Design, Fabrication, and Testing of Hydron Energy’s RNG Solution Center for Comparison of Various Biogas Upgrading Technologies :BiogasWorld

By BiogasWorld | 2024-04-04

The INTRUPTor

One of the main barriers seen in the development of the Biogas Upgrading market is RNG projects can require high capital costs for construction and equipment. High production costs hinder the growth of the RNG industry and securing financing can be difficult due to hesitancy among lenders to these projects. [1] While our governments have set RNG targets as part of their net-zero goals, the reality is that we are far behind in meeting these targets.

Hydron Energy, founded in 2020 in Vancouver, BC, has developed a revolutionary novel gas separation system by mimicking the natural process. Nature uses mild process conditions, near-ambient pressures and temperatures, and relies on flexible coordination chemistry. We investigated natural gas separation processes and implemented what we learned to develop a low-cost biogas upgrading solution; the INTRUPTor.

The INTRUPTor system is currently being field tested, and the results are as we predicted (best performance):

Purity: 9%
Recovery: 95%
Productivity: Biogas Processed/footprint 20/hr

Figure 1: INTRUPTor and Balance of Plant for Mobile Solution

Efficiency and Low Cost

Operating near ambient conditions, as nature does, led to our novel low-pressure and low-energy system which reduces capital and operating costs by an average of 50% compared to conventional upgrading products and delivers an industry-leading carbon intensity score.

Table – Results of Techno-economic analysis of commercial biogas upgraders: INTRUPTor^TM vs alternative solutions

How the INTRUPTor Lowers Capital and Operating Costs:

Compressor: No feed compressor required
Pre-treatment: No dryer required prior to upgrading unit operation.
Post-treatment: Due to significant high recovery, no need for exhaust post-treatment for methane slippage recovery.

Figure 2: INTRUPTor Units vs Competitors.

Commercializing the INTRUPTor

The INTRUPTor – Mobile (40 – 220 Nm3/hr ) and our stationary INTRUPTor units Mini and Mid (< 400 Nm3/hr) are on sale now. The INTRUPTor – Mobile will unlock access to RNG production for dispersed feedstocks and produce RNG onsite for local fueling needs or to a virtual pipeline system.

The INTRUPTor – Mid and INTRUPTor – Max (400 – 3800 Nm3/hr) will be available for sale in 2025.

For more information and biogas projects, read BiogasWorld’s Canadian Biogas Magazine.