Biogas fuels city buses, garbage trucks, taxi cabs, even a train in Sweden

EDMONTON July 1 /Troy Media/ -- With the relentless increases in oil prices, alternative fuels for transportation that promise clean, renewable energy are acquiring a higher profile.

In fact, more and more, commercial fleets are turning to natural gas and biodiesel as ways to reduce their environmental footprint and cut costs. While corn is used to produce ethanol and canola for biodiesel, unfortunately the end products are still hydrocarbon-based and depend heavily on government subsidies to be viable fuel choices.

There is an alternative. One fuel that's caught on in several European countries is biogas, produced from the anaerobic digestion (decomposition without oxygen) of organic matter.

Organic waste, such as grass clippings and kitchen waste from fruits, vegetables, cheese, bread, coffee grounds and meat, along with household paper, pet droppings (including cat litter) and other household trash, all become the fuel to create an environmentally sound energy source.

One company, Kompogas, based in Switzerland and a pioneer in the biogas industry, uses patented and innovative technology to turn the organic waste, which would otherwise be destined for landfills, into 105 to 130 cubic metres of CO2-neutral biogas per ton of raw stock, the equivalent of 70 litres of gasoline.

But there is a catch: The organic waste must be separated from other wastes. This isn’t a problem in a country such as Germany, which has five day a week trash pickup. One of those days is specific to picking up organic waste.

Instead of throwing organic waste in with the other trash, households and companies in areas with a Kompogas facility collect biogenous waste in separate containers. The bins are trucked to a Kompogas plant where any extraneous inorganic material is removed. The remaining material is then loaded into an enclosed reactor where an anaerobic fermentation process takes place over a 15- to 20-day period as microorganisms transform the organic matter into compost and biogas.

Some of the resulting biogas is converted into electrical and thermal energy to help run the Kampogas plant, ensuring a self-sufficient operation. The plant can feed any surplus energy into the power grid and, after upgrading, the biogas can be used to fuel vehicles that run on compressed natural gas.

Europe offers many options for fleet vehicles that run on natural gas, as well as a lesson North American municipalities and companies can learn from.

In Sweden, biogas fuels city buses, garbage trucks and taxi cabs. The world's first biogas train made its first trip down the east coast of Sweden in June 2005.

Some big corporate players have also jumped on the biogas bandwagon. For example, Migros, the largest food retailer in Switzerland, and McDonald’s Switzerland are replacing more than 700,000 litres of diesel with CO2-neutral renewable natural gas from Kompogas every year. The biogas is produced from the two companies’ own biodegradable solid wastes.

But biogas has been a tougher sell in North America, and Bruce McCallum, past president and current board member of the Canadian Bioenergy Association, sees two reasons for that.

"Not a lot of people know about this technology,'' McCallum said. “It's kind of a well-kept secret, except among hard-line enthusiasts. There hasn't been much money directed at it, in contrast to, say, ethanol and biodiesel where we're spending hundreds of millions.''

McCallum sees a lot of potential for biogas-powered fleets, particularly in community-based systems which collect all municipal organic waste. "It's a practical way to go,'' he said.

Alicia Milner, president of the Natural Gas Vehicle Association, says Europe has a much longer tradition of doing more with less. "That's why you see Sweden way in front as far as biogas use.''

Milner was impressed, however, by a recent announcement by Waste Management Inc. to build the world's biggest plant for the conversion of landfill gas into environmentally friendly biogas in Livermore, Calif.

The plant will begin operating next year and the liquefied biogas will be used as a fuel for Waste Management's trash and recycling collection vehicles in California. The capital expenditure amounts to $15 million US.

"Here you see the first major private sector player say 'hey, this gas is actually useful and we're going to use it in our own trucks and we're going to upfront the capital to be able to do that,' '' Milner said.

Milner can see a day when biogas will be widely used by fleets, particularly in the waste hauling industry, where private-sector landfill operators are exploring the biogas option.

"They are very interested in this. Five years ago they would have laughed you out of the office, but now they're starting to understand this could be a viable business opportunity, and that's what going to make it move,'' Milner said.

"But you've got to find a way to make the capital work with the existing infrastructure. In the right situation, biogas can be cost effective and it can be a good local solution,'' Milner said. "It's finding the right scale.''

Scott MacKay is ready to prove biogas is viable.

The CEO of Alberta-based Sustainable Energy Holdings Ltd., is working to bring two Kampogas plants to North America, and fleet fuelling projects are on the agenda.

But how big will biogas for fleet use be in North America?

"I think it's absolutely going to be huge for fleet and for public transit,'' MacKay said, noting the pressure is on municipalities to reduce their carbon footprint.

"When you switch over to methane or biogas you're totally removing the hydrocarbon base," he said.

MacKay is convinced the European model and the Kampogas system have bright futures in North America.

"As soon as we get (the first plant) in the ground, we're going to get orders for probably 50."

Keywords: Biogas, alternative fuels, thermal energy, fuel for fleets

News Beats: Environment