Biomethane being produced and utilized in the UK

Gasrec, the UK’s first commercial producer of liquid biomethane fuel, BOC, a member of the global gases and engineering Linde Group and SITA UK announced the successful production of liquid biomethane (LBM) fuel from the Gasrec plant at SITA UK’s Albury landfill site in Surrey, UK.

Gasrec has been working closely with BOC and SITA UK to develop an LBM production facility at Albury which can recover over 85% of the methane contained in the raw gas produced from the landfill site.

The Gasrec process cleans the landfill gas of all impurities before one constituent gas, methane, is separated and liquefied to create LBM, a valuable vehicle fuel. The liquefaction technology for landfill applications is provided under an exclusive UK agreement with BOC’s parent, The Linde Group. BOC provides plant operation and maintenance services as well as risk management and engineering expertise.

LBM not only offers a renewable alternative to fossil fuels, which generate harmful Greenhouse Gases, but also burns more cleanly and quietly than diesel, with a 90% reduction in PM10 particulate, a 60% reduction in nitrous oxide, a 50% reduction in sulphur dioxide and a 30% reduction in noise. The use of LBM as a fuel substitute for fossil diesel or gasoline results in carbon dioxide savings in the region of 70%, throughout the chain from extraction of the fossil fuel from the ground to its use in a vehicle. All vehicles that can operate on CNG (compressed natural gas) or LNG (liquefied natural gas) can run on LBM, however LBM offers a reduction in CO2 emissions which is twice that of natural gas

The initial target for the use of LBM is commercial vehicles operating in the haulage and waste management sectors. Used widely, this fuel could make a valuable contribution toward the UK’s short term CO2 reduction targets and lead to an overall improvement in air quality.

Gasrec has signed an agreement with the Hardstaff Group, one of the largest LNG bulk transporters in the UK, to manage transport logistics and fuel transportation from Albury. The haulage trucks use Hardstaff’s dual fuel system running entirely on LBM.