Utilizing CO2 from biomethane production : Sustainability and climate performance

Biogas solutions offer many benefits for the environment and society, including organic waste treatment as well as being an enabler for energy and nutrient recovery. The products of anaerobic digestion are a biogas, which contains a share of 30 to 50% carbon dioxide (CO2) and 50 to 70% methane, and a liquid remanent, rich in nutrients. The biogas can be upgraded by removing the CO2 to increase the energy content, producing biomethane. At present, CO2 is considered a waste in biomethane production systems, and hence it is emitted into the atmosphere. Nevertheless, biogas upgrading technologies separate a pure-grade CO2 and, likewise, carbon capture processes, providing a pure CO2 flow that can be stored or utilized. Compared to storage, carbon capture and utilization (CCU) technologies deliver valuable carbon-based products required to sustain human activities. The valorization of green CO2 could aid the transition towards defossilization of the economy. Indeed, several CO2 utilization technologies could be incorporated into biomethane production systems, but there is still a limited understanding of the available alternatives and their potential impacts on biomethane systems. This thesis aims to investigate the integration of CO2 utilization technologies in biomethane production systems by revealing its potential, identifying alternatives, and assessing the impacts of the integration. Using Sweden as an example, scenarios of future biomethane production were employed to estimate the potential CO2 available for utilization. To complement the analysis, a qualitative approach made possible the identification of aspects that could affect CO2 utilization in biomethane production. Moreover, a multi-criteria analysis (MCA) framework was developed to identify relevant indicators for assessment and available alternatives for CO2 utilization. The research also includes a life cycle assessment (LCA) to evaluate the climate performance of relevant CCU alternatives in the biomethane production system. Results show that 160 kt of CO2 could be obtained from biomethane production in Sweden, which could potentially increase threefold from 2020 to 2030. The evaluation of alternatives for CO2 utilization includes environmental, technical, economic, and social criteria with sound indicators within an MCA framework. Indicators to evaluate each criterion provide valuable information to identify feasible and sustainable alternatives that can be integrated into biomethane plants. The identified alternatives with a high readiness level are additional methane through methanation, horticulture, mineral carbonates, fuels, pH control, bulk chemicals, and liquefied CO2 for direct use. The results provide information to decision-makers in relation to considerations to take before implementation, like energy requirements, the existence of regulations and standards, and uncertainty. In terms of the climate performance of biomethane with the inclusion of CCU alternatives, the results show a possible reduction of CO2 emissions that depends on the possibility of substituting fossil-based products. The investigated alternatives all result in lower emissions, but concrete curing and methanation using renewable hydrogen produce the best results. To conclude, the potential future increase of green CO2 from biomethane in Sweden creates opportunities to substitute fossil carbon in current applications and mature conversion pathways. Moreover, the inclusion of CCU in biomethane production contributes to reducing biomethane system emissions and diversifying its products. Possible alternatives of CCU that can be integrated into biomethane production systems in the short term include methanation and concrete curing. Other alternatives could be possible but present lower performance and higher uncertainties at the moment.