PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
The transport sector accounts for 19.5% of total EU greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (22.9% in Italy). Counter to the general EU trend, GHG emissions from transport have increased by 24% compared to 1990 levels, with road transport responsible for most of this increase. Replacing fossil fuels with biofuels could be a way of reversing this trend. More specifically, the production of biomethane would allow waste to be used as a source of transport fuel. However, waste management currently represents a cost for public administrations relating to its collection, separation, treatment and storage. Waste also carries health and environmental threats. The economic and environmental costs of waste management could thus be offset through the production of biomethane from landfill biogas or from the organic fraction of municipal solid waste.
OBJECTIVES
The BioMethER LIFE+ project planned to set up two demonstration plants in Italy, in Reggio Emilia (Roncocesi) and Ravenna for biomethane production from waste. The plants would treat both biogas from landfill and biogas from anaerobic digestion of sludge from wastewater treatment. They would be connected to the transport fuel system so that the biomethane can be used for vehicle fuel; remaining energy generated by the plants would be burnt to generate heat or power. The project thus planned to combine established technologies (such as anaerobic digestion) with new technologies, in particular the use of a membrane technology for biogas upgrading. (process of carbon dioxide removal from biogas). Thanks to this upgrading process it would be possible to obtain biogenic methane (renewable biofuel) totally equal to the fossil natural gas and therefore suitable for final use in natural gas vehicles. Through its actions, the project aimed to contribute to the reduction of GHG emissions by replacing a portion of fossil fuels natural gas with an equal amount from renewable energy sources residual biomass. It would therefore demonstrate a means of reducing the environmental impact of waste management. The project results would be promoted as widely as possible within Italy, while a European Biomethane Technical Committee would be established to exchange information with interested organisations from other countries.
RESULTS
The BioMethER LIFE+ project demonstrated the technical and economic feasibility of an upgrading process of producing biomethane from biogas derived from landfills and from the anaerobic treatment of sludges. It showed that biomethane could be produced in this way to the same quality and at the same level of public safety as natural gas.
The project reached an agreement with Volkswagen Italia, which was not initially part of the plan, to test the use of the biomethane in cars. Overall GHG emissions from the combination of production plants adopted by the project were shown to be up to 79% lower than from gas production currently provided by the Italian pipeline. Furthermore, a life cycle assessment showed that a vehicle fuelled with biomethane from the projects plants has a lower environmental impact (in terms of emissions from well to wheel) than an electric vehicle powered by electricity from the Italian grid (a mixture of thermoelectric, nuclear and renewable). Biomethane-fuelled and electric cars produce respectively 40% and 58% of the CO2 emissions of a fossil-fuelled car.
The two plants developed by the project are the first of this type in Italy and have therefore generated much publicity. The associated beneficiaries, the IREN group and the HERA group, are investing in BioMethER to potentially replicate the experience in other plants directly managed by them. HERA is planning to construct two additional upgrading plants (from organic fraction of solid municipal waste), while IREN is aiming to create a new biomethane plant in Reggio Emilia, authorized to produce around 1000 Nm3/h, and a second one in the Piedmont Region (Vercelli).
Considering the average size of the first industrial biomethane plants in Italy and the biomass potential of the Emilia-Romagna Region, the beneficiaries expect between 30 and 70 new plants to be developed in the coming years.
The Emilia-Romagna Region, co-financer of this project, is also extremely interested in these results because the membrane technology is considered the most convenient and suitable for wide-scale use in the agricultural sector. Currently, the region has 253 biogas plants that could potentially adopt this technology.
Biomethane can play an important role in increasing the environmental sustainability of the regional transportation sector. While the 2020 targets for electricity and heating and cooling in Italy have already been achieved, efforts are still needed to reach the goal of 10% of all transport fuel coming from renewable sources. Biomethane offers Italy a way of reaching this objective. Italy has the largest private fleet of compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles in Europe. The Emilia-Romagna Regions energy plan estimates that it is possible to achieve a 63% increase in the fleet of CNG vehicles by 2030. Comparing the current total consumption of natural gas for the transport sector in the region with the potential for biomethane production, and assuming entire regional biogas production is upgraded, the project team calculated that the ambitious goal of fuelling all the regions CNG vehicles with biomethane is feasible in the next 10 years.
The project engaged all the crucial actors of the methane sector in the project at the regional and the national level, thanks to well-conceived networking and dissemination events and activities. These connections allowed the team to play a key role in the approval of the Italian Biomethane Decree of 2018. Biomethane from landfill and anaerobic digestion is now included in incentive schemes in Italy.
Further information on the project can be found in the project's layman report and After-LIFE Communication Plan (see "Read more" section).
