Biomethane competes for space for energy transition in the country – 01/07/2024 – Environment

The economy powered by waste, such as garbage, sewage, manure and vegetable by-products from agribusiness, has a rising protagonist, biomethane. The name is ugly, but its characteristics as a substitute for fossil fuels are attractive to a growing number of interested parties.

In short, the process of generating this element is simple. Organic remains, which without adequate treatment contaminate the environment and cause diseases, are processed in a closed compartment, emitting biogas. Purified in another process, it turns into biomethane — and even generates biofertilizers.

The characteristics of biomethane are identical to that of natural petroleum gas, to the point that it is possible to mix both in a network of gas pipelines, in the pipes of homes and businesses and even in the tanks of vehicles that use petroleum gas. It can also replace diesel in buses and trucks and gasoline in cars.

This gas extracted from organic matter, however, has an important difference in relation to its fossil brother: considering the entire production process, exchanging one for the other can reduce emissions by 80% — which is why it is gaining ground as an ally for companies to comply decarbonization targets.

“When drilling an oil well, a gas that was trapped, quiet under the rock, is released, and this increases the volume of emissions. Biomethane, on the contrary, is already in the atmosphere. It is not a new emission”, he explains Tamar Roitman, executive manager of Abiogás (Brazilian Biogas Association).

Three segments are the main sources of the product: waste accumulated in landfills, agricultural by-products and basic sanitation waste.

“Biomethane is the hot topic,” says Milton Pilão, CEO of Orizon Valorização de Residuos, whose essence is to generate profits from waste. The company is listed on B3, the São Paulo Stock Exchange, participated in COP28 (UN climate conference) and has a broad vision of the demand for environmentally friendly products. Its landfills transformed into ecoparks offer countless products. There are now 16 in 11 states.

“As a whole, we have accelerated composting technology to generate fertilizer, mechanized sorting for recycled materials, equipment to transform waste into fuel pallets and also to capture biogas from the landfill, which we can transform into electrical energy or biomethane”, he lists.

“The demand for renewable gas today is much greater than the supply, especially by industries, and we are prioritizing biomethane.”

In the Paulínia ecopark (SP), for example, where a thermal plant supplies the national system, the goal is to prioritize the supply of biomethane when the term of the electricity supply contract comes to an end, in 2025.

Gás Verde, from the Urca Energia group, the largest producer of biomethane in Latin America from the Seropédica landfill (RJ), follows the same trend.

It has supplied 100% of the Ambev factory in Cachoeiras de Macacu (RJ) since 2022. This year, it renewed the agreement with the steel company Ternium and signed new contracts. It will supply biomethane to the Saint-Gobain factory in Queimados (RJ) and maintain the entire L’Oréal Group fleet. The station is next to the Gaia Distribution Center, in the state of São Paulo.

In agribusiness, the potential is immense, given Brazil’s position in the sector, and investments are advancing.

“Poultry and pig farms, cattle confinements, crop residue such as sugarcane, fruits and even cassava are important sources”, explains Gabriel Kropsch, one of the founders and advisor of Abiogás.

In this segment, the Cosan group has been especially active.

Compass, the arm that operates in gas distribution, has signed a partnership to place biomethane on the network. Raízen, one of the largest fuel distributors in Brazil, is investing in a biomethane plant using sugarcane waste, in Piracicaba (SP). Scheduled to come into operation in 2024, it will have the capacity to supply the equivalent of 200,000 residential customers.

“Sanitation, as it is a very regulated sector and dependent on public policies, is what is being left behind. Perhaps privatizations in the sector will change this dynamic”, says Kropsch.

Sabesp, for example, even invested in a pilot plant in Franca (SP), processing the sewage of 400 thousand people. The project was successful and showed its effectiveness for high-scale production, says Cristina Zuffo, research superintendent at Sabesp.

It was possible to produce biofertilizers and biomethane, which fuels all 40 vehicles in the unit. Gas is generated equivalent to 2,000 liters of gasoline per day, which saves the company R$500,000 per year. However, the initiative was not expanded.

In Brazil, there are 542 biogas plants, authorized to generate electricity, and seven biomethane plants registered, respectively, with Aneel and ANP (the electricity and oil agencies).

However, the number of active plants is much greater, explains engineer Heleno Quevedo, researcher in the field and founder of Portal Energia e Biogás. He gives an example. CIBiogás (International Center for Renewable Energy), whose data goes until 2022, points out that 934 plants of this type were in operation in Brazil.

This disparity occurs because the ANP will not consider a plant that produces biomethane below its specifications. However, the same product can pass through the screening of an industry to supply production and help meet decarbonization targets.

JBS, the largest meat processing company in the world, announced at COP28 that it has already invested in biogas capture in 14 factories in the United States and Canada. In Brazil, the program this year included the installation of biodigesters in nine Friboi factories. Adopting the concept of circular economy, the goal is to use the gases emitted in production to generate energy in the units and fuel company vehicles.

Nestlé recently announced that it will adopt biomethane from sugar cane and landfills as fuel for boilers and furnaces in place of LPG. The Araçatuba (SP) factory will house the pilot project, but plans are already in place to adapt the Caçapava (SP) and Marília (SP) units.

Scania is switching from natural gas to biomethane in its operations, while at the same time working to replace the fuel in its products.

Scania Latin America’s vice president of sales and marketing, Paulo Moraes, explains that the goal for 2024 is for 10% to 15% of annual truck production to be gas-powered. The Brazilian unit has operated in São Bernardo do Campo (SP) since 1962 and produces vehicles to order.

“Natural petroleum gas and biomethane use exactly the same machine. Having a greater number of vehicles that can run on gas is like preparing to use more biomethane. In this aspect, the gas journey is extremely important both in trucks and buses.”

The production and use of biogas, the less sophisticated version of the product, can be carried out even on a small scale.

The Israeli company HomeBiogás has created a compact system that transforms food waste and any type of poop into biofertilizer and gas for the stove. There are alternatives for installation in locations as diverse as schools, farms, hotels, small industries and even dog kennels.

The Jaraguá Indigenous Land, of the Guarani people, in the capital of São Paulo, received 38 pieces of equipment.

The biodigester is connected to a chemical toilet. From the outside, it’s that little blue house. Inside, it is a bathroom with a traditional toilet. Plumbing connects the system to stoves. The indigenous people began to have access, all at once, to fertilizer for planting, gas for cooking and sanitation, a recurring shortage in isolated areas.

“The system improved the health of the entire village”, says Karai Yapuá, the community’s shaman.

Created in 2012, HomeBiogás operates in more than one hundred countries on all continents, explains Leandro Toledano, president of BioMovement, who represents the company in Brazil.

“Our goal is to install one million pieces of equipment in Brazil by 2040,” he states.

_{The reporter traveled at the invitation of the international agency IPS (Inter Press Service), in collaboration with Amplum Biogás and ABiogás.}