Complex biogas membrane upgrading to BioCNG at agriculture biogas plant

Biogas upgrading in Czech Republic evinces very slow start, especially because of low foundation support. Distrust of biogas plant operators is caused mainly by high capital costs and further biomethane utilization. Cheap, small-scale demonstration units, which evince additional value, could present potential kick-off for following capacity increase in order to supply the gas into the grid or broaden insufficient net of dispensing gas stations to fuel CNG vehicles. In this article, we present our biogas upgrading pilot unit, which is long-term operated at agricultural biogas plant in Czech Republic. It presents a compact and complex system of biogas pretreatment, purification and BioCNG dispensation placed in one transportation container ISO 20. It processes 12 N m(3)/h of biogas while produces 6.3 N m(3)/h of biomethane (95-96 vol%) with overall methane recovery 83.9%. Acquired data confirm that any funding support makes small-scale upgrading profitable with acceptable return of investments.