Promethean Particles, a world-leader in the manufacture of industrial-scale, high quality, cost-effective metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), has become a member of the World Biogas Association (WBA).
The WBA is the global trade association for the biogas, landfill gas, and anaerobic digestion (AD) sectors, dedicated to facilitating the adoption of biogas globally, and seeks to represent all organisations working in the biogas industry across the world.
Biogas is produced via anaerobic digestion, a biological process in which microorganisms break down organic matter – such as food waste, crop residues, and animal manure – in the absence of oxygen. This process yields raw biogas, which primarily consists of methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2), along with impurities. This mix of impurities and CO2 limits the direct use of biogas as a fuel. A subsequent process to upgrade raw biogas involves the removal of CO2 and other contaminants to result in biomethane – a high-quality, renewable gas suitable for injection into natural gas grids; for use as a vehicle fuel; or in high-efficiency combined heat and power (CHP) systems.
“The decision for Promethean to join the WBA signals the progression of our MOF products towards commercial utilisation,” said James Stephenson, chief executive officer of Promethean Particles. “We’re committed to ensuring our MOF products address the needs of our customers and the markets they serve. Our products are seeing very promising application in a range of exciting markets that support the energy transition, including biogas upgrading. Our membership of the WBA provides effective access to experts in the biogas industry, enabling us to better understand market needs and the impact of evolving government policies, as well as broadening our network in this field.”
MOFs stand out as an emerging technology for upgrading biogas to biomethane by offering a range of benefits over existing and competing processes. Of note, the upgrading of biogas via a MOF-based system can be achieved at lower pressures than membrane-based separations, offering the potential to save significant amounts of energy. Promethean Particles’ proprietary manufacturing process enables the industrial-scale production of high quality, cost-effective MOFs, thereby facilitating the development of a range of new, energy-efficient applications. The commercial implementation of MOF-based biogas upgrading is therefore poised to support the global, widespread adoption of biomethane as a renewable fuel alternative to fossil sources, such as natural gas.
Charlotte Morton OBE, Chief Executive of the WBA said, “The adoption of biogas from AD on an international level is crucial to meeting global carbon reduction goals, as well as delivering home-grown, dispatchable green energy, creating jobs, and recycling organic wastes that would otherwise produce harmful methane emissions.
“Achieving this will rely on stakeholders in every part of the value chain, including developers of new technologies that will improve the technical and economic viability of biomethane production. We’re delighted to welcome Promethean Particles into the WBA and look forward to supporting the company as it brings its technology to our wider member base.”
