Crumpet crisis II? – Gas engines and biogas upgraders can help

Due to current high natural gas prices there has been a closure in two of the UK’s fertiliser plants. Food and drinks grade carbon dioxide – CO₂ is produced largely as a by-product of the fertiliser sector – is now at a point of significant constraint in the UK. Food and drinks grade CO₂ is widely used to produce dry ice to support food transport and in slaughterhouses to stun animals prior to slaughter – something that will be important given the upcoming festive season. CO₂ is also used in the carbonated drinks industry. This is the second CO₂ supply constraint since the 2018 “Crumpet Crisis”. Did you know CO₂ can be recovered from gas engines and biogas upgraders in a number of ways:

1. Catalysts such as the CoDiNOx system – widely used to enrich the air in greenhouses to help tomato growth
2. Amine washes such as that deployed in quad generation systems generating electricity, heating, cooling and CO₂ recovery with gas engines
3. Membranes – able to physically separate renewable methane in biogas (“biomethane or renewable natural gas”) from renewable CO₂. Also a net CO₂ reducer in the atmosphere
4. Various new developing carbon capture utilisation and storage technologies. Variously able to lock CO₂ in digestate, combine it with brine to produce calcium carbonate or combine it in a stable aqueous solution for disposal in wastewater.

If you’d like to learn more about how we can help you with your CO₂ supply constraints whilst generating resilient local supplies of electricity and heat – contact us here!