1. Due to the relatively low CH4 percentage in biogas around 50-70%.

How
will you tend to improve or upgrade this percentage into 80-90%
approximate concentration theoretically? Show your process flow in a
schematic diagram to better understand the concepts of your idea.

There are two steps involved in biogas treatment, cleaning (removal of minor unwanted
components of biogas), and upgrading (removal of CO2 content). After the processes, the
final product is called biomethane which composed of CH4 (95–99%) and CO2 (1–5%), with
no trace of H2S. Biogas cleaning is usually considered the first step for biogas applications
and is an energy-demanding process. The second treatment is called “biogas upgrading” and
aims to increase the low calorific value of the biogas, and thus, convert it to a higher fuel
standard.

Methods of converting biogas to biomethane

Physical Scrubbing

Working Principle:

 The solubility of all components increases when pressure is higher, and CO2 is more
soluble than CH4 according to Henry’s Law.
 Raw biogas flow through a counter flow of a liquid in a column
 Liquid absorbs CO2 leaving biogas with high content of CH4
Water Scrubbing

The biogas is compressed tru a compressor and is injected into an absorption column with
pressure and temperature, of 4–10 bar and 40 ◦C. The water leaves the absorption column
filled with plastic packing to increase mass transfer between water and biogas. Water is lead
to a flash tank to recover traces of CH4 and transferred back to the biogas inlet. For water
recycling, a desorption column filled with a plastic packing is used together with a counter
flow of air to release CO2. Before sending the water back to the absorption column, it is
cooled down in order to increase the differences in solubility between methane and CO2
and improve their separation

Organic Scrubbing
Organic solvents such as methanol (CH3OH), N-methyl pyrrolidone (NMP) and polyethylene
glycol ethers (PEG) can be used instead of water to absorb CO2. The biogas is compressed to
6–8 bar and cooled before injected into the bottom of the absorption column. The organic
solvent is cooled and provided in the top of the absorption column to maintain a
temperature around 20 ◦C. Organic solvent requires a biogas pre-conditioning step to
remove water and heating steps to achieve the desorption of CO2 at 40 ◦C. In addition, a
regeneration step of the organic solvent is required, which usually implies high
temperatures. Similar to water scrubbing, the use of organic solvents also results in less
than 2% CH4 losses.

Organic solvent scrubbing improves CO2 separation and anticorrosion properties compared
to water scrubbing, the disadvantage is that it it requires more energy and the cost of the
organic solvents are higher, which make the process more expensive in terms of operation.

Water Scrubbing Organic Scrubbing

CH4 losses (%) <2 2-4
CH4 Purity (%) 96-98% 96-98%
Advantages

 Simple process
 High methane purity
 Less operation and maintenance cost

Disadvantage

 Required huge amount of water

 High energy needed
 Chances of biological contamination
 Required external heat

Chemical Scrubbing

Working Principle:

 CO2 is more reactive that CH4

 Raw Biogas flow through a counter flow of a chemical solution in a column
 Reaction rate between CO2 and chemical solution is directly proportional to
temperature
 Chemical solution absorbs Co2 leaving biogas with high content of CH4
 CH4 losses (%) <1
CH4 Purity (%) 99%

Chemical absorption technologies mainly use amines as the solvent. Common amines for
removing CO2 and H2S are diethanolamine (DEA), monoethanolamine (MEA) and methyl
diethanolamine (MDEA). Currently, a mixture of MDEA and piperazine (PZ) is mainly used as
solvent since it presents higher CO2 absorption capacity when compared to MDEA alone.
First, the amine solution is introduced to the top of the absorption column while biogas
enters from the bottom. The CO2 then reacts with the amine solution by an exothermic
reaction and is absorbed. This increases the temperature of the absorber and facilitates the
absorption of CO2 by improving the solubility of CO2 in the amine solution. The absorption
column often contains a random or packed bed operating at 1–2 bar. The liquid from the
bottom of the absorption column is then pumped to the top of the stripper column through
a heat exchanger for regeneration (CO2 is released and amines are recovered). The
regeneration column is equipped with a reboiler at 120–150 ◦C that provides heat to boil
the amines solution and to release CO2. The CH4 concentration is up to 99% and H2S can
also be absorbed completely

This process operates in atmospheric pressure, giving low operational costs. In contrast, this
upgrading system involves high investment costs due to the heat requirements for the
regeneration of the amine solution. Another drawback of this technology is the requirement
to treat waste chemicals, corrosion and contaminants, which increases the complexity of
the process

Pressure Swing Adsorption

During PSA, CO2 is separated from biogas under elevated pressure. Then, the pressure
decreases, resulting in gas release. It is based on molecular characteristics and the affinity of
the CO2 to an adsorbent material, such as silica-gel zeolites and activated carbon. CO2 is
adsorbed on the adsorbent surface by van der Waals forces. The absorbent is packed in
vertical pressurized columns. The biogas is compressed to 4–10 bar and injected in a H2S
removal unit. Subsequently, there are four adsorption columns, which are fed in parallel
with biogas to maintain a continuous operation.

Membrane Separation

Membranes are semi-permeable barriers that allow compounds to pass through depending
on their permeability and difference in temperature, concentration or pressure. Cellulose
acetate reaches separation of CH4 to 96%, is cheap and has an easy manufacture.
polyamide materials offer high mechanical and thermal stability and show high permeability
and selectivity. These membranes are now economically competitive and allow the
separation of CO2 and H2S when compared to conventional technologies. Improvements in
membrane material are being investigated, aimed at obtaining higher permeability without
lowering gas selectivity.

Inorganic membranes such as zeolite, activated carbon, silica, carbon nanotubes and metal-
organic framework present more mechanical strength, thermal stability, and resistance
against any chemicals than polymeric membrane. However, the manufacturing of inorganic
membranes is complex and expensive. The main developments in membrane separation
methods are focused on mixed matrix membranes, which integrate both polymeric
membranes and inorganic membranes.

Biogas is pressurized between 5 and 10 bar after the gas conditioning step then to the
compressor and led to the membrane again to improve the CH4 purity in the outlet gas.

Cryogenic Separation

Cryogenic separation operates at low temperatures and high pressures allowing the
liquefaction of certain gases such as CO2 and H2S.

As we can see on the figure the system uses a high number of equipment: compressors,
turbines, heat exchangers and distillation columns
Advantages

 More CO2 dissolved per unit volume

 High methane purity
 Low methane loss
 Faster process than physical scrubbing

Disadvantages

 High energy needed to produce steam

 Pre-treatment required
 Difficulties in handling solvent
 Salt precipitation, foaming and poisoning of amine
Advantages

 High gas quality

 Low methane losses
 Dry process
 Low energy demand
 No chemical use

Disadvantages

 Complex process
 Pre-treatment needed
 A couple of streams needed to increase biogas quality

Advantages

 Environmental friendly
  Low energy consumption
 Low cost
 Simple process

Disadvantages

 Low membrane selectivity

 Pre-treatment necessary
 Low CH4 purity

Advantages

 High gas quality

 Low methane losses
 Environmentally friendly
 Produce LBM with low extra energy

Disadvantages

 High investment and operational cost

 Pre-treatment needed
 High energy required for cooling
 Technology is still under development