Bio Energy Netherlands' gasification plant in the port of Amsterdam has been able to separate hydrogen from syngas and thus produce pure hydrogen from biowaste. It is the first time worldwide that pure hydrogen (99,999%) has been extracted from this form of 'biowaste'. The installation has been supplying green energy and heat to a local heating network since the beginning of 2022.
Due to the high purity of the hydrogen, it can be used as a sustainable fuel in cars and buses, or as a raw material for chemical processes. After scaling up, production can be increased to more than 4,500,000 kilos per year, enough to supply 100 cars per hour.
The project is made possible by the ERDF (European Regional Development Fund) and the AKEF (Amsterdam Climate & Energy Fund).
Negative CO2 emissions
The installation of Bio Energy Netherlands only uses non-recyclable local/regional waste wood (from a maximum radius of 150 km from the installation in Amsterdam), including pruning waste, which has no other possible destination. By converting this to hydrogen through gasification instead of burning, more than 99% less nitrogen is emitted, while no particulate matter is released at all during the gasification process.
Because the CO2 released during the conversion process to hydrogen is captured, this, in combination with the CO2 absorption by the growth of the (pruned) biomass, leads to negative emissions. The captured CO2 can then be used in, for example, horticulture, by breweries, in chemistry, in e-fuels or stored. In this way, a total of 65.000 tons of CO2 can be saved per year.
The residual products are the captured CO2 and biochar, a 'carbon sink' that can be used as a soil enricher and improver. Biochar is a solid, stable form of CO2 storage that does not enter the atmosphere.
Technique
Using a patented gasification technique from Net Zero Hydrogen, it is possible to produce syngas with an extremely low tar content on a commercial scale. After this, the syngas is compressed, heated and steam is added, after which a low-temperature water-gas shift reactor ensures that the CO reacts with the steam (H2O) to produce hydrogen (H2) and CO2.
With the addition of a pressure swing adsorption module, with a filter that reacts to all gases (including CO2) except hydrogen, the CO2 is then captured, leaving only pure hydrogen (H2).
The installation in Amsterdam can be expanded to 6 gasification reactors, each with a maximum capacity of 6MW. Thanks to the modular structure, larger projects can be developed. In Delfzijl, Bio Energy Netherlands has now obtained a permit for the installation of a total of 16 reactors, also of 6MW. Together they reach an annual production capacity of 45 million cubic meters of green gas/bio-methane (CH-4), a one-for-one replacement for Groningen gas.
