Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Bio-methane for Transport Vehicle Use Encouraged in United Kingdom

The following post was placed on the KARAMEL web site and appeared in Biogasmax ( www.biogasmax.eu ) on 6 March 2008, and although it is not exactly a new posting, I thought it of sufficient interest to include here.

I am not absolutely certain about the definition of bio-methanisation as used by the Europeans, but in this context it appears to be refering to the scrubbing and compressing of biologically produced methane, as is produced by anaerobic digestion.

The posting follows:-

Increasing interest for bio-methane in the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom is becoming more and more interested in bio-methanisation and in bio-methane for vehicle use. This renewable « natural gas » has already attracted the attention of the UK government. English companies with an interest in natural gas and renewable energies, supported by John Baldwin (Managing Director of CNG Services Ltd), are hoping to obtain the same financial status for this « green » gas as that accorded to «green» electricity. During the Biogasmax Friends Day (30.01.08 in Bern), we were pleased to welcome a scientific observer from Exeter University. As well as this, on March 03, 2008, Cenex organized a one-day conference in London to promote organic waste bio-methanisation with the aim of clean fuel production.

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Since 2005 – 2006, six new bio-methanisation plants have been built in the United Kingdom, increasing UK capacity by over 100%. In 2007, two new plants were started and many new biogas projects indicate that similar levels of expansion are now possible in Germany.

The British Minister for Sustainable Consumption and Production, Joan Ruddock, declared that her Department considered «Anaerobic Digestion» the best process for dealing with organic waste. Many studies show that the energy cost of upgrading biogas to bio-methane is insignificant and there are no regulatory barriers to injecting bio-methane into the natural gas grid.

The UK Gas Industry Trade Association, along with NGVA Europe (Natural Gas Vehicle Association) and REA (Renewable Energy Association) are lobbying for this renewable gas in order to get financial support from the government. They are claiming equivalent treatment for bio-methane as that accorded to «green» electricity, so that gas suppliers could offer «green» gas tariffs. John Baldwin, Managing Director of CNG Services Ltd, supports this campaign, pointing out that bio-methane production offers solutions to many problems: waste recycling, reduction in global warming and reduction in fossil fuel imports.

To underline his point about the huge potential of bio-methane, John Baldwin quotes the experiences of Biogasmax partners such as Sweden, Austria, Switzerland, and the French town of Lille, which has an Organic Waste Valorisation Centre supplying bio-methane to the city’s buses. At the Biogasmax Friends Day, held in Bern on January 30 2008, our partners were able to take on board the UK interest in our project, welcoming a young researcher from Exeter, Dr. Ulf Winkler, whose work deals with the assessment of best practice in managing urban transport.

On March 03, 2008, Cenex, in partnership with NGVA Europe (Natural Gas Vehicle Association) and Environmental Protection UK, hosted a one-day conference in London (Devonport House, Greenwich). Its purpose was to highlight the environmental virtuous circle of bio-methanisation, which offers both a solution to urban organic waste treatment and a possible answer to the obligation to increase the proportion of biofuel in global consumption.

1 comment:

kannan said...

this is a positive development.
fine tuning in design, will promote anaerobic digestor as a global source of alternate fuel to supplement/substitute compressed natural gas CNG & liquefied petroleum gas LPG used in automobiles in India.

in india,biogas from anaeorobic digestion of cow dung has already proved its worth as alternate to piped gas for kitchen needs,while a spent wash effluent of a distillery is generating more than 1000kw/hr.