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ECN-L--07-069

Synthetic Natural Gas (SNG)


Large-scale introduction of green natural gas in
existing gas grids
R.W.R. Zwart





Presented at ECN Petten, the Netherlands on 8
th
May 2007
and ECN Amsterdam, the Netherlands on 10
th
May 2007























OCTOBER 2007



2 ECN-L--07-069

Synthetic Natural Gas (SNG)
Large-scale introduction of green natural gas in existing gas grids
Robin Zwart
www.ecn.nl



2
Robin Zwart
zwart@ecn.nl
Contents
1. Introduction on ECN
2. Definitions
3. SNG production technology
4. Motivation for green gas
5. Potential and application
6. Green gas & SNG implementation
7. Biomass availability and import
8. Economy of SNG production
9. SNG development trajectory
10. Conclusions

ECN-L--07-069 3
3
zwart@ecn.nl
Robin Zwart
Introduction on ECN (1)
1. Introduction on ECN
Independent energy
research institute
Founded in 1955
650 staff
Annual turnover:
80 million EURO
Activities:
- Biomass
- Solar
- Wind
- Fuel Cell Technology
- Clean Fossil Fuels
- Energy Efficiency
- Policy Studies



4
Robin Zwart
zwart@ecn.nl
Introduction on ECN (2)
1. Introduction on ECN
Mission
ECN focuses on the knowledge and information required by the government
to develop and evaluate policies and to achieve policy objectives in the field
of energy, the environment and technological innovation.
ECN partners with industry in the development and implementation of
products, processes and technologies important for the transition to a
sustainable energy system.
ECN closely works together with Dutch and foreign universities and research
institutes and performs a bridging function towards implementation by
carrying out technological research.
ECN develops high-quality knowledge and technology for the
transition to a sustainabl e energy supply
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Robin Zwart
zwart@ecn.nl
Definitions (1)
2. Definitions
Biogas - produced by digestion, contains mainly CH
4
and CO
2
Landfill gas - product of landfills, composition similar to biogas
SNG - Synthetic Natural Gas, contains mainly CH
4
produced via gasification of coal and or biomass
followed by methanation
bio-SNG - SNG from biomass
green natural gas - comprising both bio-SNG and upgraded biogas/landfill gas
(or green gas) - complies with specifications for injection to natural gas grid
(or bi o-methane) - has same properties as natural gas
- can be used in all existing equipment
Biogas and SNG



6
Robin Zwart
zwart@ecn.nl
Definitions (2)
2. Definitions
Green gas is biogas as well as SNG
Technology: digestion / landfill gasification & methanation
Status: commercially available in development
Implementation: today after 2010
Production scale: small large
(~300 to 5,000 kW) (~1,000 MW)
Potential: limited unlimited
(< 60 PJ in Netherlands) (> 240 PJ in Netherlands)
Feedstock: wet biomass dry biomass
(available) (import required)
Synthetic Natural
Gas (SNG)
Upgraded
Biogas
Green Gas
= +



ECN-L--07-069 5
3. SNG production technology
7
Robin Zwart
zwart@ecn.nl
SNG production technology (1)
SNG production via biomass gasification
Cooki ng
Spatial heati ng
Warm tap water
2,000 m
n
/a Green Gas required for one household
SNG
Synthesis
2,000 m
n
3
SNG
Gasifi cati on
wood of
4 large trees
(Biomass)
6,000 kg
wood chips
8,000 m
n
3
gas
Plus addi tionally as
transport fuel ???



