Source: Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg , November 14 2022
Climate-neutral gas supply is one of the most pressing issues of our time. In this context, the CO2-neutral, synthetic production of liquid natural gas substitute from biomass is becoming increasingly important.
Since the beginning of November, the Friedrich Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU) has been coordinating the project "CarbonNeutralLNG", which focuses on the production of artificial methane from hydrogen - the alternative to fossil fuels - and carbon dioxide (CO2). The project is funded by Horizon Europe with EUR 3.5 million over a period of three years.
Green methane from green hydrogen and green carbon dioxide
Because it is only one six-hundredth the volume of its gaseous counterpart, liquid natural gas is much more suitable for transportation and storage. Its main component is methane. Methane is already being liquefied at extremely low temperatures around minus 160°C and imported to Germany in large quantities as liquefied natural gas (LNG for short) in order to end Europe's dependence on Russian natural gas.
Together with twelve research partners from Germany, Greece, Austria, Italy, Sweden, Lithuania as well as Canada, the aim is now to ensure that Europe's LNG terminals will also have LNG from renewable energies available in the future. If green hydrogen is produced in countries with a surplus of electricity from renewable sources - as is the case in Iceland, Chile, Australia or even Canada - it can be used to produce LNG and imported to Europe as liquid methane with existing LNG tankers in a particularly simple and cost-effective manner.
Prof. Jürgen Karl from the Chair of Energy Process Engineering explains that it is important here that the CO2 for producing the methane does not come from fossil sources, but is taken directly from the atmosphere. This is achieved by thermochemical gasification of biomass: renewable biomass takes "green" carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Gasification of biomass with steam also produces large amounts of hydrogen, which is converted into methane with additional hydrogen from electrolysis and biogenic CO2. The gasification process uses electricity from renewable sources. This ensures that the biomass resources used are optimally utilized.
Import and Innovation
Another focus of the project is the investigation of the infrastructure required for the import of LNG. Numerous innovations, such as the use of additively - that is, 3D-printed - manufactured reactors or the complete conversion of the resulting carbon dioxide into electric fuel through electromethanogenesis, are intended to ensure the CO2 neutrality of the technology. Research in the field of electromethanogenesis is being conducted at FAU by Prof. Katharina Herkendell.
The aim of the project is to make LNG available for the transport sector, for example for shipping or heavy-duty transport. In addition to this role as an electric fuel, however, green LNG can also seamlessly replace fossil natural gas in power and heat generation, as well as in the chemical industry, for example in the production of plastics or even medicines.
The full press release can be found here.
Accessibility
Language
