Biomethane as a road transport fuel

Steve CarrollCenex

September 2009

Biomethane as a road transport fuelIntroduction

• What is it?

• How do we make it?

• How do we store and dispense it into

vehicles?

• Vehicle technology

• Biomethane vehicle emissions

• Vehicle availability

• Camden biomethane trial

• Vehicles in the UK

• Cenex biomethane toolkit and calculator

capabilities

• EU and UK legislation and incentives

Biomethane as a road transport fuelDefinition & terminology

• Biomethane – is upgraded biogas. the upgrade process removes the contaminants and the majority of the carbon dioxide removed. Biomethane is typically 97% methane, 2% carbon dioxide and 1% oxygen

• Natural gas – is used to describe a gaseous fossil fuel consisting primarily of methane but including significant quantities of ethane, propane, butane, and pentane

CH4 CO2

C3H8

CH4

• Petroleum gas (LPG) - is used to describe a gas produced when refining petroleum, typically supplied as a variable mix of propane and butane.

• Biogas - is used to describe the gas made in anaerobic digesters or land fill sites typically 65% methane and 35% carbon dioxide, with contaminants in the form of water, hydrogen sulphide and siloxanes

-Sewage-Manure -Slurry-Food waste -Slaughter house waste -Organic fraction on municipal solid waste (OFMSW)-Green waste -Energy crops

Biomethane as a road transport fuelAnaerobic digestion process

• Conversion of organic matter to methane and CO2

Photos courtesy of Monsal

Delivery

Pre-processing

• Biogas from AD contains ~60% methane and 40% CO2 plus N, O2, CO, Moisture and contaminants of H2S & Siloxanes

• Biomethane typically > 96% methane

Also,

• Pressure swing adsorption

• Cryogenic separation

Biomethane as a road transport fuelBiogas upgrading

• Station types

• Compressed gas (CNG, CBM)

Fast fill: Refilling station has a large compressor and storage tanks to hold pre-compressed gas at rising pressures (storage cascades)

Slow fill: Overnight fill station compressing gas directly into vehicle tanks

• Liquefied gas (LNG, LBM)Refilling station holds liquefied gas in a cryogenic container, Liquid is passed to a similar container on the vehicle

• Liquefied and Compressed gas (LCNG or LCBM)Liquefied gas is stored as above, the station can also deliver compressed gas by gasifying the liquid and capturing boil off

Biomethane as a road transport fuelBiomethane storage and dispensing

Light duty

applications

Heavy duty

applications

Heavy duty

applications

Current use of technologies by vehicle type

• Dedicated engineSI engine optimised for running on gas. Low noise, low air quality emissions, limited to SI combustion efficiency.

• Dual fuel CI engine, vehicle modified to operate on a mixture of gas and diesel. Up to ~ 80% gas substitution achievable. Maintains CI efficiency and ability to operate on diesel fuel. Available as retrofit. Limited CO2 and noise benefit.

• Bi-fuel engineSI engine modified to operated on gas but maintains the ability to run on petrol as a back-up fuelling system

Biomethane as a road transport fuelVehicle technologies

Relative energy density of road fuels

Biomethane as a road transport fuelBiomethane energy density

• TTW (Tank-to-wheel) considers tail pipe emissions from vehicles

• WTW (Well-to-wheel) considers emissions associated with fuel extraction, processing, delivery and dispensing

Emission data from CONCAWE, Gasrec analysis from CENEX Camden biomethane study

Biomethane as a road transport fuelCarbon emissions

Biomethane as a road transport fuelAir quality and noise emissions

70dB(A) Vacuum cleaner 60dB(A) Dishwasher50dB(A) Gentle rainfall

• Light duty

• Medium duty

• Heavy duty

• Buses

Biomethane as a road transport fuelEU Vehicle availability

Biomethane as a road transport fuelWorldwide vehicle availability

Vehicle Example Technology

Price premium

Cars None - -

Vans Iveco DailyMercedes Sprinter

Bi fuel Dedicated

£5000

HGVs Mercedes Econic 18-26tIveco Eurotech 18-26t

Dedicated £21000 - £23000

HGVs Hardstaff (OIGI) - Volvo/DAF/MB/CAT/DEClean Air Power (Genesis)

