BIOGAS UPGRADING
BIOGAS UPGRADINGOur NiCo Electrode for Biogas-to-Biomethane
Biological or catalytic methanation of biogas requires a hydrogen feed. Our bifunctional NiCo electrode supplies that hydrogen at 91.4% energy efficiency at 0.5 A/cm2 (60 deg C, AEM cell with commercial Zirfon separator).
Polarization (RT vs 60 °C)
TESTBEDCompact electrolyzer footprint
Biogas plants are typically distributed. The bifunctional NiCo electrode on Ni foam can be sized from 5 cm2 coupons to 1000 cm2 pilot cells to match the local hydrogen demand.
91.4% efficiency at 0.5 A/cm2 with commercial Zirfon
In our 5 cm2 AEM test cell with bifunctional NiCo electrode on both sides and a commercial Zirfon separator (500 um), 0.5 A/cm2 at 1.62 V at 60 deg C.
Stable operating point
1000-hour run with bifunctional NiCo and commercial Zirfon at 0.5 A/cm2 and 40 deg C: 21 uV/hr voltage drift. ΔV before/after LSV: 30 mV at the operating point.
Tolerant to renewable-coupled operation
Solar-derived (9 days) and wind-derived (100 hours) dynamic-load profiles validated on the same bifunctional NiCo electrode in the AEM cell.
How hydrogen fits into biogas upgrading
Raw biogas is roughly 55 to 65 percent methane and 35 to 45 percent CO2. To inject biogas into a natural-gas grid or use it as compressed bio-methane fuel, the CO2 must be removed or converted. Methanation converts the CO2 into additional methane by combining it with hydrogen, increasing biomethane yield and avoiding venting the CO2 stream.
Our bifunctional NiCo electrode on Ni foam (100 to 1000 cm2), electroless-deposited, supplies the hydrogen needed for methanation. The same coated electrode operates as both HER cathode and OER anode at 80 mV and 260 mV overpotential at 100 mA/cm2 in 30 wt% KOH (no IR correction).
0.5 A/cm2 @ 60 deg C
0.5 A/cm2 @ RT
Cell-level performance for distributed biogas plants
Distributed biogas plants typically need 10 to 500 kW of electrolyzer capacity. The 5 cm2 AEM test cell with our bifunctional NiCo electrode on both sides and a commercial Zirfon separator (500 um) reaches 0.5 A/cm2 at 1.62 V at 60 deg C (91.4% efficiency) and 2.05 V at 1.0 A/cm2 at room temperature.
1000-hour stability for unattended biogas operation
Distributed biogas plants typically operate with limited on-site staffing. Our 1000-hour chronopotentiometry at 0.5 A/cm2 and 40 deg C in 30 wt% KOH with bifunctional NiCo electrode and commercial Zirfon separator showed 21 uV/hr voltage drift, supporting long unattended operating intervals.
Renewable-coupled biogas plants
Biogas plants often co-locate with solar or wind to lower their power cost. Our bifunctional NiCo electrode was tested under PV-derived current schedules for 9 continuous days (peaks ~570 mA/cm2) and wind-derived schedules for 100 hours (0 to 0.78 A/cm2). DeltaV after the 100-hour wind run was 20 mV at 0.5 A/cm2.
PV-derived current profile
9 DAYSWind-derived current profile
100 HREvaluating for a distributed biogas-methanation plant
Biogas-plant operators interested in adding hydrogen-assisted methanation typically evaluate at 5 cm2 first, then move to pilot-scale 100 to 1000 cm2 electrodes. The published cell-level numbers with bifunctional NiCo electrode and commercial Zirfon separator define the bench-scale reference any candidate solution should clear.
Frequently asked questions
Why use a bifunctional NiCo electrode for biogas upgrading?
Our bifunctional NiCo electrode operates as both HER cathode and OER anode at 80 mV and 260 mV overpotential at 100 mA/cm² in 30 wt% KOH (no IR correction). For biogas upgrading, using a single electrode SKU on both sides simplifies stack BOM and qualification.
What cell-level performance is published?
In a 5 cm² AEM cell with bifunctional NiCo electrode on both sides and a commercial Zirfon separator (500 µm) at zero-gap, the cell logs 0.5 A/cm² at 1.81 V at room temperature (82% efficiency) and 1.62 V at 60 °C (91.4%). At 1.0 A/cm²: 2.05 V at RT and 1.79 V at 60 °C.
What is the stability baseline?
Continuous 1000-hour chronopotentiometry at 0.5 A/cm² and 40 °C in 30 wt% KOH (bifunctional NiCo electrode on both sides, commercial Zirfon separator) showed voltage drift of 21 µV/hr. Before/after linear-sweep polarization curves differ by 30 mV at the operating point.
Is the electrode validated for renewable-coupled operation?
Yes. PV-irradiance-derived current schedules applied for 9 continuous days (peaks ~570 mA/cm²) and wind-variation-derived schedules for 100 hours (0 to 0.78 A/cm²) on the same cell. ΔV at 0.5 A/cm² before and after the 100-hour wind run: 20 mV.
What substrate sizes ship?
The bifunctional NiCo electrode is produced on Ni foam in the 100 to 1000 cm² size range. Bench-scale 5 cm² coupons matching the published test cell are also available so customers can reproduce numbers on their own rig before scaling up.
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