Category Archives: Biogas Upgrading Membranes

Gasworld’s Weekly Global Bulletin Features Membrane Solutions

Biogas Upgrading Membranes, St. Louis Facility

Air Products pushes membrane tech at European Biomethane Week | Air Products News | gasworld

Air Products pushes membrane tech at European Biomethane Week

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Industrial gas major Air Products is promoting its membranes at European Biomethane Week in Brussels this week, amid rising cross-industry demand for membrane separator tech.

Alongside biogas and hydrogen recovery applications, driving membrane demand is the use of nitrogen in the aerospace industry and cleaner fuels for the marine industry.

To meet global demand, Air Products is investing over $70m to expand its membrane manufacturing and logistics centre in Maryland Heights, Missouri. This is the largest investment for its membrane production unit.

Air Products’ Prism membranes are hollow-fibre separators used for on-site gas generation and purification in a wide range of industrial applications.

Dr Erin Sorensen, General Manager for Membrane Solutions at Air Products, said innovation is not just down to developing a new membrane product but enabling a future that is “safer, cleaner and more productive”.

Explaining applications in the biogas sector, Dr Adam Kratochvil, Product & Applications Development Manager, said, “High-pressure raw biogas is fed into the membrane separator – CO2 permeates the separator faster than the methane and ends up on the low-pressure permeator side, while methane travels through the separator and remains at high pressure.”

The Prism GreenSep LNG membrane separator, launched last year by Air Products, received an award in the bioenergy and agriculture sector at a recent green technology expo in Italy.

The European Biomethane Week attracts more than 700 delegates, covering producers, users, investors and legislators.

The primary European biomethane target is to produce 35 billion cubic meters (bcm) of sustainable biomethane annually by 2030, a goal set by the European Commission in its REPowerEU plan.

Announcing New PRISM® GreenSep LNG Membrane Separator for Bio-LNG Production

Biogas Upgrading Membranes

Air Products (NYSE:APD), the global leader in the production of gas separation and purification membranes, today announced the launch of the new PRISM® GreenSep liquefied natural gas (LNG) membrane separator for bio-LNG production.

“As the world’s leading supplier of technology for the LNG industry, the PRISM® GreenSep LNG membrane separator is an excellent addition to our expansive catalogue of solutions for LNG producers,” said Dr. Erin Sorensen, General Manager, Air Products Membrane Solutions. “This cutting-edge technology will deliver a higher LNG yield at a lower operational cost, while also furthering our common goal of building a safer, cleaner, more productive world.”

PRISM® GreenSep LNG membrane separators eliminate the need for intermediate purification technologies such as amine scrubbing or thermal swing adsorption during bio-LNG production, allowing for a higher yield of bio-LNG while also reducing operational expenses and energy consumption. Bio-LNG is liquefied biomethane created from an organic source such as food, animal, or municipal waste.
Air Products will highlight the PRISM® GreenSep LNG membrane separator at BIOGAS AMERICAS at the Savannah Convention Center in Savannah, Georgia from May 13 to May 16. Also at the conference, Rory Deledda, Air Products’ Biogas Product Manager, will host a Tech Talk highlighting the benefits of GreenSep LNG membrane separators for system designers at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, May 15 on the Keynote Stage at BIOGAS AMERICAS.

Air Products Membrane Solutions specializes in the development of hollow fiber membrane separators and systems for onsite gas generation. Air Products designs, engineers, manufactures, and markets a full portfolio of PRISM® Membrane Separators, Marine Systems, and Engineered-to-Order Systems. Air Products’ membrane separators and systems are also designed to create more sustainable energy sources and raise productivity across a variety of industries and applications.

Membrane Solutions Nominated for European Biogas Association Awards

Air Dryer Membrane, Biogas Upgrading Membranes

The Membrane Solutions team is proud to share that the European Biogas Association (EBA) has recognized Global Biogas Product Manager Rory Deledda as a finalist for their Top Biogas Young Talent award, and our PRISM® GreenDry product as a finalist for the Energy Efficiency Champion award! Rory and colleagues will be representing Membrane Solutions in Brussels, Belgium, for the EBA’s annual biogas conference and awards ceremony next month.

Rory has made himself known in the biogas industry through his routine attendance at industry events, his extensive knowledge of the market, and his contributions to various biogas related publications and productions. His efforts since 2018 have led to a significant growth in our biogas business, and he is always willing to help his colleagues better understand what goes into a successful biogas project.

