The UN Development Programme has released a thorough report into Serbia’s biogas and biomethane potential – although in the case of the latter, it’s from a standing start.
Currently no biomethane production plants are in operation, and Germany’s Wabio Technologie is the only one building a plant in Srpska Crnja – and that won’t be ready until next year. Biogas is comparatively further on, with 35 plants up and running, though its potential is also relatively untapped.
Nonetheless the report outlines a timeframe of biomethane production targets, starting at 31.9 ktoe in the short term (up to 2027), rising to 186.5 ktoe in the medium term (2030) and 364.7 ktoe in the long term (2050).
The production cost of biogas at potentially reconstructed existing biogas plants in Serbia would amount to up to €90MWh, and the required income to ensure profitable operation with a return should be increased by at least 15%.
For newly constructed biogas plants, the corresponding income is over €115 MWh, which would enable the investment payback time to be under 10 years.
Cryogenic technology has the potential to support the production of liquefied biomethane (bio-LNG) for transport while also generating 100% pure bio-CO2, the report states.
It can also be used in biogas production in several variants, such as purification of biogas to high-purity biomethane, additional purification of biomethane and liquefaction of high-purity biomethane to bio-LNG.
Economic barriers include lower procurement/market prices of natural gas, compared with the production costs of potential biomethane plants, and financing of gas infrastucture as well as the paucity of suppliers and facilities equipped with cryogenic facilities. Another potential technical barrier is the required oxygen content limit.
An option for utilising biogenic CO2 obtained from biomethane production (by separating CH4 and CO2) is the production of additional biomethane via the methanation process (CCU).
The CAPEX for methanation equipment ranges from €20-200 MWh, and the operational expenditure OPEX is €13 MWh. Syngas can be further utilised in combustion or for the production of other energy carriers.
For the short term, the application of innovative technologies for biomethane production is not recommended, except for those already implemented in the EU. For the medium term, the only recommended innovative technology is the pre-treatment of crop residues to be used as raw material for biomethane production.
Last year Wabio said it had spotted potential for up to 20 biogas plants in Serbia.
The EU forecasts demand for CO2 to reach around 500Mt/year by 2050.
