pressure membrane separation systems: Simple
techniques and operation [17] as well as no need for further compression prior to its introduction to a
gas grid [6]. Disadvantages are the relatively low efficiencies of single modules [6] [17] and the high
energy input for compression and high temperature that are needed [17].

Low pressure gas separation

Due to information of the supplying company, a low pressure membrane system, operating on 9 bar
gas pressure, is available on the market. Reference plants have been in operation for several years.
There is no information available about technical details. Besides this technology, different systems in
the field of low pressure gas separation are still being developed.
One technique focuses on gas-liquid absorption. The essential element is a microporous hydrophobic
membrane separating the gaseous from the liquid phase, which is reported to have a very high selectivity and to operate at approximately atmospheric pressure [6]. Gas molecules which are able to diffuse through the membrane (H2S, CO2) will be absorbed on the other side by the counter-flowing
liquid. For the removal of carbon dioxide an amine solution is used as absorbent, which can be regenerated by heating. The released CO2 is pure and can be sold for industrial applications [7].
The advantage of this technique, operating at low pressure, is a low-cost construction [7]. However,
this technique could not be applied successfully so far in practice.
A second low pressure pilot plant, which applied the hollow fibre membrane type and worked with 8
bar on the raw gas side, was operated from 1996 [5]. The described pilot plant was arranged as a two
stage cascade with recirculation of the permeated gas from the second stage. The gain of methane is
reported to be optimised by regulating the back-pressure of the residue gas in stage two, regulating
the flow of permeate from both stages. There is no information about upscaling or practical implementation.

3.2.2

Pressure Swing Adsorption

Pressure Swing Adsorption, or PSA, is a method for the separation of carbon dioxide from methane by
adsorption/desorption of carbon dioxide on molecular sieves (zeolites from carbon, activated carbon)
at different pressure levels. Operating pressures between 6 - 10 bar for the adsorption step are usually
applied [7] [19].

19

Molecular sieves have excellent properties to separate a number of different gaseous compounds in
biogas. The difference in the attraction force of various molecules to the surface of the fixed material is
utilised to separate the biogas components [22]. Molecules like carbon dioxide, oxygen, nitrogen,
water vapour and hydrogen sulphide can be adsorbed by these materials.
Only hydrogen sulphide has to be removed from the raw gas, since it is irreversibly 16 bound to the adsorption material. The other molecules mentioned are loosely (reversibly) adsorbed in the cavities of
the carbon sieve [7]. To avoid a saturation of the molecular sieve with water, the raw biogas has to be
dried before it enters the upgrading process.
PSA upgrading systems usually consist of four adsorber vessels. The process operates continuously
by linking these vessels in an alternating cycle. The process in each bed successively passes the
following stages: adsorption, depressurisation, desorption and pressurisation.

Figure 3-1: Schematic flow sheet of a PSA process using a 4-bed adsorber [7]
During the adsorption phase, pressurised biogas enters from the bottom into the adsorber vessel and
flows through the bed of adsorption material, which will be loaded mainly with carbon dioxide, but also
small amounts of methane. The gas leaving the top of the vessel contains more than 97% methane
[6]. Before the material is completely saturated, the process is switched to another adsorption vessel
which has been regenerated and pressurised.
The saturated material from the first bed is regenerated by a stepwise depressurisation, first through a
pressure balance with an already regenerated adsorber vessel, then through depressurisation to
atmospheric pressure and further to near vacuum conditions by a vacuum pump.
The first step of balancing the pressure is in order to reduce the energy consumption for gas compression [7]. The gas leaving the vessel during the second depressurisation step down to atmospheric
pressure still contains methane and is therefore recycled into the feed stream. During the last step of
the regeneration process, mainly carbon dioxide is evacuated by a vacuum pump and released to the
atmosphere. It is estimated that the carbon dioxide contains less than 2% of methane [22].

16

irreversibly: the process takes place in one direction only: irreversibly bound molecules can not be released by

reducing the pressure

20

3.2.3

Absorption of carbon dioxide without chemical reaction

Physical absorption processes for the removal of carbon dioxide basically make use of the different
solubilities of the gaseous components of biogas in an absorption liquid. As an example, the solubility
of carbon dioxide in water is 55 times higher than the solubility of methane [19]. Hydrogen sulphide
has a much higher solubility in water than the named components. The solubility increases with
increasing pressure.
Absorption processes are also called washing or scrubbing processes, since soluble gas components
are washed out by the absorption liquid. There are different absorption liquids (solvents) and two
fundamental operation modes applied which will be reviewed below.

Removal of carbon dioxide by water scrubbing

Biogas upgrading by water scrubbing can either be operated with regeneration of the washing water
and re-use in a closed system or without regeneration through a single pass flow.
The following characteristics are common for both operation modes: Cleaned biogas is compressed to
approximately 10 bar and fed into the bottom of the absorption column which is equipped with random
packed material to give a large surface for gas-liquid contact and equipment for the collection and redistribution of the water [6]. Water is counter-flowing from the top of the column. During the flushing of
the biogas, mainly carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulphide are absorbed and the methane content of
the gas increases till it reaches the top of the column. The product gas leaving the vessel is saturated
with water and has to be dried.
Methane is partly soluble in pressurised water and therefore some methane will be washed out with
the water. To minimise methane losses, the water is depressurised in two steps: After leaving the absorption column, the water is depressurised in a flash tank to approx. 4 bar. The released gas, which
is rich in methane, is recycled to the compressor inlet.
For systems with wash water regeneration, the water is further depressurised to atmospheric pressure
and fed into the top of a desorption column, which is also equipped with random packed material. Air
is blown from the bottom to remove the dissolved carbon dioxide from the water. The carbon dioxide
rich gas is either released directly to the atmosphere or fed into a biofilter to remove odours.
The regenerated water is cooled down to the absorption temperature and pumped back into the absorption column.
A preliminary removal of hydrogen sulphide is recommended, since the hydrogen sulphide, which has
a very high solubility in water, is also absorbed in the water. The dissolved hydrogen sulphide can not
be removed completely in the desorption column. Furthermore, a part of this component is oxidised
with air to elementary sulphur, which can accumulate and cause problems with plugging and fouling
after some period of operation [6].
21

For systems without wash water regeneration, the water coming from the flash tank is released to a
suitable disposal system. Due to the required high water flow, the use of fresh water causes high operational costs.
Therefore it is better to utilise water, that has no value and thus does not add to the operational costs.
A suitable application is the use of cleaned water from sewage water treatment plants [6]. This water
is sufficient for the use as solvent and can be returned to the waste water treatment system. Due to
the fact, that there is no sensitive treatment unit like the desorption column, it is not necessary to remove hydrogen sulphide from the raw biogas.

Figure 3-2: Schematic flow sheet of a water scrubbing process with regeneration of the wash water [6]

By water scrubbing processes, methane concentrations in the range of 96 98% can be reached.
Methane losses in the waste gas stream are estimated to be around 2% for this technology [22].

Removal of carbon dioxide by polyethylene glycol scrubbing

The principle of the polyethylene glycol scrubbing is the same as the water scrubbing process with regeneration of the wash water.
The difference between these two scrubbing processes is, that carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulphide
are more soluble in polyethylene glycol. This results in a lower solvent demand and reduced pumping
[7]. Polyethylene glycol furthermore has the advantage, that water and halogenated hydrocarbons can
be absorbed [7]. Thus the product gas has a low water content and normally does not need to be dried
[6]. The chemical is dissolved in water and has a low vapour pressure. This means that losses of chemicals are very low in the process [6]. One trade name of a solvent mainly consisting of a dimethylester of polyethylene glycol is Selexol [7]. Due to the formation of elementary sulphur by stripping the
saturated glycol solution with air, it is recommended to remove H2S with inert gas or by heating with

22

steam [6]. To minimise energy costs, it is therefore desirable to remove the H2S from the raw gas before it enters the absorption column.

3.2.4

Absorption of carbon dioxide with chemical reaction

Absorption processes with chemical reaction basically follow the same principles as physical absorption processes. According to [6] [23], the significant differences for chemical absorption processes are
as following: The gas components, which have to be removed, do not simply dissolve in the liquid but
chemically react and are therefore driven into solution. The solubility of the gas components is already
higher at lower partial pressures and increases with increasing pressure until a chemical saturation is
reached. During the absorption process, heat is produced by the reaction. The solvents have to be regenerated with low pressure steam, which is mostly produced by heating the desorption column. High
efficiencies regarding methane yield and purity can be reached. Both are close to 100% [6].
There are scores of different chemicals, which can be used as solvents. The main groups used in
industrial applications are alkanolamines and potassium carbonate solutions [23]. One of the most
feasible chemical absorbents is mono-ethanol-amine (MEA), an organic base in aqueous solution [6].
Advantages of this chemical are the high efficiency in removing carbon dioxide, and moderate costs
for the solvent. Furthermore, methane losses are low [22]. Disadvantages result from high capital
costs and additional measures (corrosion inhibitors, foaming agents) [6]. Further on, MEA can not
remove water, halogenated hydrocarbons or ammonia [6].

3.2.5

Cryogenic removal of carbon dioxide

There are at least two promising cryogenic techniques for the separation of carbon dioxide from biogas, but these could not be applied so far in practice.
One method is mentioned as a research project from Lund Institute of Technology, Sweden [6]:
Raw biogas is compressed in multi stage with intercooling to approximately 80 bar and after this dried
to avoid freezing in the following cooling step. The biogas is cooled with chillers and heat exchangers
to -45C. Condensed carbon dioxide is removed in a separator and is further processed to recover dissolved methane, which is recycled to the gas inlet. The gas is further cooled to approximately -55C by
heat exchangers and is expanded through a Joule-Thompson nozzle into an expansion vessel. The
conditions in this vessel are 8 - 10 bar and a temperature of approximately -110C.
In the expansion vessel a gas-solid phase equilibrium is established. The solid phase is frozen carbon
dioxide. The gas phase consists of more than 97% methane. It is heated by passing different heat exchangers which cool down the raw biogas entering the process and the gas stream entering the JouleThompson nozzle.

23

Figure 3-3: Schematic flow sheet of a cryogenic separation process [6]

The second cryogenic technique is only incompletely documented for patent rights reasons [19] [24].
The raw biogas is compressed to 200 bar. Then trace components like H2S are adsorbed on molecular sieves. The liquefied mixture is fed to a distillation unit and separated into liquid CO2 and liquid as
well as gaseous methane in the volume ratio 80/20 [24].
According to [24] the following product properties will be reached: Liquid methane with a purity of
99,95%, which has to be stored in super insulated cryo-tanks at -161C under atmospheric pressure,
gaseous methane with the same purity and liquid carbon dioxide which can be stored in pressure
tanks (20 bar at room temperature) until further utilisation.

24

QUALITY STANDARDS FOR UPGRADED BIOGAS

When biogas is fed into the natural gas grid, the resulting gas quality in the grid has to fullfil the local
quality requirements. Basically this aim can be reached by two approaches.
One approach is to inject non-upgraded or partly upgraded gas to arrange that the resulting mixture in
the grid meets the local requirements. This approach requires an adequate feedback measuring and
control system [6] to provide for the flow and gas composition of the downstream gas. This kind of
application was employed in Germany (adding town gas to the grid) and the Netherlands (adding offspec 17 natural gas) [6]. However, this approach often finds considerable resistance [6].
The second approach is the injection of upgraded gas, which already meets the local requirements.
Subsequently, European quality standards and requirements for natural gas and its substitutes shall
be discussed.

