Understanding hydrothermal gasification: 5 points
Pyrogasification expands the range of waste that can be recovered as renewable, low-carbon energy.
What is pyrogasification?
This high-temperature process transforms solid waste materials that are poorly recovered into injectable gas.
How does that work?
Different types of solid and residual waste are heated at very high temperatures (between 800-1500°) with little or no oxygen, then converted into injectable gas.
The energy generated can be injected directly, stored, and delivered via the existing networks. It can be substituted for natural gas for all uses (mobility, raw materials, heat production etc.)
What benefits are there for the environment?
Pyrogasification recovers residual dry waste that is often earmarked for landfill or incineration. Its development offers a solution to the regions’ waste processing challenges.
Goals for 2025
(Source: French Law on the Ecological Transition)
Where are these pyrogasification sites producing injectable gas located?
The pyrogasification for injection sector has grown rapidly in Europe since 2008, with the creation of pilot units and industrial demonstrators.
Four projects have already produced biomethane (Austria, France, Sweden, England), including one on an industrial scale (the GoBiGas project in Gothenburg, Sweden), which has injected biomethane from pyrogasification using wood (power = 20 MWCH₄ i.e. 90,000 tonnes/year of wood).
What is the outlook for its rollout in France?
More than 15 gas projects to produce CH4 and/or that have been publicly communicated:
- Recovery of 3 million tonnes of waste per year
- Injection of 6 TWh of gas per year
- CO2 emissions reduced by 1 million tonnes/year
