Swiss pioneer project - CO2 liquefaction

Hitachi Zosen Inova (HZI) has been awarded a contract for the engineering and supply of a turnkey plant that liquefies carbon dioxide (CO2) from renewable energy generation. The client is CO2 Energie AG, which uses CO2 produced from the recycling of organic waste into biogas or biomethane for further industrial use in Nesselnbach AG. The order is a milestone in HZI's Renewable Gas business, the company said.

Technological upgrading of the existing site

According to the HZI, the project has both environmental and economic advantages: An existing biogas plant at the site has so far been producing biogas, which is upgraded to biomethane by gas treatment for feeding into the regional natural gas grid. This process separates carbon dioxide contained in the biogas from the methane. In the future, the by-product CO2 from the gas treatment process will be made usable by means of liquefaction and utilized as product gas, which is used in various branches of industry, for example as technical welding gas, in gas extinguishing systems or for inerting. The processing capacity of the planned liquefaction plant is reported to be 4000 t/a of CO2. In addition to the efficient utilization of carbon dioxide, the project is further characterized by a contribution to the substitution of fossil CO2, HZI emphasizes.

The plant is being developed in a compact container design, and the high-purity product gas is liquefied and injected into storage tanks. Upgrading existing biogas plants with CO2 liquefaction is a forward-looking project for plant operators that also pays off in monetary terms by serving other sectors of the economy and optimizing the recycling economy.