Unlocking the Power of Your Biowaste Methane Capture

It’s no secret that methane gas is one of the most climate-damaging gases that we regularly release into our atmosphere.

Over the course of 100 years, methane has a global warming potential 28–36 times that of carbon dioxide. That’s a staggering impact for something released as a key part of many natural processes used, for example, in food production.

The agricultural sector is one of the largest emitters of methane, as well as other harmful gases. So it’s no surprise that the food and beverage industry as a whole is coming under an increasing amount of pressure to reduce its carbon footprint, particularly by cutting down on these emissions.

Many producers are turning to a straightforward answer: capturing and flaring their methane gas in order to adhere with legislation and keep their emissions in check. But doing so throws away the hidden energy potential of their biowaste methane.

We’re going to take a look at how to unlock that potential, improve your own energy efficiency, and deliver a healthy profit along the way.

What is the answer to agricultural methane release?

With social, political, and legislative pressure growing on food producers, many are unsurprisingly turning to anaerobic digesters for their livestock waste. This form of methane capture uses enzymes and heating to digest the biowaste and is an increasingly common approach to the problem. Once the methane is sufficiently concentrated it is simply flared.

However, while that reduces its environmental impact – as only less-damaging carbon dioxide and water are released – it misses a trick. With just a few pieces of equipment, you can take advantage of the energy potential of that concentrated methane for power generation.

Power generation: maximizing your potential

Smart producers are taking advantage of the power potential of their captured methane to not only increase the positive environmental impact of their efforts but also to reap the financial rewards.

There are three main ways to make the most of your biowaste methane:

1) Onsite power generation

Methane gas that is captured is officially designated as a renewable energy source and using it for localized power generation can allow producers to access carbon offset credits, depending on the specific legislation in their state.

By feeding concentrated methane into a generator, you can offset other power generation that you may be running on site, helping you to reduce your costs and the overall size of your carbon footprint.

The efficiency of your power generation can be optimized even further by using heat exchangers to capture the waste heat created by the generator and feeding that back into the production site. This speeds up your methane production and increases the cost-effectiveness of your setup, by lifting your power production and energy conservation.

2) Grid export

If you simply don’t have any use for an additional onsite power source, there are other equally beneficial options for taking advantage of your biowaste methane production. If you’re sited close to an existing gas pipeline for example, there are currently large government incentives in place to reward producers pumping renewable gas into national pipelines.

These credits equate to a profit of around $80 per MMBtu of produced gas supplied to the grid, due to the significant cost differential with non-renewable gas. So, if you can sufficiently condense your methane to pipeline quality, your profits can quickly pay for a lot the equipment used in your methane capture operation.

3) Third-party partnerships

Agricultural production, by its very nature, takes place in many remote locations, and so supplying the grid may not be an option. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t any opportunities to monetize your excess methane.

Aggreko have helped producers across South America and Europe partner with third-party companies to make use of onsite electricity generation. Bitcoin mining, for example, is a type of enterprise in need of large amounts of power, so operators are always on the lookout for locations to site server blocks and can easily make use of your excess energy output.

Final thoughts: The journey to Net Zero

Making the most of the resources available to us is a key aspect of any business, and the agricultural industry is no different. As part of our response to the climate emergency – and Aggreko’s own commitment to Net Zero by 2050 – capturing methane from biowaste is essential. Turning that energy into a renewable power source is a great way of optimizing your own operation as we head into a brighter, greener future.

In a policy landscape that can change rapidly, leasing the equipment for your power generation is the safest bet, as it avoids the need for a significant capital investment and protects you from the possibility of government incentives changing. A reputable vendor will also take full responsibility for servicing, maintaining, and staffing your setup.

Helping you to turn what was previously a waste resource into a secondary source of income.

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