Biomethane plant in Minas do Leão foresees operation for 2024

If everything goes according to plan, the municipality of Minas do Leão will have the operation of a biomethane unit (fuel that originates from organic waste and that can be used as a substitute for natural gas of fossil origin) from the first half of 2024. The complex is designed for a production capacity of 66,000 cubic meters of biofuel per day and should mean an investment of around R$ 100 million.

In addition to this undertaking, Biometano Sul, responsible for the initiative, is planning another plant to generate 34,000 cubic meters of biofuel per day, in São Leopoldo, which should represent an investment of approximately R$ 70 million. This last structure does not have a defined date for the beginning of activities. Adding the powers of the two units, if the biomethane were bottled, it would be possible to fill more than 17,500 13-kilogram cylinders per day.

Biometano Sul is formed by partners of Companhia Riograndense de Valorização de Residues (CRVR), which owns a sanitary landfill in Minas do Leão. From this space comes the biogas generated by the waste deposited there that Biotérmica (a company of the same group) transforms into electricity. Now, with Biometano Sul, a new step will be taken in this chain, purifying biogas to transform it into biomethane and enabling its use as fuel for the transport segment, industrial use, among others. The landfill currently receives approximately 3,500 tons of waste daily.

The director-president of CRVR/Biotérmica/Biometano Sul, Leomyr Girondi, adds that an agreement for the sale of future biomethane production is being negotiated with the Rio Grande do Sul distributor Sulgás, which may be the main consumer of this gas supply. However, he stresses that there is also the idea of ​​using the fuel to supply the fleet of vehicles that take waste from Porto Alegre to the CRVR landfill in Minas do Leão. Another hypothesis is to move biomethane through cylinders (known as CNG) to feed industrial customers.

Biometano Sul advisor Roberto Faria says that the prospect is that, in the future, a new gas pipeline can be built by Sulgás connecting the biomethane plant to the existing natural gas transport network. He details that it will be necessary to install a structure approximately 40 kilometers from Charqueadas, where there is already a gas pipeline. The connection, in addition to Minas do Leão, would benefit the municipalities of São Jerônimo and Butiá with a gas supply network.

Girondi emphasizes that the use of biomethane would help reduce Rio Grande do Sul’s dependence on imported fossil natural gas. Currently, this input arrives in the State through the Bolivia-Brazil gas pipeline (Gasbol) and is limited to an availability of around 2.8 million cubic meters per day. “And many industries, mainly medium and large, are seeking to change their energy matrix, looking for more environmentally appropriate sources”, concludes the executive.

Just as materials sent to landfills at Companhia Riograndense de Valorização de Residues (CRVR) can be used to produce biomethane, they can also be used to generate electricity by burning biogas (gas that has not yet gone through the purification process). and comes from organic waste). In March, Biotérmica, which is the company linked to the CRVR responsible for this area, should inaugurate its fifth thermoelectric plant in the State powered by biogas.

The plant, with 1 MW of installed capacity, will be the result of an investment of R$ 5.7 million. Last year, similar plants had already started operating in Santa Maria, Victor Graeff and Giruá and, in 2015, the generation of the largest of these projects began, with 8.5 MW, in Minas do Leão. With the total capacity of the plants in operation, 11.5 MW, the director-president of CRVR/Biotérmica/Biometano Sul, Leomyr Girondi, calculates that it is possible to produce energy to supply a city with around 250 thousand people.

“With these thermal plants, all our landfills will generate energy. São Leopoldo is just missing to complete the circuit”, highlights the leader. In Minas do Leão, the modernization of the local plant is also planned for this year, to extend its useful life, which will imply an investment of approximately R$ 25 million.

Girondi also comments that it is possible to increase the potency of this plant. However, he explains that this situation depends on the supply of biogas, because this fuel can be used both in the generation of electricity and in the production of biomethane. “We have to understand, on a case-by-case basis, what the needs of each region are, what is the most interesting investment for each of the units”, he argues.

For a more distant horizon, the leader reveals that there are plans for the development of an energy recovery unit, in São Leopoldo. Girondi informs that complexes of this nature propose to generate large volumes of electricity from waste burning processes and no longer just from capturing gas from these materials. The goal is to carry out an enterprise for 35 MW of installed capacity to sell energy in auctions promoted by the federal government. Such an action would require an outlay of approximately R$740 million.