AMSTERDAM – Bio Energy Netherlands’ gasification plant in the port of Amsterdam has been able to separate hydrogen from syngas, producing pure hydrogen from biowaste. This is the first time worldwide that pure hydrogen (99.999%) has been extracted from this form of ‘biowaste’. The plant has already been supplying green power and heat to a local heat network since early 2022.
Due to the high purity of the hydrogen, it can be used as a renewable fuel in cars and buses, or as a feedstock for chemical processes. After scaling up, production can be increased to over 4,500,000 kilograms per year, enough to supply 100 cars per hour.
The project is made possible in part by the ERDF (European Regional Development Fund) and the AKEF (Amsterdam Climate & Energy Fund).
Negative CO2 emissions
Bio Energy Netherlands’ plant uses only non-recyclable local/regional waste wood (from a maximum radius of 150km from the plant in Amsterdam), including pruning waste, which has no other possible use. By converting this to hydrogen through gasification instead of burning it, over 99% less nitrogen is emitted, while the gasification process releases no particulate matter at all.
Because the CO2 released during the conversion process to hydrogen is captured, in combination with the CO2 uptake by the regrowth of the (pruned) biomass, this leads to negative emissions. The captured CO2 can then be used, for example, in horticulture, by breweries, in chemistry, in e-fuels or stored. Thus, a total of 65,000 tons of CO2 per year can be saved.
The residual products are the captured CO2 and “biochar”, a “carbon sink” that can be used as a soil enrichment and improvement agent. Biochar is a solid, stable form of storing CO2, which thus does not enter the atmosphere.
Technology
Through a patented gasification technique of Net Zero Hydrogen, it is possible to produce syngas with extremely low tar content on a commercial scale. After this, the syngas is respectively compressed, heated and steam is added, after which a low-temperature water-gas shift reactor causes the CO to react with the steam (H2O) to produce hydrogen (H2) and CO2.
With the addition of a pressure exchange adsorption module, with a filter that reacts to all gases (including CO2) except hydrogen, the CO2 is then captured after which only pure hydrogen (H2) remains.
The plant in Amsterdam, can be expanded to 6 gasification reactors, each with a maximum capacity of 6MW. Thanks to its modular structure, larger projects can be developed. In the Northern town of Delfzijl, Bio Energy Netherlands has now obtained a permit for the installation of a total of 16 reactors of also 6MW. Together they achieve an annual production capacity of 45 million cubic meters of green gas/bio-methane (CH-4), a one-to-one replacement for the locally used natural gas.
About Bio Energy Netherlands
Bio Energy Netherlands focuses on converting sustainable biomass to syngas. This gas is used to produce green hydrogen and green gas. Bio Energy Netherlands’ location in the port of Amsterdam has been fully operational since January 10, 2022 and has been producing sustainable syngas 24/7 since then.
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