8
Robin Zwart
zwart@ecn.nl
Use conventional technology (Great Plains Synfuels Plant, ND/USA)
Adapt for biomass
Focus on high efficiency (>70%)
3 GW lignite-to-SNG plant, Beulah, ND, USA
SNG production technology (2)
The ECN approach
3. SNG production technology



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Robin Zwart
zwart@ecn.nl
SNG production technology (3)
Difference between lignite and biomass
3. SNG production technology

gasifier

tar
removal
CH
4

synthesis
gas
upgrading
Biomass-to-SNG (ECN)

3 H
2
+CO CH
4
+H
2
O
further gas
cleaning
gasifier

tar
removal
CH
4

synthesis
gas
upgrading
3 H
2
+CO CH
4
+H
2
O
further gas
cleaning
Lignite-to-SNG (US)
d
r
y

a
s
h
L
u
r
g
i
u
p
d
r
a
f
t

i
n
d
i
r
e
c
t

f
l
u
i
d
i
s
e
d

b
e
d
O
L
G
A
c
o
n
d
e
n
s
a
t
i
o
n



SNG production technology (4)
Status
3. SNG production technology
10
Robin Zwart
zwart@ecn.nl

gasifier

tar
removal
CH
4

synthesis
gas
upgrading
further gas
cleaning
s
t
a
t
u
s



ECN-L--07-069 7
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Robin Zwart
zwart@ecn.nl

gasifier

tar
removal
CH
4

synthesis
gas
upgrading
further gas
cleaning
MILENA OLGA fixed beds fixed beds
SNG production technology (5)
Lab scal e testing
0
10
20
30
40
50
0 12 24 36 48 60 72 84
Time [hours]
C
o
n
c
e
n
t
r
a
t
i
o
n

[
%
]
CH4
CO2
H2
CO x10
3. SNG production technology



12
Robin Zwart
zwart@ecn.nl
Motivation for green gas (1)
4. Motivation for green gas
Environmental considerations
Reduction of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions
- Kyoto protocol (CO
2
)
- EU regulations (20% CO
2
reduction in 2020, 60-80% in 2050)
Local emissions
- gas is a clean fuel
- reduce local emissions from transport
- EU targets for natural gas as transport fuel



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Robin Zwart
zwart@ecn.nl
Motivation for green gas (2)
4. Motivation for green gas
Environmental alternatives (Dutch situation)
-300
-200
-100
0
100
200
300
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200
[Mton reduction CO2-eq.]
c
o
s
t

e
f
f
e
c
t
i
v
e
n
e
s
s

[

/
t
o
n

C
O
2
-
e
q
]
-300
-200
-100
0
100
200
300
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
[% reduction CO2-eq.]
EU targets
- 20%-20 in 2020
- 60-80% in 2050
Reduction costs
- 25 /ton in 2020
(includes nuclear, )
- ? /ton in 2050
(targets not reached?)
Natural gas substitution
- 40% of total emissions
- CO
2
storage possible
Green gas potential
- 40% by SNG
- 40% by CO
2
storage
Potential reduction
due to SNG
production
Potential reduction
due to storage of
CO
2
captured at
SNG production
Toll Nuclear Wind
roads at sea
???



14
Robin Zwart
zwart@ecn.nl
Motivation for green gas (3)
4. Motivation for green gas
International energy developments
Security of supply
- decrease dependency on one politically unstable region (crude oil)
- energy as political pressure tool, i.e. Russia (for natural gas)
Increasing prices of fossil fuels
- fast growing economies China & India
Fuel diversification
- decrease dependency on oil
- use coal, biomass, and natural gas (LNG)
Depleting resources of fossil fuels
- crude oil (20-40 years)
- natural gas (40-60 years)
- coal (~200 years)
Natural gas is solution for medium-long term



ECN-L--07-069 9
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Robin Zwart
zwart@ecn.nl
Motivation for green gas (4)
4. Motivation for green gas
Social considerations
Agricultural development
- production of biomass in EU-25
- job creation & rural development
Implementation
- natural gas market is growing
- Green Gas is additional to natural gas
- in time Green Gas can compensate
- for decrease in natural gas
- natural gas is well accepted, hence
- green natural gas as well
- introduction similar to green electricity
time
market
Green
Gas
NG



