Landfill Gas Catalyst Test and Hydrogen from Biogas

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Hydrogen from Biogas

The objective of this Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) project activity is to assess the possibility of producing hydrogen (H₂) for fuel cells from LandFill Gas (LFG) and/or biogas generated from manure, Municipal Waste Water (MWW), or industrial wastes.

Methane produced by the anaerobic digestion of wastes can be converted to H₂ by the process of steam reforming or catalytic partial oxidation. These are economical processes employed for the synthesis of bulk H₂. This activity consists of determining feed gas composition, making adjustments to a reactor system, preparing the catalyst, performing catalytic tests, and analyzing data. As part of the study, a review of patent and scientific literature pertaining to biogas purification for hydrogen production will be performed. This will involve the examination of undesirable biogas components, maximum allowable contaminant levels, and purification technologies at different stages of development. A grade of bio-methane suitable for conversion to H₂ using Steam Methane Reforming (SMR) and other catalytic technologies will be produced. Biogas purification requirements including contaminants and carbon dioxide (CO₂) are of interest. H₂ will be produced from the catalytic aqueous phase reforming of glycerol and sugars and this process will be tested at bench scale level in a new process configuration. Another focus of this research is to develop a continuous process for producing H₂ from low-value biomass sources which would be fed to the SUPERCETANE™ hydrotreating process to convert lipidic wastes to renewable high cetane diesel fuel. Moreover, the commercial viability of biodiesel production will be improved by creating a new market for glycerol, a byproduct of this process. The tests on conversion of glycerol to hydrogen resulted in an invention disclosure.

H₂ produced will be used to generate electricity using fuel cells. As a result, this research allows valuable energy to be produced from biomass wastes and eliminates the use of fossil fuels. Significant GreenHouse Gas (GHG) reduction should result from this research.

Landfill Gas Catalyst Test

Conversion of Waste Restaurant
Grease to SUPERCETANE™ Diesel
Blending Stock

The objective of this NRCan project activity is to develop a novel technology to convert LandFill Gas (LFG) and/or biogas to ethanol using thermochemical conversion.

This activity consists of developing and improving the catalyst technology used for the conversion of syngas to ethanol and analyzing the relationship between syngas composition and catalyst performance and selectivity towards ethanol. A particular focus of this activity will be to construct a prototype unit and carry out tests using LFG as feed. Syntec Biofuel Inc. will develop and improve the catalyst technology used for the conversion of syngas to ethanol. Suitable catalyst formulations for ethanol synthesis will be developed and tested on LFG and biogas in order to confirm catalyst performance under industrial conditions. Since syngas derived from renewable sources such as LFG or biomass can be expected to vary, the effects of such variance will also be examined to improve the robustness of the catalyst. Syntec's prototype plant will be operated in continuous phase in order to better simulate full-scale operation. The system will mimic the performance of an industrial unit to facilitate scale up and to ensure that emissions are maintained well below regulatory limits. Data collected from this study will allow for a comprehensive Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of GreenHouse Gas (GHG) benefits.

A novel process which steam reforms LFG and/or biogas into syngas and catalytically converts syngas to ethanol has achieved positive results. This research provides a method to produce liquid biofuel from waste displacing the use of fossil fuels. Expected GHG reduction benefits include the capture of methane and production of ethanol to be blended into gasoline. Significant GHG reduction is anticipated from this research.