Cirmac International is Awarded a Biogas Upgrade Project

Cirmac International, part of the Atlas Copco Group, was recently awarded the project "High efficiency Low Pressure CO2 Absorber LP Cooab®". The presented solutions will offer environmental friendly and cost efficient upgrading of biogas to higher qualities.

One of the ambitions of the Dutch government is to achieve 20% of the energy supply being sustainable in 2020. In this framework the department Energy and Climate of Agentschap.nl*, invited companies to propose projects to make the fermentation chain more effective and efficient.

Although biogas upgrading to green gas has already a high efficiency compared with the production of electricity from biogas, Atlas Copco believes that it is possible to improve this high efficiency.

The goals of the pilot project have been clearly defined: Reduction of the green gas cost price, lower environmental impact by reducing CO2 emission, reduction of the system energy consumption and efficient biogas upgrading to higher qualities in order to gain Liquified Bio Gas (LBG).

The LP Cooab® technology is based on low pressure reversible chemical absorption, specifically designed to remove CO2 from biogas. An essential element in this process is the absorption liquid, in this case a special amine composition with Cirmac’s trade name ‘CO2 Absorber LP Cooab®’.

“The positive feedback is really motivating. ” says Horst Wasel, President of Atlas Copco Quality Air Division, “I am convinced that the final results and findings of this project will cope with our high expectations. These technologies will not only strengthen our leading position but also enable us to grow - together with this future oriented market segment.”

Cirmac is realizing the project together with Royal Haskoning Consulting, responsible for project management, monitoring plan and market investigation, and with Waterschap Veluwe, a waste water treatment company which supplies the location and biogas for the pilot project.

From being a biogas pioneer in the mid-eighties, Atlas Copco has accumulated extensive knowledge and experience in the field of biogas upgrading and grid injection, natural gas boosting and vehicle fueling by acquiring highly-specialized companies with a worldwide reputation Cirmac, Greenfield and Intermech. Consequently, Atlas Copco has evolved into a fully-grown industrial player in the biogas field.

*Agentschap.nl falls under the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation, and helps Dutch businesses to innovate, by providing finance, advice and contacts.

Cirmac International bv, seated in Apeldoorn, Netherlands, is part of the Atlas Copco group since 2010. The company designs, supplies, maintains, operates and finances complete gas treatment systems since it was founded in 1979 and has very soon developed into a global player in nitrogen generation, gas treatment and the upgrading of biogas into green gas. Cirmac uses advanced gas-separation technologies to promote safety and sustainability.

http://www.cirmac.nl and http://www.atlascopco.com

July 2012