LBG filling station
Get maximum energy from liquid biogas
Heavy trucks go fossil-free with liquid biogas
Our range of LBG (Liquified BioGas) solutions offers several applications. In particular, we offer direct refueling of heavy trucks running on fossil-free biogas. In addition, we can vaporize and compress the liquid biogas to provide regular vehicle gas.
Liquefied biomethane is also used as a backup at refueling stations or to maintain pressure in local gas networks in the event of a temporary drop in biogas production, e.g. during maintenance periods.
LBG, also known as Bio-LNG, achieves the same climate improvements as compressed biogas (CBG). The advantage of LBG is its higher energy density in liquid form at ~ -160°C, which means that larger amounts of energy can be refueled in trucks that can travel up to 170 miles with one refueling.
Liquid biogas is stored in a cryogenic tank similar to an optimal thermos with vacuum between the walls to isolate the cold methane gas with minimal heating. The small boil-off that occurs can either be actively cooled with liquid nitrogen or, even better, utilized with our proprietary boil-off solution where the evaporation to gaseous form can be used to enable refueling of compressed vehicle gas.
LBG refueling is done via a dispenser compatible with different truck manufacturers' technologies. In addition to direct LBG refueling, the station can also serve as CBG backup or supply a nearby industry with biogas via a decompression facility.
Examples of previously delivered LCBG stations
Here are some examples of substations that Processkontroll Green Technology has delivered over the years. These stations reflect our experience and commitment to providing customized and efficient solutions for our customers. To see a more complete list of our facilities, please visit our reference page. For further information on any of these projects, or if you are interested in finding out more about how we can provide a solution to suit your particular needs, please do not hesitate to contact us.
LCBG filling station with liquid and compressed biogas
We have had the privilege of working with Svensk Biogas and have built several stations for them, including bus stations, public CBG stations and, since 2019, also three LBG filling stations. The LCBG station in Mörtlösa, Linköping, is an example of this collaboration, where we offer the possibility to refuel heavy trucks with liquid biogas (LBG) as well as compressed biogas (CBG) for a wide range of vehicles.
This station demonstrates our ability to customize the design to the customer's specific wishes and needs, while ensuring that the station can grow in line with increasing demand for biogas. To meet the growing interest and need for liquid biogas in Sweden, we have in a first step expanded the refueling capacity by building a second dispenser for Bio-LNG.
To further improve the capacity and performance of the station, in 2023 we will install a boil-off compressor solution, which will eliminate the need for liquid nitrogen to cool down the digestate. This will provide a more energy-efficient solution and contribute to a reduced environmental impact.
Beyond this focus on adaptability and scalability, we also strive to provide innovative and practical solutions for our customers. This means that we are constantly improving and developing our products and services to meet market and customer needs and to support the transition to a more sustainable transport sector.
The LCBG station in Mörtlösa, Linköping, shows how we at Processkontroll Green Technology work to create efficient, customized and future-proof solutions that contribute to a sustainable transport sector and meet the unique needs of our customers.
Read more about the LBG filling station in Mörtlösa here.
LBG vaporization as pressure control
We have built a pressure regulation plant for the municipality of Örebro, taking a major step towards making gas supplies more stable and enabling the expansion of the biogas network in Örebro.
The plant is now complete and will soon be commissioned. Once up and running, the cryogenic tank, which can be likened to a giant vacuum insulated thermos, will be able to store up to 89m3 of liquid biogas at minus 160 degrees Celsius.
When the pressure in the gas pipeline is too low, the plant starts to vaporize LBG from the tank to gas form in a controlled process where the volume in atmospheric pressure expands about 600 times from liquid to gas form.
In addition to being a back-up to the gas network, our facility also serves as a back-up for gas supply to the nearby Bettorp public transport depot if it cannot be supplied with gas from the dedicated high-pressure facility.
Read more about how Örebro municipality is working towards the biogas network of the future.
Use LBG Boil-off to compress CBG and reduce LIN costs
We have developed our own Boil-off compressor solution to reduce the LIN costs of cooling the LBG tanks. Although the cryogenic vacuum tanks are incredibly well-made thermoses, there will always be a certain amount of liquid biogas that is heated above the boiling point of -160 degrees Celsius and turns into gaseous form, the so-called decoction.
If the decoction is allowed to remain unhandled, sooner or later the pressure in the cryogenic tank would increase and cause the safety valves to release pressure. Although the safety valves are designed to do just that and thus ensure safe handling, we want to avoid methane leaking into the atmosphere. To do this, LIN (liquid nitrogen) is used at -196 degrees to cool the biomethane and thus avoid boil-off.
LIN cooling has additional costs, so we prefer to utilize the decoction instead by compressing the gaseous biomethane and sending it to the internal CBG storage, from where the biomethane can be used to refuel vehicles with compressed vehicle gas. This solution can be retrofitted to almost any LBG filling station and makes most sense when the station is already equipped with a CBG withdrawal system. This was the case at the new Air Liquide Skagerak LCBG filling station in Gardermoen, Norway, where we delivered the decoking compressor system and CBG storage as an add-on module to the filling station last fall.
In our Boil-off compressor solution, we can choose the right compressor type and size based on estimated demand. The real magic, however, lies in the automation intelligence that our automation team offers.
If the LBG filling station does not already have a CBG dispenser solution in place, the decision to upgrade with our boil-off solution may not be as obvious. In that case, we are happy to help calculate the benefits of installing a complete boil-off solution.
Vaporization of energy-rich LBG into gaseous biogas
We delivered an LBG plant to Fredrikstad municipality that will supply the municipality's laundry with biogas, offer a refueling ramp for slow filling of about 30 garbage trucks and a public dispenser for vehicle gas.
Although all consumers at this site use gaseous biogas, the station is not supplied with mobile gas reserves of compressed biogas.
Instead, liquid gas at minus 160 degrees is used, which is then converted to the right pressure as needed in the plant. This is done to take advantage of the high energy density and smooth handling of liquid biogas, LBG.
Before we can fill the cryogenic tank with liquid biogas (methane gas), we cool down the whole system with liquid nitrogen gas for control and to avoid releasing methane gas. Afterwards it was time to empty the now cooled down tank of the harmless nitrogen gas before filling with ice cold biogas; something that made our automation engineer Jonas long for lovely cold skiing days in the mountains when the fog suddenly hits...
Watch a movie when the station disappears into a cloud of fog here.