Dual fuel £20000 - £25000

Buses 2009 Optare solo Dual fuel £13000 - £18000

Biomethane as a road transport fuelUK Vehicle availability and cost

• Low carbon fuel

• Air quality benefits

• Vehicle noise reduction

• Reduces waste to landfill

• Reduces cost? • dependent on application (annual mileage and mpg)

• cost of biomethane vs diesel• asset life

Biomethane as a road transport fuelSummary

• Performance

•Sustainability

• Reliability

CNG Daily CBG Daily

Trial mileage

86 km / day(9642 km total)

53 km / day(5590 km total)

Fuel consumption

26.3 kg / 100km

24.7 kg / 100km

Biomethane as a road transport fuelPerformance and reliability

• Performance

•Sustainability

• Reliability

Emissions kgCO2/MJ

Emissions Kg CO2 / kg fuel used

WTWkg CO2 / 100 km

CBG 0.031 1.40 34.5

CNG 0.062 2.80 76.0

G25 CNGHD g/kwhr

Euro VI % reduction

CO 1.15 4 62%

NMHC 0.019 0.16 88%

CH4 0.193 0.5 61%

NOx 0.28 0.4 30%

HC 0.199

PM 0.0047 0.01 53%

Air quality emissions

Carbon dioxide emissions

Biomethane as a road transport fuelSustainability

• Performance

•Sustainability

• Reliability

• BM CO2 saving 56% WTW over CNG

• Engine wear and contaminants within normal levels except 2% WC• Reduction in PM and NOx of 30% and 53% against Euro VI legislation• New Iveco Daily displayed 6% improvement in fuel consumption

Biomethane as a road transport fuelConclusions

Biomethane as a road transport fuelVehicles UK

Biomethane as a road transport fuelToolkit

• Calculate methane yields from a given type and quantity of feedstock from anaerobic digestion plants

• Calculate the heat, power and revenues available from CHP systems

• Calculate biomethane available for use as a vehicle fuel accounting for parasitic energy demands of the anaerobic digester and upgrading and compression facilities

• Calculate biomethane required to power transportation fleets (dedicated or dual fuel technologies)

• Compare environmental and cost implications of running a fleet on biomethane compared with fossil diesel or petrol

Detailed business case. Omits capital and maintenance cost for plant operation and any income generated from landfill tax avoidance

Biomethane as a road transport fuelCalculator

Allows initial bespoke analysis of AD facility capacity and feedstock required to fuel a transport fleet on biomethane, outputs environmental and cost benefit information

Biomethane as a road transport fuelBiomethane calculator sample output

• EU Biofuels Directive - 5.75% by energy content for 2010• The Renewable Energy Directive – 10% bio-fuel content by 2020• European Emissions Trading Scheme – include surface transport post 2012• EU Landfill Directive – sets landfill reduction target across member states• Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation 2008 (RTFO)

3.25 % Biofuels April 2010 (Sustainability criteria apply) ~ 9 p/kg

•Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme (LATS)Cap and trade system, buy out price £150/tonne

• Fuel Duty – 19.2 p/kg biomethane vs 54.2p/litre (45.2p/kg) for diesel • Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) – 6p/km

Biomethane as a road transport fuelPolicy drivers and market instruments

• European legislation

• UK Legislation and incentives

• Other fiscal incentives• The competition• Biogas can be used to generate electricity – 2 x ROCs = ~10p/kWhe• Renewable Heat Incentive due 2011 (consultation) = ~ £2.25 per therm ~ £7.7p/kWh

Biomethane as a road transport fuelInformation available from Cenex

• Camden biomethane trial report• www.cenex.co.uk Projects - Biomethane Vehicle Trial

• Feasibility study for the installation of a regional AD facility producing biomethane as a road transport fuel

• www.cenex.co.uk Consultancy – Regional Anaerobic Digestion Facility

• Cenex biomethane toolkit and calculator

• www.cenex.co.uk Enquiry form• Request your free copy

Thank you for your attention

www.cenex.co.uk