16
Robin Zwart
zwart@ecn.nl
Potential and application (1)
5. Potential and application
In the Netherlands, in total 3,300 PJ primary energy is consumed:
At least 20% natural gas substitution required for 2050 EU targets
= 300 PJ Green Gas
Large potential for Green Natural Gas =HEAT
- 40% of heat is used by distributed small consumers (i.e. households)
- 96% of this heat is from natural gas combustion
Dutch situation
[PJ/y] Coal Crude oil Natural Gas Other Total
Electricity 200 10 350 300 860
Transport . 480 . 10 490
Heat 40 240 1,100 20 1,400
Chemistry 70 370 90 20 550
Total 310 1,100 1,540 350 3,300



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Robin Zwart
zwart@ecn.nl
Potential and application (2)
5. Potential and application
Initially biogas, ultimately SNG
First-generation
Green Gas
Second-generation
Green Gas
4%
8%
12%
16%
20%
24%
%
2005 2010 2015 2020 2025 2030
300 PJ
60 PJ
Substitution of
Natural Gas
Synthetic
Natural
Gas
Upgraded
biogas
Time



18
Robin Zwart
zwart@ecn.nl
Potential and application (3)
5. Potential and application
Advantages of SNG for distributed renewable heat
large-scale production / small-scale utilization
no new infrastructure needed
gas storage: production all year
efficient distribution: 1% (S)NG loss vs. typically 15% energy loss in heat
distribution systems
SNG combustion: easy-to-meet local emission limits
Same gas quality: high social acceptance
Natural gas back-up: security of supply!
Ease of introduction: only few industrial partners, but many end-users
Free market possibility: similar to green electricity



ECN-L--07-069 11
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Robin Zwart
zwart@ecn.nl
Potential and application (4)
5. Potential and application

biomass import
SNG
plant
cheap production
at large scale
CO2 available for
storage, EOR, ...
efficient and cheap
distribution of gas
gas storage enables
whole year operation
easy
application
existing
gas grid
no local biomass
transport
natural gas
back-up
easy to meet
emission limits
high social
acceptance
distributed use for
transport, heat,
electricity
biomass
SNG (Substitute Natural Gas)



20
Robin Zwart
zwart@ecn.nl
Potential and appl ication (5)
5. Potential and application
Alternatives for distributed renewable heat
Local biomass combustion
Disadvantages: large number of
due to small scale
Combined Heat & Power (CHP) plants
small-scale plants in populated areas,
relatively expensive
Disadvantages: large number of small-scale plants, due
to small scale,
All electric heating
relatively expensive
electricity and heat demand not in balance
Disadvantages: new equipment, and
required, only high efficiency combined with (expensive!) heat pumps
=> SNG is the best route for the large-scale production of renewabl e heat
new power capacity network expansion
large-scale centralized production plants, transport via gas grid, local
consumption, clean conversion
z


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Robin Zwart
zwart@ecn.nl
Biomass feedstock is imported in the Netherlands
Biomass available in large amounts in a fewharbours
Typical SNG production plant =1,000 MW
th
Total 12 plants required
Total annual biomass consumption:
- 20 million tonnes per year
- 1.7 million tonnes per plant
Implementation (1)
Required SNG production capacity
6. SNG implementation



6. SNG implementation
Implementation (2)
Integrating SNG production
into existing infrastructure
22
Robin Zwart
zwart@ecn.nl



ECN-L--07-069 13
23
Robi n Zwart
zwart@ecn.nl
Biomass feedstock is imported in the Netherlands
Biomass available in large amounts in a few harbours
Typical SNG production plant =1,000 MW
th
Total 12 plants required
Total annual biomass consumption:
- 20 million tonnes per year
- 1.7 million tonnes per plant
Is that a lot?
Is that unrealistic?
Implementation (3)
Required SNG production capacity
6. SNG implementation
At 8.5tonnes of biomass per
hectare per yr this would require:
- 2,000 km per plant (45x45 km)
- 23,500 km in total (155x155 km)
YES!
NO!



