500 Nm3/hr Biogas Upgrading Plant

500 Nm3/hr Biogas Upgrading Plant: Hydron Energy’s INTRUPTor – Mid Plant vs. Commercial Membrane Plant

By Hydron Energy

Hydron Energy’s INTRUPTor

Hydron Energy has developed and commercialized a novel, cost-effective solution to upgrade biogas, specifically under ambient operating conditions. Hydron’s Intensified Regenerative Upgrading Platform Technology, known as the INTRUPTor™ module, upgrades biogas into RNG.

The module is equipped with sorbent beds that convert biogas into clean, carbon-negative Renewable Natural Gas (RNG). Hydron offers different plant capacities based on the feed biogas flow rate.

Figure 1: Hydron Mobile Biogas Upgrading Plant in Operation in Ontario, Canada

The upgrading process begins by feeding biogas at near ambient pressures and temperatures into the INTRUPTor module, where the gas mixture undergoes purification within the novel nano porous sorbent. The INTRUPTor module is equipped with a series of structured sorbent beds and novel rotary valves that perform a rapid cycle process that distributes the gases among the beds. The process consists of the following streams:

• Feed: The feed is pre-treated to remove contaminants such as H2S, VOC, and Siloxanes from landfill or digested gas, and flows through the sorbent bed. During this step, CO2 and N2 is removed by selective adsorption, as CH4 flows through the product line.

• Product: CH4 is collected in the product tank, dried, and compressed to meet the pipeline specifications.

• Regeneration: Vapour H2O is used in this stage to displace CO2 from the sorbent beds. Water vapour is mainly generated from waste heat.

• Exhaust: The displaced CO2 exits the bed at high purity. The high-quality CO2 can be exhausted or captured for various applications.

Figure 2: INTRUPTor - Mid Plant — Figure 2: INTRUPTor – Mid Plant

How the INTRUPTor System Saves on CAPEX and OPEX

The INTRUPTor™ saves between 20% to 50% in both capital and operational costs compared to existing commercial solutions. The elimination of the feed compressor, exhaust vacuum pump, feed gas dryer, and other unit operations and their ancillary instruments lowers the installed equipment cost.

500 Nm3/hr Biogas Upgrading: INTRUPor Plant vs. Commercial Membrane Plant

Additionally, a simpler, low-pressure plant design and construction have further reduced the capital cost by using lightweight composite material for fabrication. The operational cost savings stem from the high efficiency of the INTRUPTor™ process and lower energy consumption for gas handling at lower operating pressures.

For more information, read our USA Biogas Magazine.