PRISM GreenDry, the industry’s first membrane dryer designed specifically for biogas, is an excellent option for adding system design flexibility in the treatment of biogas. The PRISM  Green Dry membrane dryer removes water vapor via selective permeation, with no electrical components or moving parts. This robust construction makes it an excellent choice for efficient, reliable dehydration in the biogas treatment process.

For more information on our PRISM GreenDRY, click here.

For technical inquiries, pricing information, and to speak with our experts, contact us.

Air Products Membrane Solutions to Exhibit and Present at Biogas Americas 2023

Biogas Upgrading Membranes

We are happy to announce that our Membrane Solutions Team will feature its newest technologies: PRISM® GreenDry and PRISM® GreenSep membrane separators at Biogas Americas Exhibition and Conference at the Sheraton Grand Chicago Riverwalk, from May 15-18.

Stop by our booth #318 where Air Products Membrane Solutions specialists will be on hand to share information on PRISM® GreenDry and PRISM® GreenSep membrane separators along with a range of Air Products solutions available for the biogas industry. Air Products designs, engineers, manufactures, and markets a full portfolio of PRISM® Membrane Separators for the biogas industry.

Mark your calendar to attend our presentation on Thursday, May 18. Biogas Product Manager, Rory Deledda, will speak about PRISM® GreenDry, the industry’s first dehydration membrane separator designed specifically for biogas processing. Learn details about its applications, benefits to your system, and more.

The PRISM® GreenDry membrane separator provides customers with a low-maintenance dehydration solution that will add flexibility to a customer’s upgrading system to ultimately produce a clean stream of renewable natural gas.

The PRISM® GreenSep membrane separator provides customers with a technology to separate CO2 from biogas to generate a stream of upgraded biomethane. It has a recovery range of up to 99.95%.

All of our membranes are manufactured in the USA which can contribute to credit incentives from the Inflation Reduction Act.

We hope to see you at Biogas Americas!

For information about Air Products’ Membrane Solutions products, please visit MembraneSolutions.com.

For information or to register to attend Biogas Americas, please visit https://registration.socio.events/e/biogasamericas2023.

Pushing the bounds of science. Again.

Biogas Upgrading Membranes, Process Gas Membranes, , , , ,

Air Product’s Dr. Adam Kratochvil will be presenting a brief synopsis of his work in developing thermally rearranged (TR) hollow fiber membranes at the North American Membrane Society (NAMS) conference in June 2018. The NAMS conference gives students and scientists, who are actively exploring new membrane technologies, a forum to present their research and to exchange ideas with others in their field of exploration.

DrKratochvil_96dpiThe TR technology was discovered by Hanyang University in Korea and is now licensed by Air Products PRISM® Membranes.  A TR hollow fiber membrane allows for very precise separations of molecules through the unique membrane structure resulting from a tightly controlled manufacturing process.  Adam will present the development process of the new TR polymer, hollow fiber membrane, and techno-economic evaluations for natural gas sweetening applications.  Scaling the process to commercial production presents a monumental challenge and Dr. Kratochvil has some valuable insights into making the process work successfully.

NAMS 2018 is being hosted by The University of Kentucky and King Abdullah University of Science & Technology at the Hilton Lexington in Lexington, KY, USA.

NAMS_Advert_2018

Removing Carbon Dioxide is Cool!

Biogas Upgrading Membranes

In applications involving carbon dioxide separation, like biogas upgrading, there is Joule-Thomson cooling from the expansion of carbon dioxide across the membrane.

MolculeDiffusionIllustration_BiogasUpgrading

In thermodynamics, the Joule–Thomson effect describes the temperature change of a real gas or liquid when it is forced through a valve or porous plug. This procedure is called a throttling process or Joule–Thomson process. The effect is named after James Prescott Joule and William Thomson, who discovered it in 1852.

At room temperature, all gases (except hydrogen, helium and neon) cool upon expansion by the Joule–Thomson process. This throttling process is used in machines like air conditioners, heat pumps, and liquefiers to take advantage of the cooling effect.

In the biogas illustration, heat loss to the ambient surroundings will cause the membrane separators to cool, which affects productivity. These effects need to be minimized when designing systems.

Air Products PRISM Membranes has an experienced staff of process and application engineers that will work with your team to identify these types of system variables before your systems are deployed.

Contact Air Products PRISM Membranes for more information about gas separations and technical assistance.