Quality standards
Gas quality standards are basically defined by requirements for combustion and compositional
properties as well as transport and environmental specifications. Thereby the latter is related to the
minor components in the gas.
There is a large worldwide consensus of the gas quality, partly formalised and partly informal, often
exceeding the formal regulations [6]. Except for the Wobbe index 18 , the de-facto quality standard for
all natural gases and their substitutes is the same [6]. The most complete description is issued by the
Deutsche Vereinigung des Gas- und Wasserfaches (DVGW) on the Arbeitsblatt 260: Gasbeschaffenheit [25]. This publication describes natural gas and all gases that can replace it. This can be e.g.
synthetic natural gas, propane/air mixtures, propane-enriched gases, addition of flue gases for calorific
value mitigation, gas from coal gasification as well as upgraded biogas.
There are also International Standard Organisation (ISO) standards on gas quality, which are restricted to describing the format of the quality designation, often without giving quantitative limits [6]. As the
most relevant standards can be mentioned [6]:

Quality designation:

ISO 13868 Natural gas - Quality designation

ISO 13443 Natural gas - Standard reference conditions
ISO 15403 Natural gas - Designation of the quality of
natural gas for use as a compressed fuel for vehicles

Quality requirements: DVGW G 260 Gasbeschaffenheit

17

off-spec gas: gas out of permitted specifications

18

wobbe index is a measurement of the chemical energy of the gas when it passes a mouthpiece at a specific

pressure, see next page

25

The DVGW standard is based on a strict limitation of the Wobbe index range to be delivered to the
end-user and restrictions on individual component concentrations as far as necessary and practically
achievable [6]. There is also a complex European standard EN 437 which states corresponding
limitations and requirements on the Wobbe index in detail [6].

Combustion properties
There are two kinds of natural gases, which are distributed in Europe: low calorific (group L) and high
calorific (group H) gases. L gas originates mainly from the Groningen gas fields in the Netherlands
and has a high content of nitrogen [6]. High calorific gases (H) are mainly composed of methane, but
often contain some other hydrocarbons.
Table 4-1 gives a survey of the ranges of combustion properties which are allowed for natural gases
according to DVGW G 260.

Parameter

Unit

Upper Wobbe index

Gross calorific value
Relative density

19

MJ/Nm

37,8 - 46,8

46,1 - 56,5

Remarks [6]
Locally stricter conditions

MJ/Nm

30,2 47,2

Deviations are allowed

0,55 - 0,75

Deviations are allowed

Table 4-1: Combustion properties of H and L gases conform to DVGW G 260 [25]

The determining combustion parameter is the Wobbe index. Wobbe index (W) is defined by the calorific value (H) divided by the square root from the relative density ( d). Depending on the calorific value
used for the calculation, an upper or lower Wobbe index has to be specified.
The Wobbe index is a characteristic value for the exchangeability of gases and gas mixtures regarding
to the thermal loading of a gas appliance. Gas mixtures with the same Wobbe index have the same
combustion properties. Due to the fact that all natural gases have nearly the same combustion speed,
in practice the Wobbe index is used to adjust the thermal loading of a burner by regulation of the
nozzles pressure.
The following figures show maximum ranges of permitted Wobbe index in European countries (Figure
4-1) as well as maximum ranges of delivered Wobbe index (Figure 4-2), both for high calorific natural
gas (group H).

19

relative to air

26

Figure 4-1: Maximum range of permitted upper Wobbe index in Europe for natural gas H [6]

Figure 4-1 shows that the permitted Wobbe index (H gas) in European Union member states varies:
some countries follow DVGW G 260 specifications, others EN 437. There are only minor variations.

Figure 4-2: Maximum range of delivered upper Wobbe index in Europe for natural gas H [6]
(corrected)

27

Figure 4-2 points up that the Wobbe index which is actually delivered to the consumers, shows much
smaller variations than allowed in the national regulations. Except Spanish H gas, all delivered H gas
in Europe conforms to DVGW G 260 limitations.
According to DVGW G 260 it is important to keep the gas quality in a specific distribution grid within
minor variations. Large variations will cause problems in the combustion equipment [6]. Variations
between +2,5/-5,0 MJ/Nm3 are allowed for H gas [25]. Some national regulations are even stricter [6].

Transport, safety, utilisation and environmental requirements

These requirements are related to the minor components in the distribution gases. There is a worldwide consensus on gas composition and properties limits [6]. Table 4-2 gives a survey of requirements
on distribution H gas compositions and properties conform to DVGW G 260. Data mentioned in [6]
without designation of underlying standards widely corresponds with the DVGW standard.

Component or quality

Unit

Limit

Hydrogen

vol%

12

Carbon monoxide

vol%

Oxygen in dry gas grids

vol%

Oxygen in wet gas grids

vol%

0,5

Water and other liquids

not any liquid at any

pressure or temperature

Sulphur or sulphur

mg/Nm

30

20

(150)

Remarks

corrosion problems
also retrograde condensation is not allowed
(temporary variations)

containing components
Hydrogen sulphide

mg/Nm3

5 (10)

(temporary variations)

Mercaptans

mg/Nm3

6 (16)

(temporary variations)

Solids, dust

none

no quantification

Aromatic components
Ammonia
Hydrogen cyanide

g/Nm

not specified [10]

[data for L gas]

not specified [3]

[data for L gas]

not specified [150]

[data for L gas]

mg/Nm
mg/Nm

Table 4-2: Requirements on distribution (H) gas composition and properties conform DVGW G 260
[25]

20

years average without odorising compounds

28

Due to new developments (new materials, new sources of gas production) and special technical applications (gas turbines, fuel cells, gas engines) there are new requirements (Table 4-3), which shall not
be discussed in detail. Data is taken from [6]. There is no reference mentioned to national or international standards.

Component or quality

Unit

Alkali metals

ppm mol

Chlorine containing

Limit or range

Remarks

n.a.

gas turbines

mg/Nm

< 50

environment, corrosion

mg/Nm3

< 25

Environment

components (halogen)
Fluorine containing
components (halogen)
Methane number

70 - 100

Siloxanes

not detectable

deteriorating gas engines + turbine

Table 4-3: New requirements on distribution gas composition and properties [6]

Practical requirements for the use of upgraded biogas as vehicle fuel

The operation of natural gas powered vehicles requires a very constant gas quality, especially
regarding to Wobbe index and the methane level. Vehicle fuel gas is mostly stored at high pressure
and therefore has to fulfill strict limits regarding to the water content.
There is a Swedish standard (SS 155438) for biogas as an engine fuel which has been adapted to
ensure that filling and vehicle equipment developed for operation with natural gas can also be used
with biogas [22]. Detailled requirements are shown in Table 4-4. The standard is split into two
categories: type A is for vehicles without lambda regulation, type B is for engines with lambda
regulation.

Property

Type A

Type B

44,7

43,9

46,8

47,3

97 1

97 2

mg/Nm

32

32

O2, max.

vol%

1,0

1,0

CO2 + O2 + N2, max.

vol%

4,0

5,0

H2S, max.

mg/Nm3

23

23

Methanol

vol%

Lower Wobbe index, min.

Lower Wobbe index, max.
Methane
H2O, max.

Particles or fixed pollutants

Unit
MJ/Nm

MJ/Nm
vol%

Table 4-4: Extract from the Swedish standard SS 155438 for biogas for vehicle operation [22]

29

Engines with lambda () regulation (also called stoichiometric engines) are usually used in lighter
vehicles. The supply of combustion air is regulated according to the stoichiometric demand. Engines
without regulation are primarily used in heavy vehicles. They work according to the lean burn
principle with a high surplus of air and have a higher output than stoichiometric engines but are more
difficult to adapt to variations in Wobbe index or methane level [22]. Variations of + 0,9/ -0,8 MJ/m3
are stated in the Swedish standard SS 155438 as acceptable for vehicles with lean burn engines [6].
According to Table 4-4, the stricter A type limits have to be complied if the upgraded biogas is meant
for use in both engine types.
The comparison with the strict specifications for distribution grids according to DVGW G 260 shows a
wide accordance of the limiting figures. There are only minor deviations for gas components or allowed
variations of the Wobbe index 21 or varying declarations regarding to minor components in the gas.
It can be stated, that DVGW G 260 specifications for distribution grids and SS 155438 represent
similar requirements for the use of natural gas or upgraded biogas as a vehicle fuel. The Swedish
standard is more practical for upgrading of biogas, since it gives direct numbers for the content of
methane in the processed gas.

Specific national requirements for the injecting of biogas into the natural gas grid
Biogas has been injected into the natural H gas grid at a number of locations in Europe [6] (see chapter 9). Table 4-5 shows the requirements for the injection of biogas into the grid for the different countries with upgrading plants in operation.

Component

Unit

Switzerland

France

Sweden

(distribution grid)

vol%

> 96

> 88

> 97

(high pressure transmission grid)

vol%

100

32

Methane

> 60
3

Water

mg/Nm

Carbon dioxide

vol%

Oxygen

vol%

<3
< 0,5
3

Sulphur

mg/Nm

< 14,3

Hydrogen sulphide

mg/Nm3

<5

< 3,5

<1
< 23

<7

Table 4-5: National requirements for biogas that is to be injected into the natural gas grid [6]

21

notice: declaration of allowed ranges in DVGW G 260 refers to the upper Wobbe index, the Swedish standard

SS 155438 refers to the lower Wobbe index

30

DISTRIBUTION OF BIOGAS

Figure 5-1 illustrates fundamental options for the use of biogas from anaerobic digestion.

CHP plant

biogas plant

upgrading plant*

gas appliances

vehicles

natural gas grid

*degree of upgrading can vary

upgraded biogas (natural gas standard)

upgraded biogas (variable standards)
raw biogas

Figure 5-1: Fundamental possibilities for the utilisation of biogas

There are plenty of possible applications for biogas. The most common is utilisation of raw biogas in
co-generation plants nearby the production site for heat and power generation.
The main focus of recent public interest is the possibility of upgrading and injection into the natural gas
grid.
Theoretically, the only requirement for the injection of biogas to natural gas grid is fulfilment of the
appropriate quality standards 22 of the resulting mixture in the downstream gas. In effect, gas from
renewable energy sources can supply any consumer connected to the gas grid. Practical applications
will be household devices, combined heat and power plants or transport vehicles.

22

see chapter 4

31

Biogas, which has been upgraded to natural gas quality, can also be distributed as vehicle fuel without
connection to the natural gas grid. There are further solutions for the utilisation of biogas, which do not
find proper attention in literature or public statements. Biogas, after processing to a certain quality
level, could be fed into a separate local gas grid or used as a vehicle fuel 23 . One feasible option could
be the use of cleaned biogas as fuel for agricultural vehicles, e.g. to be used in tractors during the
summer, then for co-generation of heat and power during the winter, covering the appropriate energy
needs of an independent unit in rural areas. In cold periods, heat energy is required for space heating,
whereas in milder seasons vehicle fuel for agricultural activities will be needed more.

5.1

Distribution of biogas in the natural gas grid

As described in chapter 4, there are two possibilities to inject biogas into the natural gas grid. Table
5-1 shows a qualitative evaluation of relevant aspects regarding the injection of biogas to the natural
gas grid.

