SoCalGas’ biomethanization reactor system will be used to generate renewable energy as part of a power-to-gas demonstration in a digester for dairies in Maine.
The power-to-gas process converts renewable electricity into hydrogen. The biomethanization reactor converts the hydrogen and the biogenic CO2 into methane, which can be used on site or fed into the grid. The system will be installed in an anaerobic digester facility in Clinton in early 2023.
The process uses organic waste from six dairy farms in Clinton and other areas of the state to produce biogas that can be used for heating, cooking, and other processes.
SoCalGas, Plug Power, Electrochaea and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) of the US Department of Energy (DOE) worked together to develop the reactor in Colorado. The biomethanization reactor will be relocated to Maine as a key component of this DOE-funded project.
Summit Natural Gas, Maine, recently received $ 5 million from the DOE for a demonstration of power-to-gas with biomethanation process in a milk cooker in Clinton.
“The development of the biomethanization reactor was a collaborative effort and the technology will help us meet our goal of net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions,” said Neil Navin, vice president of clean energy innovations for SoCalGas.
“The reactor, which is used nationwide, shows its effectiveness to a considerable extent. The cooperation with other organizations in the development of innovative technologies is part of the climate solution. “
Nancy Dowe, Senior Research Scientist at NREL, commented, “SoCalGas pioneered the development of the biomethanization process with NREL and Electrochaea, in which self-replicating unicellular organisms convert CO2 and hydrogen into renewable methane.
“SoCalGas financed the design, manufacture and validation of the bioreactor system at NREL, which was successfully put into operation in 2019. Now, with this new project in a fermenter, we feel like we’re graduating to a real biogas source and doing effective research in the field on a meaningful scale. “
The system is able to recycle CO2 from multiple sources such as ethanol plants and anaerobic digesters to avoid greenhouse gas emissions and displace fossil methane consumption.
Summit’s fermenter project is one of 22 selected projects that focus on producing low-cost, low-carbon biofuels and are funded by the DOE.
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