Gasrec, boc and SITA UK announce first fuel production at biomethane project in albury, Surrey

Maximum capacity of plant sufficient to power up to 150 hgvs or 500 lgvs

Gasrec, the UK’s first commercial producer of liquid biomethane fuel, BOC, a member of the global gases and engineering Linde Group and SITA UK, one of the country’s leading recycling and waste management companies, are pleased to announce the successful production of liquid biomethane (‘LBM’) fuel from the Gasrec plant at SITA UK’s Albury landfill site in Surrey, UK.

Gasrec has been working closely with BOC and SITA UK to develop an LBM production facility at Albury which can recover over 85% of the methane contained in the raw gas produced from the landfill site.

The Gasrec process cleans the landfill gas of all impurities before one constituent gas, methane, is separated and liquefied to create LBM, a valuable vehicle fuel. The liquefaction technology for landfill applications is provided under an exclusive UK agreement with BOC’s parent, The Linde Group. BOC provides plant operation and maintenance services as well as risk management and engineering expertise.

LBM not only offers a renewable alternative to fossil fuels, which generate harmful Green House Gases, but also burns more cleanly and quietly than diesel, with a 90% reduction in PM10 particulate, a 60% reduction in Nitrous Oxide, a 50% reduction in Sulphur Dioxide and a 30% reduction in noise. The use of LBM as a fuel substitute for fossil diesel or petrol results in carbon dioxide savings in the region of 70%, throughout the chain from extraction of the fossil fuel from the ground to its use in a vehicle.  All vehicles that can operate on CNG (compressed natural gas) or LNG (liquefied natural gas) can run on LBM, however LBM offers a reduction in CO2 emissions which is twice that of natural gas (source:JEC2006 and CONCAWE studies).

The initial target for the use of LBM is commercial vehicles operating in the haulage and waste management sectors. Used widely, this fuel could make a valuable contribution towards the UK’s short term CO2 reduction targets and lead to an overall improvement in air quality.

Gasrec has signed an agreement with the Hardstaff Group, one of the largest LNG bulk transporters in the UK, to manage transport logistics and fuel transportation from Albury. The haulage trucks (see supplied photography) use Hardstaff’s dual fuel system (definition below), running entirely on LBM.

Richard Lilleystone, Chief Executive, Gasrec commented:

“We are delighted to announce the production of the first batch of fuel from our facility on SITA UK’s Albury landfill site. Our technology not only captures a highly valuable source of clean fuel for vehicles, but also provides the means for landfill and waste managers to optimise their gas assets fully. We look forward to working with all sectors of industry as well as local authorities and government to assist in the introduction of low carbon fuels derived from a truly sustainable and secure source."

“Today’s announcement puts Gasrec at the forefront of the biogas industry and we look forward to continuing to work with SITA UK and BOC to improve our environment.”

Stuart Hayward-Higham, New Markets Business Development Manager at SITA UK commented:

“We have produced electricity from landfill gas for many years but we believe there is a big future for generating fuel from waste. We have another waste-to-fuel project in Hong Kong and have been keen to see this type of technology take off in the UK. We are keen to expand our relationship with Gasrec to cover other types of waste recovery facilities. “

Steven Eckhardt, head of LNG and Biogas Business Development for Linde, said:

”BOC is proud to be part of this first of a kind effort in Europe, which is a key focus area for The Linde Group in our efforts to develop sustainable gaseous fuels and fuelling solutions.  Linde is a market leader in the supply of biogas as a vehicle fuel in Scandinavia, and is working to develop other similar markets across the globe."

The official launch of the Albury plant will take place on 24 June.