1. #adrdforum @adbioresources
DR PAUL ADAMS
RESEARCH OFFICER, EPSRC’S SUPERGEN BIOENERGY HUB, UNIVERSITY OF BATH
METHANE EMISSION
MEASUREMENTS FROM SWEDISH
AND UK BIOGAS FACILITIES

2. ADBA R&D Forum
University of Southampton, 15th April 2015
Fugitive Methane Emissions from
Swedish & UK Biogas Facilities
Methane emission measurements from
Swedish and UK biogas facilities

3. ADBA R&D Forum
University of Southampton, 15th April 2015
Paul Adams & Marcelle McManus
University of Bath
paul.adams@bath.edu tel: 07815 152 594
Introduction
Magnus Andreas Holmgren
SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden
magnus.andreas.holmgren@sp.se
William Mezzullo
Future Biogas

4. ADBA R&D Forum
University of Southampton, 15th April 2015
Project Overview
Site visit to Sweden
in December 2014
Collaboration with
SP Technical & other
partners
UK site visits to be
performed in
October 2015
Results
disseminated to
stakeholders

5. ADBA R&D Forum
University of Southampton, 15th April 2015
Why Measure Methane Loss?
• Environment
– Methane is a strong GHG (CO2 x 25)
– Biomass sustainability criteria
– Odour
• Economy
– Reduced leaks and emissions = higher yield
• Safety
• Goodwill
– To show that the biogas sector acts responsibly
– To be pro-active on this issue
You don’t know unless you measure it

6. ADBA R&D Forum
University of Southampton, 15th April 2015
Biomass Sustainability Criteria
• Two main components to Sustainability Criteria (at present)
1. Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emission Thresholds
2. Land Use Criteria
• Applies to all biogas facilities receiving RHI and RO – possibly FITs in future
on fossil criteria: EU heat
87gCO2eq/MJ (313.2kgCO2eq /MWh)
125.2 kg CO2 eq per MWh

7. ADBA R&D Forum
University of Southampton, 15th April 2015
Impact of CH4 Loss on GHG emissions

8. ADBA R&D Forum
University of Southampton, 15th April 2015
Impact of CH4 Loss on Economics (£)
• Typical UK biomethane injection facility could inject 700m3 / hour
• Equates to ~ 7,280kWth
• RHI payment is currently 7.62 pence / kWh
• A 1% loss could equate to £50,000 / year, 3% loss is therefore £150,000 / year

9. ADBA R&D Forum
University of Southampton, 15th April 2015
Learning from Sweden
• Biomethane buses are normal in many cities
• In the UK we get excited about one bus
So useful learning on
Measuring emissions from
Biomethane…….

10. ADBA R&D Forum
University of Southampton, 15th April 2015
Swedish voluntary agreement
• System for leak detection at plant
o Recommended monthly
• Systematic emission sources are identified
o Classification plans
• Quantification every 3 years by external resource
o Measurements of methane concentration and flow
o Calculations of mass emission and percentage loss
• Plant sets targets and measures to reach targets
• Plant reports to Avfall Sverige Methane measurements handbook
SGC report no 227, February 2011
Aimed at measurement personnel
Section on strategies for leak detection
Calculation spreadsheets (Excel)
Default values

11. ADBA R&D Forum
University of Southampton, 15th April 2015
Biogas plant
Liquid waste
Digestate
Recieving
tank
Hygienisation
Mixing
tank
Digester
Torch
Bolier/Gas motor/
Upgrading plant
Pretreatment
unit
Digestate
tank
Dewatering
Digestate
storage
Solid waste
System boundaries, Gas production plant

12. ADBA R&D Forum
University of Southampton, 15th April 2015
Biogas
pipeline
Propane addition
Compression
Hydrogen
sulphide
removal
Drying
Odorising
Upgrading plant
Gas grid
Off gas
System boundaries, Gas upgrading plant

13. ADBA R&D Forum
University of Southampton, 15th April 2015
Typical measurement points for
quantification
• Ventilation from process parts
• Ventilation from buildings
• Ventilation from rooms with gas equipment
• Digestion residue (digestate) storage
• Digestion residue (digestate) treatment (centrifuge etc.)
• Gas analysis instruments
• CO2 emission from gas upgrading plants (off-gas, e.g. stripper air)

14. ADBA R&D Forum
University of Southampton, 15th April 2015
Measurement Methods
• International and European Standard Methods (ISO/CEN)
o Methane concentration
o Gas flow
o Leak detection  mass flow estimations
• EN ISO 25139 – Methane concentration, manual method
• EN ISO 25140 – Methane concentration, automatic method
• ISO 10780 – Gas flow in ducts
• ISO 16911-1 – Volumetric flow in ducts

15. ADBA R&D Forum
University of Southampton, 15th April 2015
Direct measurements from Sweden

16. ADBA R&D Forum
University of Southampton, 15th April 2015
Infrared Camera

17. ADBA R&D Forum
University of Southampton, 15th April 2015
Results from Sweden
• Rolling average: 2007-2012
• Biogas production plants:
• Gas upgrading plants:
Category Mean value Median
WWT 1,5 % 1,8 %
Household waste 2,1 % 1,0 %
Industrial waste 0,8 % 0,3 %
1,5 % 0,3 %
Technique Mean value Median
Chemical scrubber 0,2 % 0,2 %
End-of-pipe 1,0 % 0,7 %
PSA 2,5 % 1,8 %
Water scrubber 2,1 % 2,0 %
1,6 % 1,1 %

18. ADBA R&D Forum
University of Southampton, 15th April 2015
UK Methane Emission Tests
• Planned for the 1st week in October (5th – 9th)
• We are looking for additional sites at present
• Please get in touch if you know of any interested
biogas facilities
• Plan to disseminate the research findings into policy
• Perhaps make suggestions on default values
• Aim to produce a UK version of measurement
methodology
1% ???

19. ADBA R&D Forum
University of Southampton, 15th April 2015
Dr Paul Adams
paul.adams@bath.edu
+44 (0) 7815 152 594
Thank You
Magnus Andreas Holmgren
SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden
magnus.andreas.holmgren@sp.se
+46 (0) 70 56 333 70