A new partnership between two European energy companies to install Sweden’s first carbon capture and utilisation (CCU) facility using biogas will produce 20,000 tonnes of food-grade carbon dioxide (CO2) per year.
Dutch clean energy firm Bright Renewables will supply CO2 liquefaction technology to Tekniska verken’s biogas plant Svensk Biogas in Linköping to purify and liquefy CO2 from the biogas production process.
Equipped with a capacity of 2.5 tonnes per hour of Bio-CO2, the liquefaction system includes technology to recover CO2 from the biogas upgrading process to purify and liquefy CO2 using a natural refrigerant.
“By recovering CO2 from biogas upgrading, it prevents atmospheric release, reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” explained Niraj Kunkulol, representative for the Scandinavian market at Bright Renewables.
“Using CO2 as a natural refrigerant in our system, an environmentally friendlier alternative to Freon and ammonia, enhances sustainability. “
Bright Renewables’ CO2 liquefaction plant in Heek, Germany ©Bright Renewables
The liquefaction system also features four 70 cubic metre storage tanks for the liquid Bio-CO2 and a liquid CO2 analyser to certify the food-grade quality.
“The goal is to certify the new facility according to ISO 22000/FSSC 22000, which is a requirement for food-grade quality CO2,” said Anna Lovsen, Business Area Manager Biogas at the Tekniska verken Group.
In early 2023, the Group made an investment decision to build a facility to handle the biogenic CO2 formed during the digestion of food waste, slaughterhouse waste and more, which then removed during biogas production.
“We are working diligently to make the most of all by-products and residues from our production to increase resource efficiency,” said Lovsen.
“With Bright’s innovative solution at the facility, we contribute to a circular economy, while also reducing our methane emissions by recycling the methane that previously accompanied the CO2 back into the process.”
The new facility is funded by Klimatklivet, a programme by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency aimed at maximising local climate-related investments.
Food-grade biogenic CO2
The use cases for food-grade biogenic CO2 mainly include carbonation of beverages and food preservation.
The worldwide food and beverage industries consume about 11 million tonnes of CO2 each year and it is one of the most established end uses of CO2.
According to Christopher Carson, Director at Carbonic Solutions, one of the biggest challenges faced by the biogenic CO2 industry surrounds market perception.
“Our biggest offtakers are the carbonated soft drink industry and those players are very cautious and those players are very cautious with new sources of CO2,” he explained during a webinar appearance with gasworld.
“They want to watch and see before they start using CO2 from sources that aren’t proven.”
Although the source has been around for several years, Carson believes that barriers around its acceptance still exist because it is seen as ‘new’ into the industry and is therefore unproven.
“The fear there is that with variable feedstocks, you might have some contaminants that get into the CO2 that you’re not looking for, that you’re not testing for, that could create some quality issues.”
However, as more CO2 recovery plants continue to come online, Carson sees the industry becoming more comfortable that biogenic CO2 can be used in the industry.
“If we build our plants fit for purpose with the right quality systems in place and we do the right testing and we understand our feedstocks, there’s no reason why these biogenic biogas sources can’t play a really important role in the future in increasing our CO2 production capacity all the way across the globe.”
