During the fall, we introduced a novelty with a very large positive climate effect when we installed two boil-off compressor systems at our customer Svensk Biogas in Mjölby and Mörtlösa. These systems further improve the climate performance of LCBG filling stations by dramatically reducing, and in some cases eliminating, the need for LIN (liquid nitrogen).
In Sweden, the use of heavy trucks running on fossil-free liquid biogas (LBG) has increased significantly in recent years. LBG offers higher energy density per volume than CBG (Compressed Biogas), resulting in longer range for the vehicles where both Volvo and Scania have launched new more powerful engines that make LBG trucks the obvious choice for heavy climate-friendly transport.
"We are very proud that, together with our customers, we have made a great effort to build a robust infrastructure by building several new refueling stations every year and this year we will also commission at least five new stations. Often we have also had to deliver stations that offer CBG refueling in addition to LBG refueling. Although the cryogenic tank for liquid ice-cold biogas has fantastic insulation capacity, sooner or later parts of the ice-cold liquid gas will start to heat up and turn into gas (also called boil-off) and the pressure in the cryogenic tank will increase. If left unchecked, the safety valves would eventually activate. Of course, any methane slip must be avoided and therefore the biogas has traditionally been cooled down with even colder minus 190 degree LIN (liquid nitrogen).
Our boil-off compressor solutions take care of the gas that is produced when the liquid biogas is heated and turns into gas. By compressing this gas, we can fill CBG tanks efficiently. Our proprietary automation process controls the entire process.
The results are impressive. We reduce LIN use by around 90%, which means major environmental and economic benefits. Our system can be retrofitted to any LBG filling station, opening up opportunities for more people to benefit from this innovation.