Recognized for Sustainability

Biogas Upgrading Membranes

As a small department of a very large company, we in the membranes division are proud to be specially recognized in Air Products’ 2017 sustainability report. Our membrane separators for biomethane purification turn food scraps and bio waste into renewable vehicle fuel.  Read the full sustainability report here and learn more about our biogas membrane separators here.

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News Release- Air Products’ Hydrogen Fueling and Biogas Membrane Technology Collaboration

Biogas Upgrading Membranes

hydrogenfarmjapanap011398Air Products (NYSE:APD) is part of a consortium that took part today in the inaugural ceremony of the Shikaoi Hydrogen Farm, a hydrogen production supply facility derived from livestock biomass waste located in Hokkaido, Japan. Air Products provided its hydrogen fueling technology for this project as part of the company’s collaboration with NIPPON STEEL & SUMIKIN Pipeline & Engineering Co. Ltd. to develop the retail automotive hydrogen fueling infrastructure in Japan. In addition, Air Products has provided its proprietary membrane technology for the biogas purification process.

“We are honored to not only provide our SmartFuel® hydrogen fueling technology, but also our PRISM® membrane technology, to support this integrated and renewable hydrogen supply chain capability,” said Ed Kiczek, global business director‒Hydrogen Energy Systems, at Air Products. “This innovative project represents the second hydrogen fueling station that we have successfully constructed and delivered with NSPE in the Japanese market, and we look forward to collaborating with them on many more.”

The Shikaoi Hydrogen Farm utilizes agricultural wastes which are anaerobically digested to create a supply of raw biogas. This biogas is upgraded to a purified supply of biomethane using Air Products’ PRISM® PB Membrane separators. The biomethane is then used as a feedstock to manufacture renewable hydrogen on-site, which generates heat, power and vehicle fuel. This is the first facility in Japan to use agricultural wastes as the source to manufacture hydrogen.hydrogenfarmjapan

The Shikaoi Hydrogen Farm is a five-year business project entrusted by the Ministry of the Environment in Japan for low-carbon hydrogen technology. The project demonstrates an integrated hydrogen energy-based supply chain, leveraging local renewable energy sources for hydrogen generation, storage, transportation and use. The hydrogen is returned to local livestock farmers and neighboring facilities as a source of renewable energy and fuel. Hokkaido’s first hydrogen-vehicle fueling station is installed at the Farm, which delivers fuel to hydrogen-powered vehicles and forklifts.

Additional companies contributing to the project are Air Water Inc. and Kajima Corporation.

Air Products’ SmartFuel® hydrogen fueling stations provide hydrogen fueling at 35 Mpa (5,000 psi) and 70 Mpa (10,000 psi) in compliance with JPEC (Japan Petroleum Energy Center) S0003. Use of the company’s fueling technology is increasing and is already used in approximately 1,500,000 hydrogen fills per year. Air Products has been involved in over 200 hydrogen fueling projects in the United States and 20 countries worldwide. More information about the company’s hydrogen fueling station technologies can be viewed at www.airproducts.com/h2energy.

Air Products has more than 60 years of hydrogen experience and an extensive patent portfolio in hydrogen dispensing technology. Air Products provides liquid and gaseous hydrogen and a variety of enabling devices and protocols for fuel dispensing at varied pressures. Hydrogen for these stations can be delivered to a site via truck or pipeline, produced by natural gas reformation, biomass conversion, or by electrolysis, including electrolysis driven by renewable energy sources such as solar and wind.

About Air Products
Air Products (NYSE:APD) is a world-leading Industrial Gases company in operation for over 75 years. The Company’s core industrial gases business provides atmospheric and process gases and related equipment to manufacturing markets, including refining and petrochemical, metals, electronics, and food and beverage. Air Products is also the world’s leading supplier of liquefied natural gas process technology and equipment.

The Company had fiscal 2016 sales of $7.5 billion from continuing operations in 50 countries and has a current market capitalization of approximately $30 billion. Approximately 16,000 employees are making Air Products the world’s safest and best performing industrial gases company, providing sustainable offerings and excellent service to all customers. For more information, visit www.airproducts.com.

NOTE: This release may contain forward-looking statements within the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are based on management’s reasonable expectations and assumptions as of the date of this release regarding important risk factors. Actual performance and financial results may differ materially from projections and estimates expressed in the forward-looking statements because of many factors not anticipated by management, including risk factors described in the Company’s Form 10K for its fiscal year ended September 30, 2016.