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INDUSTRY & UNIVERSITY

Vacuum Pressure Swing Adsorption

technologies for biogas upgrading

An increasing demand of Biogas
Upgrading Units is envisaged. VPSA
is a cost-effective, easy to use and
robust processing plant that can be the
right solution especially for the small
size facilities that cannot benefit of
structured teams of trained operators.
OILTECH and the University of Naples
“Federico II” launched a research
program to carry-out experimental
tests on a laboratory scale plant and
get reliable data about yields and
performances

Lab-scale VPSA system Francesco La Motta, Process Leader, Oil&Gas To reduce CO emissions, wide international agre-
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and Biogas Projects, OILTECH srl ements must be defined and, simultaneously, ef-
Alessandro Boffa, Senior Process Engineer, ficient technical solutions should be put forward.
OILTECH srl The 26 UN Climate Change Conference in Gla-
th
Alessandro Erto, Associate Professor, DICMAPI, sgow emphasizes the need to achieve “climate
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University of Naples “Federico II” neutrality” (net zero carbon emissions) and imple-
Esther Pancione, MSc Chem.Eng., DICMAPI, ment new energy policies. In the context of alter-
University of Naples “Federico II. native energy solutions, biogas is a renewable fuel
that can replace conventional fuels to produce heat
and power.
he essential requirement for the deve-
lopment of a functional civilized count-
ry is to ensure energy availability. Ho- Biogas is a “carbon-neutral”
wever, the energy model of our society form of energy
is based on the combustion of fossil
Tfuels and is the cause of the increase Biogas (a mixture of 50-80% CH , 20-50% CO
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2
in greenhouse gas emissions and of the conse- and other trace components, such as H O, H S,
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quent global warming. VOC’s, etc.) is a “carbon-neutral” form of energy
Atmospheric CO levels exceeded 417 ppm, com- because the carbon it contains comes from orga-
2
pared to 280 ppm in pre-industrial era, with an nic matter, which undergoes anaerobic digestion.
annual mean growth rate of 2.5 ppm/yr. In 2011- Biogas can be directly used as a fuel or can be
2022 global surface temperature was 1°C higher subject to a further “upgrading” process, that is the
than 1850-1900 . removal of carbon dioxide and other contaminants
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32 32 Impiantistica Italiana - Maggio-Giugno 2022