On the national territory there are already active realities that can be taken as points of reference in the production of zero kilometer biomethane. An extremely topical issue just a few days after the publication of the decree by the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security (MASE), which presented the application rules for accessing the incentives for the introduction of biomethane into the natural gas network.
In Vicenza, the two Motta Energia and EBS plants jointly allow for the production of around 7,000 tonnes of liquid biomethane per year, starting from the valorisation of livestock effluents (bovine manure and slurry, poultry manure) from 120 farms in the area. The bio-LNG produced is intended for heavy transport and supplies fuel to more than 200 trucks for a total distance of 100,000 kilometers a year. Both plants are owned by Iniziative Biometano: EBS is a brownfield, i.e. a reconverted biogas plant, while Motta Energia is a greenfield built from scratch.
For this project, the AB of Orzinuovi, leader in energy sustainability solutions (from cogeneration to biofuels), supplied the technologies to cover the entire biogas into biomethane transformation chain. The upgrading of the biogas takes place through two BIOCH4NGE® membrane purification systems which, when fully operational, allow for the production of a total of 1200 Sm³/h of biomethane. The 2 CH4LNG® liquefactors, based on Stirling technology, subsequently allow the transformation of the purified biomethane into liquid biomethane while the two ECOMAX® cogenerators, which can be fueled with both biogas and natural gas, produce the energy to support the other processes, satisfying sustainability requirements and at the same time ensuring the best economic performance. This example of circular economy applied to the agricultural world allows a complete valorisation of all the waste from the supply chain which, in addition to becoming green fuel produced at zero kilometer, generates fertilizer. In fact, the digestate, a residue of the anaerobic digestion process, can be used as a fertilizer to replace chemical products, often imported which, in addition to being of excellent quality, are able to enrich the soil with organic matter and nutrients, contributing considerably to the sequestration and soil carbon storage.