Aspect

Gas within specifications

Gas out of specifications

Reliability

high

Low

Flexibility

high

Low

Cost at production

high

Low

Cost of mixing

low

High

Acceptance

high

Low

Table 5-1: Aspects for the addition of upgraded or non upgraded biogas into the grid [4]

As can be seen in Table 5-1, the injection of biogas which does not conform to natural gas
specifications has low production costs as its only advantage. But even this point could balance other
disadvantages.
The connection to the natural gas grid should be located at a point where the gas flow is rather
constant over the day and the year [8]. This demand is best obtained at high and medium pressure
networks, but from both, a technical and economical point of view, connections should be made at the
low pressure network [8]. In case of the injection into a high or medium pressure transmission grid,
odorising is usually not necessary.

23

assuming, that the appropriate gas appliances are adapted to the supplied gas composition.

32

The injection of non- or partly-cleaned and upgraded biogas into the low pressure distribution grid is
widely limited by the Wobbe index of the resulting gas mixture as well as the content of minor gases
and contaminants. For this reason, this approach requires an adequate feedback measuring and
control system to provide for the flow and gas composition of the downstream gas [6]. However, the
injection of this gas often finds considerable resistance 24 [6]. Future development must show if this
application will find appropriate acceptance.
In principle, the injection of fully upgraded biogas is accepted. If the biogas is fed into a low pressure
distribution grid, it has to be odorised for safety reasons. Typical compounds for odorising are tetrahydrotiophen (THT) or mercaptans in concentrations in the range of 5 - 30 mg/m3 [6].
If the upgraded gas is delivered to the grid, which is close to the location where the natural gas is
odorised, then this odorising can in principle be adjusted to take into account the increased volume of
gas originating from the upgrading plant [6].
Figure 5-2 shows the maximum addition of upgraded or non-upgraded biogas to the natural gas (H)
grid due to Wobbe index requirements according to DVGW G 260.
For this calculation only the Wobbe index is considered as relevant parameter. For the injection of
non- or partly-upgraded biogas, there are also other parameters to ensure natural gas quality in the
down-stream gas flow according to the appropriate quality standards, e.g. the content of minor gases
and contaminants (see chapter 4).

24

besides this aspect, Klaas (DVGW) has formulated a general refusal of the injection of landfill gas, to avoid

dioxins in the natural gas grid [26]

33

60

Upper Wobbe index [MJ/Nm 3]

55

nominal
value
DVGW
G 260

allowed variation in the distribution grid

50
45
40
35
30
25
20
0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

percentage natural gas in the mixture

raw biogas 25

85%

97%

limits

Figure 5-2: Upper Wobbe index for different mixtures of biogas and natural gas (H) in relation to
DVGW G 260 standard specifications 25

Exemplarily, biogas with different gas compositions is considered to be injected to the natural gas (H)
grid: Raw biogas with 65 % vol methane, partly upgraded biogas with 85 % vol and upgraded biogas
with 97 % vol methane. Wobbe index in the gas grid is assumed as the nominal value according to
DVGW G 260 [25].
As can be seen in Figure 5-2, the injection of non or partly upgraded biogas to the natural gas grid is
limited to relatively low shares in the gas mixture, due to its low Wobbe index caused by the presence
of inert carbon dioxide. For example the injection of raw biogas is only feasible up to a biogas share of
approx. 30 % vol of the downstream gas in the pipe, to ensure the lower Wobbe index limit. The
injection of biogas with 85 % vol methane is theoretically possible up to a biogas share of approx. 48
% vol of the resulting gas mixture.
Considering the stricter limitations for Wobbe index variations in local distribution grids, these figures
move to slightly lower shares of biogas in the downstream gas mixture.
Only upgraded biogas with 97 % vol methane may totally substitute natural gas with a nominal Wobbe
index value of 54,0 MJ/Nm3 in the local distribution grid.
The conclusion of Figure 5-2 is, that only fully upgraded biogas (96 % vol methane or more) will meet
the Wobbe index requirements according to DVGW G 260, even the stricter requirements for local
distribution grids.

25

raw gas with 65% methane

34

The delivered Wobbe index in distribution grids varies from gas supplier to gas supplier. Furthermore,
agreements between biogas supplier and the grid operator will determine details regarding biogas
quality and quantity, as well as quality control and measurement of the amount of energy delivered [6].
The European legislation generally states that the operator of the grid is responsible for the safe
operation of the grid and he thereby has to set the standards for the gas that is introduced into the
grid. The grid operator is also responsible for the gas quality in the grid [6].
Due to the relatively small amounts of biogas which will be produced and fed into the grid and to reduce instrumentation costs, the process control and gas quality measurements are often combined [6].
Figure 5-3 shows a typical design of the instrumentation for a biogas plant with upgrading and
injection into the gas grid.

Figure 5-3: Control and measurement instrumentation for the injection of gases to the grid [6]

A single set of instruments performs all tasks: process control, quality control and energy
measurement of the delivered gas as well as safety shut-off functions [6].

5.2

Distribution as vehicle fuel at local filling stations

Besides injection into the natural gas grid, upgraded biogas can also be provided at a separate filling
station nearby the biogas production plant. In practice, local distribution as vehicle fuel could often be
combined with connection to the natural gas grid to allow a more flexible and assured gas supply. If
the biogas filling station is in sight of the production site, the ecological aspect of this vehicle fuel can
be credibly marketed, and this will lead to a higher acceptance of the biogas technology.
35

The filling pressure for vehicle gas tanks is usually 200 bar.

Slow fill fuelling stations

Figure 5-4: Simplified design of a slow fill fuelling station [27] (supplemented)

Slow fill fuelling stations are of a simple construction and thus give low investment costs. The filling
procedure takes about 5 7 hours. Over-night-filling is suitable for this application. Slow filling stations
are most suitable for cars with constant fuel demand and regular operation times. Public transport
vehicles, trucks or company cars mostly fulfil these requirements.

Fast fill fuelling stations

Figure 5-5: Simplified design of a fast fill fuelling station [27] (modified)
Fast filling of vehicles is as straightforward for the consumer as fuelling vehicles with petrol or diesel
fuel. The filling procedure takes only a few minutes. Biogas is compressed in stages up to
approximately 300 bar and then passes the high pressure filter, which will remove possible
condensate and impurities from the compression process. The compressed gas streams into the high
pressure storage, which is divided into sections. The car is filled up with gas from one section of the
storage. If the available gas pressure is too low to reach the required 200 bar in the vehicle tank, the
control system will switch to the next section. The filling procedure is stopped automatically, when the
filling pressure in the vehicle is reached. Gas fuelling systems comply with all safety standards and
include safeguards against potential faults.

36

LEGAL FRAMEWORK IN GERMANY

There are various acts concerning biogas: Acts which determine compensation rates for electricity as
well as the tax on mineral oil and related regulations.
Through the multitude of exceptions for natural gas applications in the mineral oil tax act, (partly)
informal regulations in the act on granting priority to renewable energy sources and missing
considerations in other regulations, the utilisation of upgraded biogas has not yet obtained a clear
basis for application. Subsequently, relevant legislations shall be shortly described.

Act on granting priority to renewable energy sources renewable energy sources act
The most important act concerning the production of electricity from biogas in combined heat and
power generation plants is the act on granting priority to renewable energy sources (EEG).
This act regulates the obligation of the utilities to purchase and compensate the electricity generated
from renewable energy sources. The following compensations shall be paid for electricity generated
from biogas (except landfill gas and biogas from sewage treatment plants) [28]:
At least 10,23 Cent per kWh for installations with an installed electrical capacity of up to 500 KW
At least 9,21 Cent per kWh for installations with an installed electrical capacity of up to 5 MW
At least 8,70 Cent per kWh for installations with an installed electrical capacity of more than 5 MW
As of 1st January 2002, the minimum compensation amounts shall be reduced by one per cent
annually for new installations commissioned as of this date [28]. Practically, the compensation for new
plants, erected in 2003 will be 2% less than shown above.
The compensation to be paid for electricity generated from gas from landfills and sewage treatment
plants shall amount at least 7,67 Cent/kWh. For installations with an electrical capacity of more than
500 kW, this compensation shall be paid for the percentage of electricity, which corresponds to the
percentage of 500 kW to the average electrical capacity. The compensation for the remaining
electricity shall be at least 6,65 Cent/kWh [28].
In the explanatory memorandum of the act on granting priority to renewable energy sources, the
committee of economy and technology of the German Bundestag states [29]:
The scope of application of the act also covers biogas which is generated elsewhere and fed into the
gas network when such biogas is used for electricity generation, providing that proof is furnished of the
origin of this gas and providing that there are calculations which prove that the energy content of the
gas quantity used is equal to the energy content of the biogas quantity fed into the network.
Up to now, there is no practical implementation application or utilisation of this informal regulation.
Currently, this biogas was taxed as natural gas according to the tax on mineral oil [30].
37

If the biogas is meant for distribution in the natural gas grid, conveyance fees for the utilisation of the
grid in the range of 0,25 0,55 Cent/kWh (HS,n) have to be expected [31].
Tax on mineral oil and tax on electricity
Regulations concerning the utilisation of biogas are:
Biogas generated from agricultural wastes, in sewage treatment plants or landfills, which is used
for heating purposes or the generation of electricity, is completely exempted from the tax on
mineral oil. For this relief, a formal permission must be granted [32].
Electricity, which is generated from renewable energy sources and withdrawn from a grid or a wire,
which is exclusively fed from such energy sources, is fully exempted from the tax on electricity [33].
For the utilisation as a vehicle fuel, biogas is completely exempted from the tax on mineral oil [42].
This regulation, which includes all biofuels and RME 26 , is valid until the 31st Dec 2008. For
mixtures of fossil and biofuels, the rates of taxation are reduced to the extent that these mineral
oils listed in the law, can be demonstrated to contain biofuels [34].
Nevertheless, biogas currently has to compete with natural gas, which is favoured by the mineral oil
tax for several applications. Furthermore, there are exceptions for natural gas applications within the
electricity tax act or additional grants due to the act on preservation, modernisation and extension of
combined heat and power generation.
Table 6-1 shows the valid reduced rates of mineral oil tax for the favoured purposes of natural gas.

Application of natural gas

Tax on mineral oil

Regular tax rate

31,8 /MWh (HS,n)

Vehicle fuel in combustion engines

12,4 /MWh (HS,n)

Energy source for heating purposes

Combined heat and power generation in stationary
Combustion engines and gas turbines*

5,5 /MWh (HS,n)

Operation of stationary combustion engines and

gas turbines covering peak loads in the public grid
* annual use efficiency: minimal 60% as heat and electricity

Table 6-1: Reduced rates of tax on mineral oil for natural gas applications [35]

26

rape-methyl-ester

38

Further reductions on mineral oil tax rates mentioned in Table 6-1 are given for the use of natural gas
in public transport vehicles, if a formal permission is applied for. The reduction on the reduced tax rate
is 1,15 /MWh (HS,n) [35].
For the following relevant applications, further reductions on the tax rate of 5,5 /MWh (HS,n) are given
(formal permission required) [35]:
1) combined heat and power generation plants with monthly or annual use efficiency of a
minimum of 70% (except combined gas and steam turbines without heat extraction and
guaranteed electrical efficiencies of less than 57,5%): 5,5 /MWh (HS,n)
2) Other CHP plants than (1) with average annual use efficiency of a minimum of 60% or
plants covering peak loads in the public grid:

3,66 /MWh (HS,n)

3) other applications than (1) used for heating of greenhouses and closed growing rooms in
agriculture and forestry:

3,0 /MWh (HS,n)

4) heating purposes for companies of agriculture, forestry and industry, (except heat
production for electricity generation):

1,464 /MWh (HS,n)

Electricity, which is generated in plants with an electrical capacity up to 2 MW, is fully exempted from
the tax on electricity, when the electricity is withdrawn in coherency or afforded by the contractor,
which operates the generation plant [33].

