Sustainable Transformation of Waste to Biomethane, through Innovative Upgraded Anaerobic Digestion and Gasification

ongoing

The main aim of the LIFE-W2B project is to demonstrate in one complete and of considerable size facility, the combination of SD, AD and GF (including biochar production and addition to AD), as a complete and adequate valorization method of organic waste of various origins and characteristics, into the production of fuel gases, that of biogas and syngas, which in turn will be upgraded into biomethane through state of the art biological processes units. This will enable a synergistic mitigation of each technology’s limitations, while maximizing their potential, by leading to the production of high added value biomethane and rich in nutrients biochar, that can really have an overall positive environmental foot print and secure economic viability. This will be achieved through a pilot / demonstration facility, managing up to 1,000 t of waste / year and which will be operated continuously for a period of at least 24 months, in a constant effort to optimise operation, collect as many data as possible that will allow to evaluate its overall efficiency (environmental and economic, see next objective), demonstrate beyond doubt the commercial potential of the process and facilitate the transition to a fully commercial unit or the utilisation of components in existing facilities. On the overall, the preliminary CO2 balance for the W2B process is -5.5 tCO2/y (without considering the avoided CO2 obtained diverting waste from landfilling). Thus LIFE-W2B (at a capacity of 1,070 t/y of waste) becomes a sink of 5 t CO2-eq/y or about 5 kg CO2-eq per t of biowaste, while conventional processes have positive impact. Assuming that an average car emits 2 tCO2/y, W2B can eliminate the equivalent of almost 3 cars per year, which become more than 1,500, if the landfill diversion is also taken into account.