Metrology for biogas European Association of National Metrology Institutes

Development of a comprehensive metrological toolkit to ensure compliance to European biogas specifications

Need and drivers

European renewable energy targets: 20% of EC energy consumption is to come from renewable sources by 2020
Increased used of biogas and biomethane will help Europe reach these targets
Growth of biogas production and use only possible if it has access to natural gas grids and fuelling stations
Under EC Mandate M/475, CEN TC/408 is producing specifications for biogas and biomethane
Demonstrating conformance to these specifications is essential for trading and use of biogas and biomethane
U rgent need for robust, traceable, accurate and affordable methods to measure key
properties of biogas and biomethane

Objectives
To develop accurate and traceable methods and standards for:
WP1: Key organic impurities: total silicon (and siloxanes), aromatic hydrocarbons,
halogenated hydrocarbons, sulphur-containing components
WP2: Key inorganic impurities: ammonia, hydrogen cyanide, carbon monoxide and
hydrogen chloride. Measurement of biogenic methane.
WP3: Determining the water dew point and particulate content of biogas and biomethane
WP4: Physical properties (e.g. calorific value, density)
WP5: Sampling biogas with respect to key properties

Advancing the state-of-the-art

New and novel traceable, low uncertainty (3 - 5 %) methods for key impurities, tailored to meet the needs of biogas producers and end-users
Elimination of significant biases in measuring moisture content and physical properties of biogas using conventional methods
New methods for dynamic gas mixture preparation with a matrix gas of varying composition
Validated and traceable methods for determining the biogenic methane content when blended with natural gas in transmission networks
A step-change in best-practice methods for biogas sampling and analysis

Impact of project
Reference methods supporting CEN/TC 408 specifications for biogas and biomethane
Measurement standards to support development of traceable transfer standards
and reference materials
Increased cost effectiveness in biogas upgrading and measurement
Producers of biogas have access to a measurement infrastructure for biogas specifications

Dissemination of impact
Participation in the work of CEN/TC408
and ISO/TC193
Targeted workshops for industrial
end-users
Good practice guides (in native languages
of producers, regulators and users)
Peer-reviewed journal publications
Online e-training resources
Secondments and consultancies
Participation in national
standardisation bodies
Presentations at international
conferences
Project website and social media

Example support from key stakeholders

CEN TC/408: [We are] very interested in the projects results on chemical and physical specifications of biogas and biomethane
European Biogas Association: It is critical that a metrological infrastructure is established to improve the robustness of measurements of biogas quality
National Grid (UK): The traceable measurements developed will help facilitate the injection of biogas and biomethane into existing gas distribution networks
PAC: We believe that this work is of primary importance to improve the reliability of biogas specification measurements and the promotion of the use of green gas
Air Liquide: This project will improve the reliability of sampling methods and measurements done on biogas and biomethane

Consortium
The consortium brings together the expertise of leading European NMIs in the characterisation of non-conventional energy gases, supported by two REGs and an unfunded partner.
It acts together in achieving the scientific goals of the project and liaises on a national level with stakeholders and stakeholder groups.