Act on preservation, modernisation and extension of combined heat and power generation
The act on preservation, modernisation and extension of combined heat and power generation (CHP
act) furthermore regulates the obligation to purchase and compensate electricity, which is generated in
all kinds of combined heat and power production plants. This act is valid for CHP plants running on
fossil fuels as well as CHP plants utilising waste or biomass, insofar as the electricity is not
compensated according to the renewable energy sources act (EEG).
Contrary to regulations of the EEG, the compensation of electricity consists of two price components.
The fixed compensation rates stated in the CHP act shall be added to a variable price component,
which has to be negotiated with the relevant grid operator. If no agreement can be reached between
producer and grid operator, usual prices plus the appropriate part of conveyance fees, which is
avoided by the decentralised production of the electricity, are applied. Furthermore, the producer is
allowed to name a buyer willing to pay a certain price for his electricity.

39

In this case, the grid operator is obliged to pay the same price to the producer, as is obtained from
selling the electricity to the named buyer.
The fixed compensation rates according to the act on preservation, modernisation and extension of
combined heat and power generation are dependent on the installed electrical capacity and the
commissioning date. The CHP act differentiates between [36]:

Old plant stock: CHP plants started up before 31st December 1989

New plant stock: CHP plants started up after 1st January 1990 as well as old plant stock, which
was modernised and started up between 1st January 1990 and 31st March 02

Modernised plants: old plant stock, which is modernised or substituted by a new plant and
started up between 1st April 2002 and 31st December 2005

New small plants: CHP plants up to an electrical capacity of 2 MW started up after 1st April
2002, insofar, as they do not displace existing CHP plants integrated in a district heating network

Fuel cell plants: started up after 1st April 2002

The following Table 6-2 shows the figures for the fixed compensation rates according to the CHP act.

Category

Compensation rate [Cent/kWh]

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

Old plant stock

1,53

1,53

1,38

1,38

0,97

New plant stock

1,53

1,53

1,38

1,38

1,23

1,23

0,82

0,56

Modernised plants

1,74

1,74

1,74

1,69

1,69

1,64

1,64

1,59

1,59

New small plants

2,56

2,56

2,40

2,40

2,25

2,25

2,10

2,10

1,94

New small 50 KW el*

New fuel cell plants

5,11 (over 10 years, starting from the commissioning date)

* starting up between 1st April 2002 and 31st December 2005

Table 6-2: Compensation rates according to the CHP act [36]

Restrictions exist for the category new small plants up to 2 MWel. The compensation claim will expire
at the end of the following year, starting from the point the production from new small plants has
reached 11 TWh.

40

Draft of a gas-feed-in-act by the German Biogas Association

In April 2001, the German Biogas Association presented the draft of a so-called gas-feed-in act
(GEG) analogical to the existing act on granting priority to renewable energy sources. The main focus
of this concept is the obligation to purchase and compensate gas which is produced from biomass by
biological conversion processes or gasification of harvested biomass, and injected into the natural gas
grid. The following compensations are proposed to be paid for gas generated from biomass [37]:
10,23 Cent per kWh for installations with injected thermal power of up to 500 KW.
7,67 Cent per kWh for installations with injected thermal power of up to 1,5 MW.
6,65 Cent per kWh for installations with injected thermal power of up to 3 MW.
5,11 Cent per kWh for installations with injected thermal power of more than 3 MW.
Further on, regulations regarding the grid access are proposed. Nevertheless, the proposal does not
seem to have won full support from German Biogas Association members, responsible politicians, or
other groups of interest.

41

Summary and outlook

Upgraded biogas, which is equivalent to natural gas, has to compete with this fossil fuel. Due to the
mentioned legislation and linked privileges for natural gas, there are no obvious advantages for an
alternative use of biogas besides the proven technology of combined heat and power generation on
the production site.
Furthermore, upgraded biogas is disadvantaged regarding grid access and considered deficiently in
regulations related to the liberalised gas market. The following barriers must be stated:
The Verbndevereinbarung zum Netzzugang bei Erdgas 27 (VVG II) does not mention gas from biomass at all, neither in the title nor in the written text. It seems that VVG regulations only theoretically
should be applicable for upgraded biogas, which fully complies with natural gas specifications
according to DVGW standards [38]. Regulations of the VVG also contain determinations, which are
open to interpretation. Thus, grid operators are able to accept or refuse the injection of gas [39]. In
addition, there are effectively considerable administrative barriers caused by high levels of
bureaucracy regarding the conveyance of gas. Currently, a claim of grid access could only be
constituted based on the act against restriction of competition [40].
In the first quarter of 2003 an amendment of the act on granting priority to renewable energy sources
is expected. It is expected that compensations for electricity from biogas will be more differentiated.
Compensation rates for small scale biogas plants could be increased. Improved regulations regarding
biogas transmission in the grid or a compensation of green heat are supposed to be included.
The favoured taxation of natural gas as vehicle fuel is valid until 2020. This fact will prevent any
aggressive implementation of biogas as a vehicle fuel.
Without clear considerations in appropriate legislations, upgraded biogas as alternative fuel for
combined heat and power generation except at the production site or vehicle fuel does not seem
to be competitive with natural gas.

27

voluntary agreement of German industry and gas associations; contrary to other European Union member

states, where regulatory authorities are responsible for the implementation of liberalised market conditions for
electricity and natural gas. VVG has no binding character and thus is non-actionable for third parties [38].

42

43

UPGRADED BIOGAS AS VEHICLE FUEL

Natural gas has a growing potential as vehicle fuel in Europe. Due to this, and the fact that natural gas
cars are available on the market, the most realistic option for upgraded biogas is to meet natural gas
quality standards. Additionally, the removal of carbon dioxide is reasonable in order to reduce storage
capacity in the car. The construction of biogas filling stations therefore will supplement the availability
of this fossil fuel. Figure 7-1 shows the recent infrastructur of natural gas filling stations in Europe.
Sweden and Switzerland are the only countries where biogas is sold at certain locations.

0
4
28**
0

0
1

12

(8)***

16

8
306

*
6
(5)***

348

7
6

3
1

*
27 filling stations, inclusive 12, which distribute biogas or biogas and natural gas [41]
** biogas available at several places
*** filling stations not public, but exceptions possible

Figure 7-1: Natural gas and biogas filling stations in Europe, status per Oct 02 [42] (supplemented)

44

As can be seen in Figure 7-1, the supply of natural gas for use as vehicle fuel differs in widely from
country to country. The supply is not yet widespread over any significant geographical area.
Nevertheless, with some advance planning, in most cases it should be possible to cross several
European countries with a gas driven car. There is a tight network of natural gas filling stations in
Germany and Italy. In Switzerland and the south-western part of Sweden the infrastructure of natural
gas filling stations is also well developed. This means, it should be possible to drive around southern,
western and central Sweden as well as the whole Switzerland. In France it is expected that 10 - 20
new filling stations will be built by the end of 2002 [42]. Due to high taxes for the private use of natural
gas, it is currently not offered as a vehicle fuel in Spain [42].
One factor that simplifies implementation 28 of upgraded biogas is, that gas powered cars are already
available on the market. Compared to the wide range of petrol engine cars, the supply of standard
natural gas cars is rather low. For purchasing standard natural gas cars, depending on the type of
vehicle, additional costs (compared to similar petrol engine cars) in the range of 1.500 3.500
must be expected [42]. For transporters, additional costs range from 3.500 5.500 , and for larger
commercial vehicles, additional prices between 10 20 % have to be expected [42] 29 . Besides the
possibility of buying standard natural gas cars, there is the option to convert petrol engine cars to run
on natural gas. There are a number of car workshops which have specialised in this conversion.
Nearly all current petrol engine cars can be converted. Detailed information on car conversion
workshops and cars which can be converted in Germany can be found in [42]. One smaller
disadvantage of gas powered vehicles is the lower coverage compared to conventional liquid fuels.
Despite higher investment costs for gas powered vehicles, there are various financial incentives for
the use of natural gas/biogas powered cars in Germany:
According to a comparison of consumption values of petrol and natural gas cars on an average
price level, fuel costs for natural gas are 35 - 40% lower than for petrol [43]. The most important
factor is the reduced tax on mineral oil for natural gas as vehicle fuel.
Natural gas cars, which fulfil the strict exhaust gas norms D 4 or Euro 3, are also favoured by motor
vehicle tax [44].
Many natural gas utilities promote the purchase of natural gas cars, by various means.
Biogas as vehicle fuel is exempted from the tax on mineral oil.
The actual average gross price for natural gas in Germany is 0,66 /kg [44]. With an average heating
value 30 of 13,16 kWh/kg [44] for compressed natural gas at 200 bar, this is equivalent to 0,05 /kWh.
Upgraded biogas has to be sold at a lower price to be competitive on the market.
28

see also discussion in chapter 1

29

notice: these figures are based on German market conditions

30

local variations of the supplied heating value

45

Passenger cars

Transporters

Commercial vehicles

Brand

Type

Fiat

Multipla Bipower/Blupower

Volvo

S60 / V70/ S80 Bi-Fuel

Opel

Zafira 1,6 CNG,

Ford

Focus (Turnier), KA

Volkswagen

Caddy, Golf (Variant)

Fiat

Ducato

Ford

Transit

Iveco

Daily 35.11 CNG , Daily 49.11 CNG

Mercedes-Benz

Sprinter

Volkswagen

T4

Iveco

Euro TechUT 190 E 22 CNG

Euro Tech MH 260 E 26 PSCNG

Mercedes-Benz

Econic 1828 LL 4x2

Econic 2628 LL 6x2 / 4
Econic 2628 LL 6x4

EvoBus

0 405 N Solo
0 405 N Solo
0 405 GN articulated bus

Neoplan low floor busses

N 4007 CNGCentro Midi articulated bus

N 4411 CNG Centroliner Solo
N 4416 CNG Centroliner Solo
N 4420 CNG Centroliner
N 4421 CNG Centroliner articulated bus
N 3316 Euroliner

Busses

Volvo

FL 15/18 CNG

MAN

NL 243 CNG
NL 313 CNG
NG 313 CNG
N 243 CNG
N 313 CNG

EvoBus

Citaro CNG

Neoplan

N 4409 CNG
N 4413/1 CNG, N 4413/2 CNG
N 4416 CNG
N 4420 CNG
N 4421 CNG
N 4426/ 3 CNG

Volvo

7000 CNG
7000 A CNG

Table 7-1: Natural gas vehicles available on the German market [42], status per October 2002

46

USE OF UPGRADING BY-PRODUCTS

Carbon dioxide, due to its relatively high concentration in biogas, is the only utilisable by-product of the
overall upgrading process. Depending on the design of the process, carbon dioxide can be extracted
with different purities.
Poorly cleaned carbon dioxide, containing traces of air and methane, could be used in agricultural
silos for conservation purposes or greenhouses and aquacultures as fertiliser [45]. The greenhouse
fertiliser carbon dioxide enables approx. a 20% higher yield and a reduction in the growing season of
approx. 15% [3]. However, the upgrading by-product carbon dioxide had to compete with established
applications as e.g. the utilisation of the exhaust gas from boilers or CHP-engines as greenhouse
fertiliser.
Carbon dioxide with a higher purity can be liquefied and bottled. According to the provided purity,
industrially extracted CO2 could be replaced. Thus a wide theoretical range of applications can be
considered. Liquid carbon dioxide, for example, can be converted into dry ice.

