Belgium’s first ever biomethane-to-grid plant is now operational. The Bright Biomethane installation at Energy Conversion Facility ‘IOK Afvalbeheer’ in Beerse, Belgium successfully produced Belgium’s first sustainable biomethane and injected into the natural gas grid of net operator Eandis.
The installation represents a double first for Bright Biomethane, the biogas upgrading arm of Netherlands-headed bioenergy technology providers HoSt – its the first project for the company in Belgium and it is the first biomethane plant in the country.
The biomethane system uses membrane technology to upgrade the biogas to 91 Nm3 biomethane per hour, equivalent to the annual natural gas consumption of around 350 households.
According to the company, the Bright Biomethane system is an easily expandable system, ensuring that enough biomethane is produced in the future to provide gas for around 1 000 families. The biogas is produced from the anaerobic digestion (AD) of garden, fruit and vegetable waste (GFV) from more than half million residents of the Kempen area.
Aiming to increase biomethane output
IOK Afvalbeheer currently produces renewable bioenergy in two ways: 75 percent of the biogas is used in a combined heat and power (CHP) unit with the heat and electricity that used by the biogas plant and the upgrading system. The remaining 25 percent of the biogas is upgraded to biomethane for injection into the national gas grid.
This sustainable energy production will in the future shift towards an increasement of the biomethane. Instead of 91 Nm3 low-calorific biomethane (L-gas), 242 Nm3 high-calorific biomethane (H-gas) per hour will be produced in the near future.
