German biogas plant operator Ruhe Biogas this week started up its first 'compact' liquified biogas (bio-LNG) plant at Darchau, near Hamburg.
Using the company's Greenline Liquid technology the plant processes biogas from liquid manure and dung into up to 3 t/d of bio-LNG for the heavy-duty transport sector. The plant is supposed to serve as a model to show how German farmers can add liquefaction modules to their existing biogas plants.
"We could do with a lot of small, decentralised bio-LNG plants in Germany right now," Ruhe Biogas-Service shareholder Kunibert Ruhe said. "In principle any agricultural operation can become a bio-LNG production facility as they can produce biogas self-sufficiently in the form a of a circular economy using residual materials from their own farms and from businesses in the region and refine it into bio-LNG."
Although trucks account for only 6pc of vehicles on German roads, they can cause 30pc of CO2 emissions in transport, according to Ruhe Biogas. Fleet operators can significantly reduce their CO2 emissions by replacing diesel with bio-LNG.
The bio-LNG produced in the Darchau plant has been secured in an offtake agreement with Osnabruck-based energy company Q1 Energie.