CO2 as
Dry ice

Liquid

Customers

Applications

industry

pellets for dry ice cleaning systems,

CO2 snow for fire extinguishers

food-processing and pharmaceutical

industry, transport sector, medicine

cooling purposes

beverage industry

carbonation of beverages, draft beer

metalworking industry

shielding of welds against oxidation

chemical industry

production of polycarbonates

water utilities

pH control and regulation of waste

waters, swimming pools etc.

Table 8-1: General possibilities for the utilisation of liquid or solid carbon dioxide

Besides the theoretical possibilities for the use of carbon dioxide, there are obviously applications,
which are less dedicated in practice. Due to the origin of the carbon dioxide, which is organic waste,
the utilisation in food-processing or beverage industry seems to be unsuitable and is unlikely to be
accepted, even though food grade specifications will be achieved.
According to [45] prices could vary between 0,1 and 1 per kg CO2 depending on the purity 31 . Eriksen
et al. estimate earnings per kilogramme pure liquid carbon dioxide of 0,12 /kg in a feasibility study
based on Danish market conditions [5].

31

notice: these figures are based on German market conditions

47

BIOGAS UPGRADING IN EUROPE EXAMPLES AND TENDENCIES

Biogas upgrading processes have been applied for many years at various locations in Europe. In
Germany there has been long experience with the upgrading of biogas from sewage treatment plants
and the injection to the gas grid. This technology was already used from the middle of the 1930s to the
middle of the 1960s [6]. In the last twenty years, two upgrading plants have been in operation in large
sewage treatment plants [3].
There are 15 years of operational results from a EU-funded project in Stuttgart-Mhlhausen. Biogas
was upgraded by a MEA wash process to H gas quality and sold to the local gas utility for approx.
0,02 per kWh [3]. The upgrading plant had been operating successfully until 1999. The technology is
reported to be ready for application [3].
In Mnchengladbach-Neuenwerk at the Niersverband wastewater treatment plant a state-funded pilot
plant had been operating for 15 years, up until 1998 [6]. Biogas was upgraded to L gas quality by a
water scrubbing process. Upgrading costs are mentioned as approx. 0,018 per kWh [3].
Since the 1990s several upgrading plants have been erected in different European countries. The gas
is mostly used as a vehicle fuel. In the Netherlands there is experience with the injection of upgraded
landfill gas to the grid.
In the following European countries biogas upgrading plants are currently in operation [7]:

Czech Republic

France

The Netherlands

Sweden

Switzerland

In recent years an increasing development can be seen in Sweden and Switzerland. In Germany, the
first upgrading plants for biogas from manure and agricultural or industrial wastes are in planning,
under construction or in pilot scale operation. The development of biogas upgrading in selected
European countries is described below.

Sweden
Biogas as a vehicle fuel has become very popular in Sweden. The Swedish government has issued
priorities for waste management options and funded sustainable development projects in Swedish
municipalities [46]. One major incentive for using upgraded biogas as a vehicle fuel is, that the sales
value is higher than as fuel for co-generation [46]. Biogas is totally exempted from the fuel tax. This
has kept the price for biogas relatively low [22]. Generally speaking, gas as vehicle fuel is competitive
to petrol but usually comparable with diesel fuel [22]. However, sales prices for biogas or natural gas
vary from municipality to municipality.
48

These aspects have resulted in an increasing implementation of biogas technology in Sweden over
the last years. Currently, there are 15 upgrading plants in operation [47]. The biogas is distributed as a
vehicle fuel at separate filling stations. Only at the Laholm Biogas plant, upgraded biogas is injected to
the natural gas grid [6]. In Gothenburg, non upgraded biogas is injected into the main pipeline of the
natural gas grid, which is linked to the city gas network [22]. The equivalent amount of injected biogas,
replacing the natural gas in the grid, is sold as vehicle fuel in accordance to green power principles
[22].
The water scrubbing process is the most commonly used upgrading technology in Sweden. At three
places the PSA technique is applied. At the Co-digestion plant in Laholm, biogas is upgraded by a
Selexol scrubbing process [6]. In Bors, an upgrading plant started operation in summer 2002, using
amine salt chemical absorption [48].
In 2005 all bus companies that operate in the west of Sweden must use 100% fuels from renewable
energy sources [22]. Most of the individual companies thereby are focussing their attention on gas
powered vehicles [22].
A good example for the utilisation of biogas as vehicle fuel for public transport buses is the City of
Linkping [49]: Biogas from the co-digestion of waste from agriculture and the food processing
industry is upgraded to natural gas quality by the water scrubbing technology. The cleaned gas is
pumped through a pipeline to the public transport bus depot, where 61 slow filling points for buses and
one fast filling station for cars are installed. Thus, all city buses can be slowly refuelled over night. An
additional public filling station was built afterwards. Currently, 61 buses and 132 other cars are running
on biogas.

Switzerland
Natural gas as a vehicle fuel is becoming more and more popular in Switzerland. There is a growing
infrastructure for natural gas filling stations. Currently there are 27 natural gas filling stations in
Switzerland, of which 12 distribute biogas [41]. At 4 locations, biogas is upgraded to natural gas
quality and fed into the natural gas grid or distributed at nearby filling stations [50].
The first upgrading pilot plant in Rmlang started operation in 1993. However, this plant did not meet
the expectations regarding gas quality and energy demand [51]. The energy consumption of this water
scrubbing process equalled one third of the heating value of the upgraded biogas [51].
A second pilot project used the PSA separation technique at a biogas plant in Bachenblach. This
started in 1995, and showed more convincing results. The expected gas quality levels could be
reached together with a much lower energy demand (only 8% of the heating value of the upgraded
gas) as well as lower investment costs [51].
The injection of upgraded biogas to the natural gas grid started in 1997. Biogas from the biogas plant
Samstagern is upgraded to natural gas quality and fed into the natural gas grid of the Erdgas Zrich
utility.

49

The upgraded biogas is on sale as Naturgas at public or private natural gas filling stations. Due to the
innovative character of the biogas projects, Naturgas is exempted from the tax on mineral oil [52].
Thus, the price for biogas is one third lower than the equivalent petrol or diesel fuel.
The upgrading plant in Samstagern mainly consists of a H2S removal on activated carbon, a gas
drying step, and gas separation using the Pressure Swing Adsorption technique [52].
Further development is reported from a cooperative in Zurich [53]: All biodegradable wastes from the
cooperatives hypermarkets are collected and digested in the mentioned biogas plants. Eight delivery
lorries run on biogas which is distributed to the natural gas filling stations in the region of Zurich.
The Netherlands [6]
Since the end of the 1980s mainly landfill gas has been upgraded to natural gas quality and feed into
the gas grid. This addition was quite successful at natural gas prices near 0,25 /m3 in the years 1986
- 1990. New projects became less attractive as a consequence of lowering gas prices. With the
introduction of a green electricity concept in 1998, the conversion of biomass to green electricity
became more profitable. Up to now the production of green electricity has been more profitable than
the injection of upgraded biogas to the natural gas grid.
Currently, four upgrading plants are in operation which feed biogas into the grid. Different carbon
dioxide removal techniques are used: Pressure Swing Adsorption, water scrubbing and membrane
technology. Only the water scrubbing plant in Tilburg processes a mixture of landfill and sewage gas
as well as biogas from separated domestic waste. Due to the content of landfill gas, the upgrading
plant contains a removal step for chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) on activated carbon.

Germany
Besides the two upgrading plants in Stuttgart and Mnchengladbach which are not in operation any
longer, there are several current developments.
Three pilot plants are reported to be in operation. In Bavaria, at a farm biogas plant, a gas filling
station was constructed and has been in operation since summer 2001. The provided gas is a slightly
upgraded mixture of biogas and small amounts of natural gas [54]. Long-run tests with a Volvo V70 bifuel are intended to prove the capability of this mixture as vehicle fuel [54]. First results seem to point
out that there is further need for research and development for this application [16].
The second pilot plant is a cryogenic upgrading system which should provide high-purity liquid and
gaseous methane as well as high-purity liquid carbon dioxide. Due to patent rights reasons, very little
technical information is available about this technology.
In Schleswig-Holstein, a pilot PSA upgrading plant is in operation. The same company is planning to
erect a large-scale biogas plant with a PSA upgrading unit soon. The upgraded biogas will be injected
into the local natural gas grid as well as distributed at a gas filling station nearby the biogas plant.
Local bus companies are expected as commercial consumers as of 2004 [55]. Further, a cryogenic
biogas separation with a biogas filling station for vehicles is reported to be in planning in Mecklenburg-

50

Western Pomerania [56]. For this project, the use of the separated carbon dioxide as dry ice is
mentioned [56].
Besides tendencies of a total upgrading to natural gas quality, one company provides a chemical
absorption-based gas cleaning system, which only removes hydrogen sulphide, ammonia and
moisture from the raw gas. An effective removal of these contaminants results in positive effects for
the CHP-engine. According to the company, extended engine life times, better electrical efficiencies
and lower NOx-emissions can be achieved [57].
Biogas is totally exempt from the tax on mineral oil since August 2002.

Denmark
In the village of Vegger in Jutland, a smaller centralised biogas plant was installed in 1985, and in
1990 a simple water scrubbing upgrading system was adapted. Until the second half of the 90s, first
one and later two vans were successfully operated on the upgraded gas. The vehicles were
standardised petrol models, which had a second fuel system fitted for the upgraded biogas. The
experiences were so successful that a larger upgrading system including a filling station for 25 cars
and one truck was planned, but the Danish authorities did not support the concept.
In the village of Revninge, non-upgraded biogas from a centralised biogas plant is distributed in a
small biogas network to 67 households, and used for heating purposes. The biogas plant started
operation in 1990. For back up or for adjustment of the gas quality a mixture of natural gas and air
can also supply the small network, which is isolated from the natural gas network [8]. Evaluations on
domestic boilers in Revninge in 1994 showed only minor corrosion problems [8].
Several Danish towns have old town-gas systems where natural gas was injected after being downgraded to match the properties of town gas, which has a lower Wobbe index. This has the advantage
that existing equipment can be used, and the perspective to replace the natural gas with biogas is
good. Even biogas with only 58% methane gives a sufficient Wobbe index for town gas. If the biogas
has a higher content of methane, it also needs to be downgraded.

