EnviTec Biogas celebrates 12 years of innovative gas upgrading technology
Twelve years of EnviThan gas upgrading: Germany’s largest biogas producer, EnviTec Biogas AG, is celebrating this anniversary with its 100th gas upgrading plant, which is due to go online on the Danish island of Funen this year. “As part of the EnviTec family, we are proud to celebrate this anniversary in Italy, as well, making it a truly European occasion,” says Mario della Bella, Managing Director of EnviTec Biogas Italia. Since entering the market in 2006, the company’s branch in Verona in northern Italy has offered its expertise and all services related to biogas and gas upgrading plants from a single source. “Our all-round service range, which includes everything from offer and planning to service, is a truly unique selling point in Italy,” della Bella adds. With 46 plants completed so far and a total installed capacity of 40 MW, EnviTec Biogas SrI already has a wealth of experience.
In terms of feed-in power and own consumption, EnviTec offers the most technologically efficient gas upgrading system in Italy, too. “With the work we have done in recent months, we have succeeded in maintaining the performance of the EnviThan gas upgrading system while still managing to reduce the sales price significantly,” says Gianluca Visconti, Sales Manager of EnviTec Biogas S.r.I. “Thanks to our many years of experience in service, we can guarantee maximum profitability, and the response from the market has been increasingly positive,” Visconti continues. This is exactly why the Italian subsidiary is continuing to expand its service potential. “Our service engineers are already taking part in international EnviThan training courses at the German production site in Saerbeck,” Visconti explains. “Thanks in part to the close cooperation with colleagues in other countries, the know-how for the construction, commissioning, service, and operation of 100 EnviThan biogas upgrading plants is being transferred to Italy ” adds della Bella.
Developed in cooperation with Evonik Industries, EnviTec’s official technology partner, EnviThan is prized as a particularly innovative and efficient gas treatment technology. Since the construction of the joint pilot plant in Sachsendorf, it has found a home in eight countries worldwide. “In 12 years, our pioneering process has set milestones in the international gas upgrading market throughout Europe, China, and the USA,” explains Olaf von Lehmden, CEO of EnviTec Biogas AG. The fermentation of organic material generates a gas mixture of methane and carbon dioxide. On its way from biogas to biomethane of natural gas quality, the raw gas is first purified and compressed. The EnviThan technology developed by EnviTec and Evonik takes advantage of the different sizes and speeds of passage of gas molecules: Since carbon dioxide molecules are smaller than methane molecules, they can migrate through the membrane much faster. The methane remains on the high-pressure side of the membrane, while the CO2 molecules of the biogas pass through. Moreover, gas upgrading with the hollow fiber membranes used here requires no chemicals, water, or other aids.
As drivers of innovation in the industry, EnviTec and Evonik are committed to the continuous further development of processes. Whether to optimize membrane technology and its separation capacity or to realize increasingly compact and market-oriented solutions: For the past twelve years, constant tweaks and adjustments have culminated in new, important milestones in gas upgrading.
For further information on how the anniversary technology works, please visit:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlCtKICBeJg
Overview of EnviTec Biogas Italia:
→ 46 greenfield plants
→ Biogas plants with a total of 40 MW
→ In-house laboratory
→ 7 owner-operated plants
→ Over 12 years of service experience
→ Jenbacher-certified technicians
→ 40 service contracts with EnviTec plant operators as well as third-party plant operators
→ Branch office in Verona with 21 employees
