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Converting biogas into raw materials for food processing, wastewater treatment plants

A new technology could reduce emissions, increase the use of biogas and improve protein self-sufficiency.

The methane gas generated by anaerobic digestion on farms, landfills and wastewater treatment plants is fed into a gas fermentor. The cell mass is then filtered, pasteurized and dried. Photo courtesy of VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland.
The methane gas generated by anaerobic digestion on farms, landfills and wastewater treatment plants is fed into a gas fermentor. The cell mass is then filtered, pasteurized and dried. Photo courtesy of VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland.

Late last year, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland developed a solution for converting small sources of methane-rich biogas into raw materials for animal feed or bioplastic on farms, landfills and wastewater treatment plants. This emission-reducing solution is based on the ability of methanotrophic bacteria to grow on methane in gas fermentors.

However, the processing of such gas into biomethane has only been viable on large biogas-producing sites, until now. This method could reduce emissions, increase the use of biogas and improve protein self-sufficiency.

“If and when natural gas prices go up again, the operational costs of using it as a raw material for animal feed or bioplastics, of course, increases,” says Juha-Pekka Pitkänen, principal scientist of bioprocess engineering, industrial biotechnology and food solutions. “Legislation can be both encouraging and penalizing; encouraging in the form of subsidies now given in some countries for biogas production. In principle, it could also be possible to penalize for methane emitting, but that could be a blow to many farmers.”

The methane gas generated by anaerobic digestion on farms, landfills and wastewater treatment plants is fed into a gas fermentor.

“A growth medium containing the methanotrophic bacteria circulates through the pipes of the gas fermentor, creating a single-cell protein biomass with a protein content of around 60%. The cell mass is filtered, pasteurized and dried,” says Pitkänen.

The conversion process is based on the ability of methanotrophic bacteria to grow in aerobic conditions in gas fermentors, using methane as the source for carbon and energy.

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