51

10

FEASIBILITY OF PRACTICAL IMPLEMENTATION

10.1 Upgrading technologies available on the market

Company
Cirmac International bv

[NL]

Technologies available

References5

chemical scrubbing1, PSA

yes

farmatic biotech energy ag

[D]

PSA

not yet

Flotech Sweden

[S]

water scrubbing

yes

Kompogas AG

[CH]

PSA3

yes

Malmberg Water AB

[S]

water scrubbing

yes

Petrogas gas-systems bv

[NL]

membrane separation4

yes

UOP NV

[B]

various

no

absorbent: amine salt, trade name COOAB

exclusive rights for CarboTech Anlagenbau GmbH [D] technology
3
only within the KOMPOGAS process
4
low pressure
5
reference plants for biogas upgrading
2

Table 10-1: Upgrading technologies available on the market 32 , European companies

Upgrading and cleaning technologies have been applied for the treatment of natural gas, town gas as
well as the wide range of biogas for several years. However, not all technologies, described in chapter
3, are recommended for application with biogas, due to price and/or enviromental concerns [7].
Enquiries made for this report show that the following techniques are commercially available (see
Table 10-1): Pressure Swing Adsorption, water scrubbing, low pressure membrane separation as well
as different chemical scrubbing processes. The following techniques are currently used in Europe (in
order of application frequency):
water scrubbing
Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA)
membrane separation
COOAB scrubbing
Selexol scrubbing
Most companies provide turn-key upgrading plants including the following stage of gas utilisation
facilities. One company offers an upgrading plant and vehicle filling station as modules in standardised
containers.

32

no claim on completeness; availability in Germany mostly affirmed by the mentioned companies, availability in

certain European countries on request, addresses see appendix

52

10.2 Costs of production

Costs of production could be split up into three main elements:

costs for raw gas production

upgrading costs

costs of distribution

Raw gas production costs

Production costs for the raw biogas depend highly on the feedstock and the technical standard and
size of the biogas plant. If these costs are quoted based on the production of upgraded gas, as
appropriate for the present considerations, the availability of the raw gas has an important bearing on
these figures. A cost effective raw gas production and a high availability during the upgrading process
will contribute to low production costs of the raw biogas. Consequently, it is hard to formulate universal
numbers.
Calculated figures for a typical design of Danish decentralised biogas plants are reported in [12]: The
capacity of this reference plant is chosen to be in optimal size to Danish farms and their distribution.
The treatment capacity is 300 m3/day, consisting of 80% manure and 20% organic waste, and a
biogas production of 3,72 . 106 Nm3/a. If this gas is to be upgraded to natural gas quality, production
costs 33 of 0,41 /Nm3 of natural gas substitute will occur. These figures include approximately one
third transport costs for the manure but do not include potential sources of income or investment and
maintenance of subsequent biogas utilisation.
Practical numbers are only available from the Linkping biogas plant in Sweden, which is fed with a
mixture of manure, abattoir waste and waste and process water from food-processing industry. At a
production of 3,7 . 106 Nm3 upgraded biogas per year, raw gas production costs are stated to be
around 0,25 /Nm3 of upgraded gas [59]. For the upgrading process and the succeeding distribution to
the consumers, additional costs of 0,20 /Nm3 upgraded biogas at each case are reported [59].
Especially in the sector of small agricultural biogas plants, raw gas production costs can vary considerably. Due to different technical standards between self-construction and manufactured turn-key biogas
plants, investment levels vary widely. Also, farmers often perform the maintenance themselves. Thus,
real operational costs are difficult to evaluate. Besides, due to varying technical standards of farm
biogas plants, there is a wide range of biogas productivity. Many agricultural biogas plants are not
operating in their optimal range. Practical experience shows that improved process control of these
biogas plants can result in 30 - 40% higher biogas production.
Other available figures of production costs for biogas plants usually include the investment and
operation of the gas appliance and are therefore not suitable for the present specification.

33

assuming 90% availability of the gas for possible upgrading

53

Upgrading costs
Regarding additional upgrading costs, figures are available from existing plants in Europe and the
USA (Figure 10-1).

0,3
Membrane separation
PSA

0,2

/Nm upgraded gas

Water scrubbing

0,1

0,0
0

7
6

10

11

production of upgraded gas [10 Nm /a]

Figure 10-1: Total upgrading costs 34 per Nm3 upgraded biogas as a function of technology and plant
capacity for full-scale upgrading plants operating in Europe and the USA [8] [22] [58] [59]

The figures presented are confirmed by other sources: Upgrading costs in Sweden, independent from
the applied technology, are stated to be in the range of 0,18 0,24 /Nm3 upgraded gas [60]. The
Danish Energy Agency estimates upgrading costs of 0,20 /Nm3 [61]. Tentscher gives a range of
present upgrading costs of 0,40 to 0,15 /Nm3 for the lowest and largest capacity, respectively [13].
Nevertheless, considerable cost reductions are expected by a mass production through strengthened
implementation of these technologies [13]. General aspects regarding cost tendencies for different
technologies are hard to estimate, due to the low number of practical installations (see Figure 10-1).
Phal states ...that the water scrubbing technique may be cheaper to implement but the PSA
technique has a lower lifecycle cost and thereby a lower production cost per cubic metre of gas. [22].
One important parameter for the feasibility of different technologies will be the element of operational
costs, which is, among other things, determined by the prices of electricity or water. The demand of
electricity for water scrubbing processes will be in the range of 3 - 6% of the energy content of the upgraded gas.

34

including both, investment and operational costs, excluding costs for the biogas production plant

54

Costs of distribution
The distribution of the upgraded biogas shows less uniform cost tendencies, due to the multitude of
possible applications (injection to the gas grid, distribution as vehicle fuel applying the slow or fast fill
technology with or without natural gas back-up system). Basically, the injection of all upgraded biogas
to the natural gas grid will be the most cost-effective way of distribution. Even though the investment
costs will be relatively high for a complete transmission station with process control and measurement
devices, the overall costs seem to be moderate, due to low operational costs.
The external distribution of upgraded biogas as vehicle fuel requires considerable investment for
equipment and installation. Operational costs mainly result from electricity, which is required to run the
compressors and ancillary equipment. Investment costs could be reduced, if direct filling of vehicles in
slow filling mode can be applied. Tentscher [3] calculates overall costs for two different natural gas
(fast) filling stations linked to the low pressure distribution grid. The delivery of 30.000 Nm3/a and
600.000 Nm3/a is assessed for small and large filling stations, respectively. Considering that biogas is
exempt from the tax on mineral oil, costs for large and small filling stations will be 3 to 5 Cent/kWh or
0,3 to 0,5 /Nm3, respectively. The major element is the capital costs. The electricity demand for the
compression to storage pressure will be around 0,3 - 0,4 kWh/Nm3, which is equivalent to
approximately 3 - 4% of the energy content of the upgraded gas.
The only figures available from existing installations are from the Linkping biogas plant in Sweden.
Bio-gas, which is upgraded to natural gas quality, is locally distributed, using both fast fill and slow fill
technology. Distribution costs for a clean gas capacity of approx. 420 Nm3/h are stated as around 0,20
/Nm3 upgraded gas [59].

Other cost aspects

Financial aspects of liquefaction and the sale of the upgrading by-product carbon dioxide are analysed
in a feasibility study of a full scale membrane separation plant with connection to the natural gas grid
at a clean gas capacity of about 400 Nm3/h. Even if the liquefaction is considered to claim more than
60% of the investment and one third of the operational costs, the gain from sales of carbon dioxide at
a moderate price level will fully cover the costs for liquefaction/bottling and further enhance the
balance of the upgrading process [5].

Cost estimations for production costs of pipeline gas (substitute of natural gas in the grid)
The German Biogas Association has evaluated production costs of upgraded gas for new agricultural
biogas plants, including upgrading and injection to the natural gas grid. Based on these results, the
draft proposal of the act of granting priority to gas from renewable energy sources was presented. The
proposed minimal compensation rates for upgraded biogas, which is injected to the natural gas grid,
reflect the expected production costs and shall ensure an economic operation of the next generation
of biogas plants.

55

In this regard, the recommended compensation rates can be seen as a guidance value for overall
production costs for the mentioned application (farm-based biogas plants, connection to the gas grid).
Figure 10-2 visualises the appropriate figures. To ensure a better comparability with practical
upgrading costs from Figure 10-1, the reference value has been adapted to Nm3/a.

recommended compensation [/Nm ]

1,2
1,0
0,8
0,6
0,4
0,2
0,0
0,0

0,5

1,0

1,5

2,0

2,5
6

3,0

3,5

4,0

production of upgraded gas [10 Nm /a]

Figure 10-2: Compensation rates according to the draft proposal for a gas-feed-in-act of the German
Biogas Association [37]

Schmalschlger et al. evaluated the feasibility of a farm-based co-fermentation plant in Germany.

Based on these results, compensations of about 0,8 /Nm3 upgraded biogas for capacities less than
150 Nm3/h raw biogas, which equals to approx. 0,8 . 106 Nm3/a upgraded gas 35 , are recommended.
For double capacity, compensations of about 0,64 /Nm3 upgraded biogas are estimated [31].

35

assuming 90% availability

56

10.3 Aspects of implementation in Germany

The implementation of upgrading technologies and the utilisation of green gas as an alternative
source of energy is strongly discussed in Germany. However, the legal framework and the present
price level of natural gas seem to prevent an extensive implementation of biogas upgrading and
utilisation.
Figure 10-3 illustrates price components for the sale of upgraded biogas, which will be used as vehicle
fuel or as a substitute of natural gas in the grid. Below, barriers to implementation of these applications
are discussed.

Local distribution as vehicle fuel

Injection into the natural gas grid

+ raw gas production costs

+ raw gas production costs

+ upgrading costs

+ upgrading costs

+ distribution costs

+ costs for grid connection and injection

+ conveyance fees
+ tax on mineral oil 36

+ gains

+ gains

+ value added tax

+ value added tax

= sales price

= sales price

Figure 10-3: General formation of sales prices for upgraded biogas under current conditions

At the present time, only the distribution of biogas as vehicle fuel at separate filling stations has a clear
legal basis and was therefore ready to implement. Biogas, which is sold as vehicle fuel is fully exempt
from the tax on mineral oil. If there is a back-up system for connection to the natural gas grid, a
mixture of biogas and natural gas would be tax free to the extent that it contained biogas [34].
Considering average prices of about 5 Cent/kWh at German filling stations, it seems obvious that this
application is not competitive: Expected production costs of 5 - 10 Cent/kWh and additional costs for
investment, operation and maintenance of the filling station will not allow a profitable implementation
of this technology. Besides, this application requires a funded concept for a secured sale of the
provided biogas.

