Wärtsilä Biogas Upgrading RNG Plant at US Dairy Facility

Puregas Solutions, a part of the technology group Wärtsilä, has been contracted to supply a turnkey biogas upgrading plant in Oregon. The plant will upgrade an existing anaerobic digester to produce biomethane and will include the installation of gas conditioning equipment, as well as compression to 975 psi for pipeline injection.

The upgraded plant will process 3,100 cubic feet per minute of biogas from the anaerobic digestion of manure from more than 50,000 dairy cows. The RNG will then be injected into a pipeline for use as transportation fuel in California. The project generates Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs) under the federal Renewable Fuel Standard, as well as credits under California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS).

The plant is expected to produce the equivalent to the annual energy consumption of over 15,000 households, 570 city buses, or 10,000 cars, with an annual CO2 reduction of 51,000 tons.

“This project, which essentially converts the methane gas from animal manure into a sustainable transportation fuel, is environmentally significant and an indicator perhaps of a future trend in biogas upgrading in the agricultural industry,” said Jan Molin, Managing Director, Puregas Solutions. “Our capability to deliver the necessary technology in a turnkey solution was the key to securing this important contract.”

In 2017, Wärtsilä acquired Puregas Solutions, the Sweden based provider of turnkey biogas upgrading solutions. This is the first order received by Puregas in the US. The Puregas plant is scheduled to be delivered during the first quarter of 2019.