Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
8096372 | Journal of Cleaner Production | 2018 | 8 Pages |
Abstract
In this paper, the enrichment of methane by membrane technology was studied by employing (i) a model as well as (ii) a real biogas mixture produced on a laboratory-scale. Thereafter, the endurance of the process was tested at an existing biogas plant. The commercial gas separation module under investigation contained hollow fiber membranes with a polyimide selective layer. During the measurements, the effect of critical factors (including the permeate-to-feed pressure ratio and the splitting factor) was sought in terms of the (i) CH4 content on the retentate-side and (ii) CH4 recovery, which are important measures of biogas upgrading efficiency. The results indicated that a retentate with 93.8â¯vol% of CH4 - almost biomethane (>95â¯vol% of CH4) quality - could be obtained using the model gas (consisting of 80â¯vol% of CH4 and 20â¯vol% of CO2) along with 77.4% CH4 recovery in the single-stage permeation system. However, in the case of the real biogas mixture, ascribed primarily to inappropriate N2/CH4 separation, the peak methane concentration noted was only 80.7â¯vol% with a corresponding 76% CH4 recovery. Besides, longer-term experiments revealed the adequate time-stability of membrane purification, suggesting such a process is feasible under industrial conditions for the improvement of biogas quality.
Related Topics
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Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment
Authors
Nándor Nemestóthy, Péter Bakonyi, Eszter Szentgyörgyi, Gopalakrishnan Kumar, Dinh Duc Nguyen, Soon Woong Chang, Sang-Hyoun Kim, Katalin Bélafi-Bakó,