36

see chapter 6

57

The injection of upgraded biogas to the natural gas grid has not yet obtained a clear legal framework
in Germany (see chapter 6). Current price components are shown in Figure 10-3. In addition to the
production costs, a conveyance fee and the tax on mineral oil would form the necessary sales price of
biogas. As already described in chapter 6, biogas in the natural gas grid currently was taxed according
to the tax on mineral oil for the equivalent use of natural gas. However, lack of consideration and
uncertainties in appropriate legislation seem to be the main barriers to wide scale implementation.
Assuming clear regulations regarding grid access and conveyance of the gas and a clarification of
legal requirements concerning biogas in the grid (tax exemption as vehicle fuel, compensation of
electricity generated from biogas withdrawn from the gas grid), the injection of upgraded biogas may
become economically feasible for certain applications.
Nevertheless, in most cases the conventional use of raw biogas for co-generation of heat and power
on-site at the biogas plant will be the most economic application, due to high potential earnings by the
fixed compensation of electricity according to the renewable energy sources act. For biogas from
sewage treatment plants, the appropriate compensation of generated electricity is lower. Thus, the
injection of upgraded biogas could become a feasible technical solution for existing plants with large
amounts of waste gas, if proper ways for marketing, distribution and sales could be found.
Competing natural gas prices are, among others, determined by the valid rate of taxation, the
structure of gas supply, as well as the quantity of purchase of the consumers. Currently, natural gas
prices are in the following range for the different user groups [13] [44]:

power utilities:

1,0 1,5 Cent/kWh

industry:

2,0 2,6 Cent/kWh

households:

3,6 7,2 Cent/kWh

transport sector:

~ 5 Cent/kWh

Comparing the current natural gas prices with overall production costs for upgraded biogas as
described in chapter 10.2, no financial scope for economic operation will arise from this kind of
application. Especially natural gas for the operation of combustion engines will retain a constant price
level, since the low taxation of natural gas for this application is fixed until 2020.
However, even if the sale of upgraded biogas was competitive, the profitability of the alternative use of
raw biogas in co-generation plants should always be calculated.

58

11

CONCLUSIONS

Upgrading systems have been operating in different European countries for many years and shown to
be a mature technology. Due to their identical properties, upgraded biogas could substitute natural gas
in all its possible applications: Upgraded biogas is a real alternative to conventional vehicle fuels as
petrol or diesel. It is one of the few practically available biofuels apart from pure plant oil or biodiesel.
Due to the existing engine technology and the availability and the back-up of the competing natural
gas, the implementation could be feasible in the short term in many European countries. Biogas as a
vehicle fuel is also a good option for the implementation of concepts of full supply by renewable
energies for regional units, as are currently being realised at various locations in Europe.
The injection of biogas into the natural gas grid has the same principles as the feed-in of electricity to
the grid. Energy from renewable sources is fed into the grid and the same amount is withdrawn at
other places, but is only fictively transported to the consumer. Advantages of the injection to the grid
could be the enlarged availability of this green gas as well as the possibility of better energy recovery
in highly efficient appliances. However, priority should be given to the on-site production of heat and
power with a high degree of heat utilisation. This application has the highest positive impact on the
environment. Apart from the injection of upgraded biogas into the grid, there are various alternatives
for the use of biogas, which could be operated with only a simple gas cleaning from trace
components 37 :

separate biogas networks

transport via a separate gas pipe to commercial consumers with a high demand for heat
energy

use of cleaned biogas as fuel for tractors and other agricultural vehicles

extension of joint district heating and cooling systems

The injection of upgraded or non upgraded biogas into the natural gas grid may be reasonable option,
if the biogas plant is situated close to the natural gas grid and if other ways of decentralised utilisation
are not applicable due to a lack of consumers for heat or local demand for biogas as vehicle fuel.
However, the possibility of injection must not lead to an extension of the natural gas grid. Examples
have shown that it should be possible to attract consumers to utilise the provided energy nearby the
place of production. Even though the injection of upgraded biogas would be decentralised at various
locations, the distribution system definitely has a centralised character. The use of green gas far from
the production site will - more than green electricity - estrange the consumer from the origin of this
source of energy. The local utilisation of biogas or the distribution of green vehicle fuel nearby the
biogas plant will lead to a much higher acceptance of the biogas technology and better empathy with
renewable energy sources.
37

assuming, that the appropriate gas appliances are adapted to the supplied gas composition.

59

The comparison between two different European countries - Sweden and Germany - shows, that the
implementation of biogas technology is highly dependent on the respective political and legal
framework. Even though both countries are following common aims of a more sustainable energy
supply, special emphasis has been given to different issues, which shall be discussed subsequently.

Germany
In Germany, the electricity feed-in act from 1991 and the following act on granting priority to renewable
energy sources (EEG), which came into effect in April 2000, were the driving forces for the
implementation of renewable energy technologies. Due to the fixed compensation price for electricity
from renewable energy sources, the implementation of these technologies has increased rapidly.
Especially the wind sector and the solar industry have seen a fast-growing market. The number of
biogas plants also has grown exponentially, but the whole biogas sector has developed more slowly.
Recently, it has been stated that compensations for electricity from biogas are not covering the costs
of production, especially in the sector of smaller agricultural enterprises. The feasibility of biogas
plants can usually only be ensured if the majority of the waste heat can be sold or if earnings can be
achieved by co-fermentation of external organic wastes which would otherwise be costly to dispose of.
In the last two years, the injection of upgraded biogas into the natural gas grid has been increasingly
discussed. The German Biogas Association is focussing on an act on granting priority to biogas and
gas from biomass, following the philosophy of the EEG, which would fix compensations to be paid for
biogas which is fed into the grid. However, at present time, there are still several barriers in the legal
framework which do not allow a wide scale implementation of this technology.
The main focus of the national energy policy is also put on the support of biofuels by total exemption
from the tax on mineral oil. In any case, the low taxation of natural gas for the operation of combustion
engines almost prevents upgraded biogas from entering the fuel market. This situation has been
criticised from different sides and should be amended, in order to allow biogas to fulfil its potential in
the biofuel market, which seems to be underestimated in the whole biofuel discussion in Germany.
The financial incentive for the use of upgraded biogas is similarly small for other purposes. Due to the
wide spread of the natural gas grid and the tax benefits for some natural gas applications, the price
level in Germany is very low. A cutback of the appropriate tax reductions could enhance the
competitiveness of biogas.

Sweden
The implementation of biogas technology has increased considerably within the last decade. The main
reason for this is the effort to prevent landfilling of organic material by developing more sustainable
technologies [46]. The Swedish government has issued priorities for waste management options, reuse being the highest, followed by recycling and energy production [46]. In this context, the
government has funded many sustainable development projects in Swedish municipalities. Biogas

60

projects, which were financed under these programmes, mostly included options for the production of
green vehicle fuel.
Additionally, many Swedish municipalities are promoting the production and utilisation of upgraded
biogas for public and private transport. Biogas has been identified to be a less polluting and CO2 neutral vehicle fuel, which can reduce air pollution and thus improve the quality of life inside the cities.
As part of the national renewable energy policy, biogas is exempt from the fuel tax. In the research
and development programme, special attention is given to the production of biogas as alternative
vehicle fuel. In respect to the electricity market, there is no regulation similar to the German act on
granting priority to renewable energy sources. The generation of electricity from renewable energy
sources is granted by partial support of investments. Due to relatively high prices of conventional
vehicle fuels and lower electricity prices, the sales price of biogas is higher as a vehicle fuel than as
fuel for co-generation [46]. In Sweden, there is no area wide natural gas grid. Only in the southern and
western part, different cities have access to the natural gas grid. Natural and biogas for transport
purposes are often kept cheaper than petrol, in order to attract consumers [47]. However, biogas is
mostly sold for a slightly higher price than natural gas. Gas prices are comparable to diesel fuel. The
support of the use of gas as vehicle fuel ranges from free parking for gas powered vehicles in the City
of Gothenburg, the fixation of prices of biogas in the City of Trollhttan or subsidies on extra costs for
the purchase of gas powered cars as reported from Linkping [59]. However, peoples acceptance of
the biogas technology and the perception as a positive development may be an important factor of the
successful implementation. Maybe, the regional orientation of biogas production and utilisation, linked
with direct effects on life quality in the cities (less noise by gas powered vehicles, better air quality),
also increases the personal awareness of the advantages of a sustainable energy supply.
Swedish experiences with regional integration of biogas technology in existing structures of energy
and fuel supply is a proof that decentralised concepts of biogas utilisation can be successfully
implemented. On the other hand, the examples in Sweden and Germany show, that the
implementation of new technologies can be best stimulated through financial incentives. The lasting
establishment of renewable energy technologies, such as the biogas technology with all its possible
applications, could be reached if prices for conventional energies reflected the real costs of production
and the subsequent environmental impact. In this case, decreed priority to environmental friendly
technologies would become redundant.

61

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[1]

Lehmann, H. (2000)
Solare Vollversorgung fr Europa
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[2]

European Commission (1997)

Energy for the future: Renewable sources of energy.
White paper for a Community Strategy and Action Plan.
COM (97) 599 final (26/11/1997)

[3]

Tentscher, W. (2001)
Biogas im Energiemix, Brennstoff fr virtuelle Kratfwerke
In: Medenbach, M. C. [Edit.]
Erneuerbare Energie in der Land(wirt)schaft 2001
Fachberatung Umweltschutztechnik & EDV, Zeven, Germany

[4]

Tentscher, W.
Biogas als Grnes Gas nutzen.
Vorrangiger Netzzugang und angemessene Vergtung als Voraussetzung.
ZfK Zeitung fr kommunale Wirtschaft 2002 No. 9, p. 16/17

[5]

Eriksen, T.; Jensby, T.; Norddahl, B.

The upgrading of biogas to be distributed through the natural gas network - environmental
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http://www.chartered.net/biogas.htm (20.08.2002)

[6]

Hagen, M. et al. (2001)

Adding gas from biomass to the gas grid.
Contract No.: XVII/4.1030/Z/99-412, Final report
http://uk.dgc.dk/pdf/altener.pdf (21.08.2002)

[7]

Wellinger, A.; Lindberg, A. (1999)

Biogas upgrading and utilisation.
IEA Bioenergy, Task 24: Energy from biological conversion of organic waste
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[8]

Jensen, J. K.; Jensen, A. B. (2000)

Biogas and natural gas - fuel mixture for the future.
First world conference and exhibition on biomass for energy and industry, Sevilla
Danish bioenergy for the world, Exhibition Center
http://uk.dgc.dk/pdf/Sevilla2000.pdf (19.08.2002)

[9]

Weber, J. -C.
Biogaseinspeisung ins ffentliche Erdgasnetz am Beispiel der Kompogaseinspeisung
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gwa Gas Wasser Abwasser 78 (1998) No. 2, p. 79 - 83

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Blase, T.; Gerstmayr, B.; Schmalschlger, T. (2001)

Einspeisung von Biogas in das Erdgasnetz (Kurzfassung)
act-energy, Mnchen, Germany

62

[11]

Commission of the European Communities

COM (2002) 304 final, 2001/007/ (COD), 2001/0078 (COD)
Amended proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending
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Amended proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on conditions
for access to the network.
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[12]

Tentscher, W.
Biogas in the internal market of gas. Compensation for biogas injected into the gas grid.
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Amsterdam, 21.06.2002

[13]

EUROSOLAR
Die EU-Kommission und das Vorurteil, Erneuerbare Energien knnten atomar/fossile nicht
ersetzen. Die Stellungnahme von EUROSOLAR zum EU-Grnbuch Hin zu einer europischen
Strategie fr Energieversorgungssicherheit
Solarzeitalter 13 (2001) No. 4, p. 22 - 25

[14]

ATV-DVWK Fachausschuss AK-8 Biogas

Merkblatt ATV-M 363 Herkunft, Aufbereitung und Verwertung von Biogas
Draft, 07.06.2001

[15]

McCarthy, T. M.
Nutzung von Biogas: Probleme und Lsungen fr Spurenbestandteile
gwf Wasser - Abwasser 139 (1998) No. 4, p. 204 - 207

[16]

Ott, M.
Schmack Biogas AG, Germany
Information by a telephone conversation, 02.10.02

[17]

AD-Nett [Edit.] (2000)

Anaerobic digestion of agro-industrial wastes: information networks.
Technical summary on gas treatment.
http://www.ad-nett.org/NL-TS1299.pdf (19.08.2002)

[18]

Horbelt, A.
Mit Eisensalzen gegen den Schwefelwasserstoff in Biogasanlagen
Neue Energie (2001) No. 12, p. 54 - 56

[19]

Gschwind, S.; Dichtl, N. (2001)

Technische Voraussetzungen zur Einspeisung von Biogas in das Gasnetz.
In: Fachverband Biogas e.V. Freising, Germany [Edit.]
Biogas mit neuer Energie Ressourcen schonen,
Tagungsband 10. Jahrestagung des Fachverbandes Biogas e.V.

[20]

Kberle, E. (1999)
Massnahmen zur Verbesserung der Biogasqualitt
Entschwefelung von Biogas in landwirtschaftlichen Biogasanlagen
In: Medenbach, M. C. [Edit.]
2. Tarmstedter Forum Erneuerbare Energie in der Land(wirt)schaft
Fachberatung Umweltschutztechnik & EDV, Zeven, Germany

63

[21]

Schneider, R. (2000)
Mikrobiologische Reduktion des H2S-Gehaltes von Biogas
Fachbeitrag zur gemeinsamen Fachtagung Innovation in der Biogastechnologie
der Regierung von Niederbayern und der Fachhochschule Deggendorf
http://www.regierung.niederbayern.bayern.de/ wirfuersie/biogas/Schneider.pdf (11.09.02)

[22]

Traffic and Public Transport Authority, City of Gothenburg [Edit.] (2000)

Biogas technology and biogas use in Sweden - An overview.
http://www.eu-target.net/target1/docs/pollution_a.pdf (19.08.2002)

[23]

Jansen, G.; van der Drift, Y.

Aufbereitung von Deponiegas zur Erdgasqualitt
Ein Vergleich verschiedener Wschen zur Entfernung von Kohlendioxid aus Deponiegas
gwf Gas - Erdgas 135 (1994) No. 11, p. 645 - 650

[24]

Holpe, H.; Mnzberg, P.-P.; Boback, R. (2000)

Innovatives kryogenes Verfahren zur Verflssigung von Biogas
In: Medenbach, M. C. [Edit.]
3. Tarmstedter Forum Erneuerbare Energie in der Land(wirt)schaft
Fachberatung Umweltschutztechnik & EDV, Zeven, Germany

[25]

DVGW: Arbeitsblatt G 260 - Gasbeschaffenheit, DVGW, Bonn, 2000.

[26]

Kpke, R.
Direkt ins Rohr - wie steht es um die Einspeisung von Biogas ins ffentliche Gasnetz.
Neue Energie (2000) No. 6, p. 60 61

[27]

Umweltbundesamt, Germany
http://www.umweltbundesamt.de/gasantrieb/tat/index.htm (11.12.02)

[28]

Gesetz fr den Vorrang Erneuerbarer Energien (EEG)

http://jurcom5.juris.de/bundesrecht/eeg/gesamt.pdf (10.10.02)

[29]

Act on granting priority to renewable energy sources

English translation
http://www.iwr.de/re/iwr/info0005e.html (25.10.02)

[30]

Tentscher, W.
Der Landwirt als Produzent von Grnem Gas im Netzverbund Neue Perspektiven fr
die Landwirtschaft.
2. Internationale EUROSOLAR-Konferenz Der Landwirt als Energiewirt im Rahmen der
Grnen Woche Berlin, January 2002

[31]

Schmalschlger, T.; Blase, T.; Gerstmayr, B. (2002)

Biogaseinspeisung ins Erdgasnetz Technik, Wirtschaftlichkeit und CO2-Einsparungen.
http://www.act-energy.org/weitere_infos/veroeffentlichungen/Biogaseinspeisung_Vortrag.pdf
(07.01.03)

[32]

Minerallsteuergesetz (MinStG)
http://www.zoll-d.de/e0_downloads/a0_vorschriften/c0_vst/b0_minoestgesetz_01_08_2002.pdf
(29.10.02)

[33]

Stromsteuergesetz (StromStG)
http://www.zoll-d.de/e0_downloads/a0_vorschriften/c0_vst/d0_stromstg_08_01_2002.pdf
(29.10.02)

[34]

Gesetz zur nderung des Minerallsteuergesetzes und andere Gesetze

Bundesgesetzblatt Jahrgang 2002 Teil 1 Nr. 52
Bonn, 29.07.2002
64

[35]

Gesetzes zur Fortentwicklung der kologischen Steuerreform vom 23.12.2002

Bundesgesetzblatt Jahrgang 2002 Teil 1 Nr. 87
Bonn, 30.12.2002

[36]

Gesetz fr die Erhaltung, die Modernisierung und den Ausbau der Kraft-Wrme-Kopplung
(Kraft-Wrme-Kopplungsgesetz)
http://www.iwr.de/recht/kwk.pdf (29.10.02)

[37]

Fachverband Biogas e.V., Freising, Germany

Entwurf eines Gaseinspeisegesetzes
http://www.biogas.org/info/GEG_FVB.pdf (24.09.02)

[38]

Duper, O.
Transport von grner Energie im Erdgasnetz
rechtliche Voraussetzungen und Rahmenbedingungen.
In: Institut fr Agrartechnik Bornim e.V. [Edit.]
Biogas und Energielandschaft Potenzial, Nutzung, Grnes Gas, kologie und konomie
Bornimer Agrartechnische Berichte Heft 32
Potsdam-Bornim, Germany, 2002

[39]

Gottfried, H.-P.
Mikro-Power vom Bauernhof. Grnes Gas statt gelber Strom.
energie pflanzen 6 (2001) p. 15 - 17

[40]

Duper, O.
Personal statement
Conference Biogas und Energielandschaft Potenzial, Nutzung, Grnes Gas, kologie und
konomie, Potsdam/Germany, 18./19.11.2002

[41]

http://www.erdgaszuerich.ch (26.09.02)

[42]

http://www.erdgasfahrzeuge.de (18.10.02)

[43]

http://www.adac.de (21.10.02)

[44]

http://www.gibgas.de/german/fakten/preisfindung.html (01.11.02)

[45]

Tentscher, W. (2002)
Was brauchen wir zur Reinigung/Aufbereitung von Biogas zu Erdgasqualitt.
In: Fachverband Biogas e.V. Freising, Germany [Edit.]
Biogas - die universelle Energie von morgen, Tagungsband
11. Jahrestagung des Fachverbandes Biogas e.V

[46]

Thyselius, L. et al.
The potential for biogas in Sweden.
Caddet Renewable Energy Newsletter: December 1999
http://www.caddet-re.org/assets/499art3.pdf (13.09.02)

[47]

Gtz, C. K. von
Swedish Biogas Association
Notice in writing, 10.01.03

[48]

Haker, R.
Lckeby Water AB, Sweden
Notice in writing and information material, 04.10.02

65

[49]

Carlson, B.
Upgrading and biogas utilisation in Linkping
In: Institut fr Agrartechnik Bornim e.V. [Edit.]
Biogas und Energielandschaft Potenzial, Nutzung, Grnes Gas, kologie und konomie
Bornimer Agrartechnische Berichte Heft 32
Potsdam-Bornim, Germany, 2002

[50]

Kern
Kompogas AG, Switzerland
Information by a telephone conversation, 14.10.02

[51]

Egger, K. (2000)
Kompo-Mobil: Biogasnutzung in Fahrzeugen.
http://www.biogas.ch/autoeg.htm (26.09.02)

[52]

Weber, J.-C.
Biogaseinspeisung ins ffentliche Erdgasnetz am Beispiel der Kompogaseinspeisung
Samstagern.
gwa Gas Wasser Abwasser 78 (1998) No. 2, p. 79 - 83

[53]

Weber, J.-C.
Clean fuel from biomass - a Swiss solution.
Waste Management World 2 (2002) No. 3, p. 33 - 37
http://www.jxj.com/wmw/2002_03/clean.html (24.09.02)

[54]

Schmack Biogas AG, Germany

Press release 19.09.2001: Biogas als Treibstoff erste Erfolge
http://www.schmack-biogas.de/pdf/19_09_01.pdf (24.09.02)

[55]

Fachagentur Nachwachsende Rohstoffe e.V. (FNR), Germany

Press release 19.03.2002: Busse brettern mit Biogas.
http://www.fnr.de/de/ak/ak020303.htm (24.09.02)

[56]

Schmidtferick, K.
Wenn Rinder Gas geben: Strom und Kraftstoff.
Neue Energie (2002) No. 4, p. 62 - 64

[57]

Schmack Biogas AG, Germany

Information brochure Biogas-Reinigung GCS
October 2002

[58]

Biogas CHP Tilburg (The Netherlands)

www.agores.org/Publications/CityRES/English/Tilburg-NL-english.pdf (27.08.02)

[59]

Carlson, B.
Personal statement
Conference Biogas und Energielandschaft Potenzial, Nutzung, Grnes Gas, kologie und
konomie, Potsdam/Germany, 18./19.11.2002

[60]

Holm-Nielsen, J. B. (1999)
Biogas in Europe a general overview.
www.ecop.ucl.ac.be/aebiom/articles/biogas/biogas.htm (11.11.02)

[61]

Danish Energy Agency

Answer from the Minister of Energy and Environment to the Energy Committee of the Danish
Government. (Energy Committee, common part, appendix 501) (in Danish)
May 16th 2000.
http://www.folketinget.dk/Samling/19991/udvbilag/EPU/Almdel_bilag501.htm

66

APPENDIX
Manufactures and suppliers of biogas upgrading technology

Cirmac International bv

Malmberg Water AB

P.O. Box 995

Business Park Apeldoorn
NL - 7301 BE Apeldoorn

SE-296 85 hus, Sweden

Laan van Westenenk 501

NL - 7334 DT Apeldoorn
Tel.+31 555340110 Fax. +31 555340050

Tel: +46 44231800 Fax. +46 44231880

info@cirmac.com
http://www.cirmac.com

malmberg@malmberg.se
http://www.malmberg.se

farmatic biotech energy ag

Petrogas, gas-systems bv

Kolberger Strae 13
D - 24589 Nortorf

Postbus 20
NL - 2800 AA Gouda
Doesburgweg 7
NL - 2803 PL Gouda

Tel. +49 439291770 Fax. +49 43925864

Tel. +31 182565395 Fax +31182565325

info@farmatic.com
http://www.farmatic.de

info@petrogas.nl
http://www.petrogas.nl

Flotech Sweden

UOP N.V.

PO Box 7018
SE - 174 07 Sundbyberg, STOCKHOLM

Noorderlaan 147
B - 2030 Antwerp

Tel. +46 8 583 60000 Fax. +46 8 583 60001

Tel. +32 35409911 Fax. +32 35417806

svenquiry@flotech.com
http://www.flotech.com

gvanlamm@uop.com
http://www.uop.com

Kompogas AG
Rohrstrasse 36
CH - 8152 Glattbrugg
Tel. +41 18097100 Fax. +41 18097110
info@kompogas.ch
http://www.kompogas.ch

(no claim on correctness)

67