24
Robin Zwart
zwart@ecn.nl
Biomass availability and import (1)
7. Biomass availability and import
3,000,000 EJ /y
1,250 EJ /y
400 EJ /y
3
0
0
,
0
0
0

E
J
Source: Greenpeace
Source: thesis Hoogwijk.www.mnp.nl/images/thesisMHoogwijk_tcm61-28001.pdf
Economic & Biomass scenarios
2 approaches
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2000 2020 2040 2060
E
J
/
y
e
a
r
Energy consumption
Biomass availability
Yes, there is enough biomass
to be a serious option for renewable energy
generation and SNG production



14 ECN-L--07-069

Import & Export by sea shipping (2004) Transhipment [million tonnes per year]
Harbour Position Share Total Coal
Crude oil &
Oil products
Ores &
Minerals
Netherlands - 100% 463.8 46.7 160.7 71.0
Rotterdam 1 76% 352.0 25.3 136.0 50.0
Amsterdam 2 11% 50.0 12.7 16.0 6.4
IJ muiden 3 4% 18.0 5.8 0.3 9.0
Delfzijl & Eemshaven 7 0.5% 2.3 0.008 0.013 1.2

Total biomass requirement for SNG
- same range as todays coal transhipment in Rotterdam
- 4.3% increase for total Netherlands transhipment (in 2030)
Biomass for one plant
- would double transhipment in Delfzijl
Biomass availability and import (2)
Current general import & export statistics
7. Biomass availability and import
25
Robin Zwart
zwart@ecn.nl



Organic materials (2000) [kton/year] Import Export Transhipment
Wood & Pulp 7,010 3,462 10,472
Oil seeds 7,133 1,845 8,978
Meat, Fish & Dairy 2,995 5,028 8,023
Cereals 6,413 630 7,043
Sugar & Cacao 1,926 1,856 3,782

Total biomass requirement for SNG
- double of todays would & pulp transhipment
Biomass for one plant
- same order as todays import of sugar & cacao
- todays cereals transhipment equals biomass import for three SNG plants
Biomass availability and import (3)
Current biomass import & export statistics
7. Biomass availability and import
26
Robin Zwart
zwart@ecn.nl



ECN-L--07-069 15
27
Robin Zwart
zwart@ecn.nl
Economy of SNG production (1)
8. Economy of SNG production
Assumptions
Large-scale (~1 GW)
Situated in Dutch harbor
Imported biomass
IRR 12%/10 years
Can SNG become competitive?
Targets
Making SNG costs competitive
Making SNG CO
2
competitive



28
Robin Zwart
zwart@ecn.nl
Economy of SNG production (2)
8. Economy of SNG production
SNG and natural gas in same cost range
Biomass
Imported as TOP pellet
1.0-4.0 /GJ
overseas
now
1.3-2.5 /GJ
overseas
2050
Oil / gas
Business as usual
vs. ASPO
Gas related to oil price
Plant scale
Initially 100 MW
th,input
Ultimately 1 GW
th,input
Learning curves included
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
1985 1995 2005 2015 2025 2035 2045 2055
G
a
s

p
r
i
c
e

2
0
0
5
/
G
J
Natural gas (oil scenarios)
SNG from biomass
Natural gas (actual EU data)



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Robin Zwart
zwart@ecn.nl
Economy of SNG production (3)
8. Economy of SNG production
According to the German Bundesanstalt fr Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe (BGR), the
BGR unconventional oil reserves amount to 2,760 EJ compared to 6,350 EJ for conventional oil.
On top of that, the unconventional oil resources are estimated at 10,460 EJ compared to
conventional oil resources of 3,525 EJ . The BGR figures contain big amounts of
unconventional oil. Unconventional oil encompasses extra heavy oil, tar sand, and oil shale.
The Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas (ASPO) suggests that the global
production of conventional oil peaked in the spring of 2004. The peak in world oil production,
ASPO from both conventional and non-conventional sources, is predicted in the year 2010. The
ASPO scenario doesn't take into account continually increasing reserve estimates in older
accumulations. As such, big varieties are among estimates of remaining OPEC oil and
unconventional oil, where ASPO is much more pessimistic than BGR.
Shale oil is often presumed to play at best a marginal role in future oil supply, because its
No Shale energy return on energy invested is rather low. A rising oil price, supposition for shale oil
production, could make shale oil more expensive at the same time. The No Shalescenario
is based on the BGR figures without any available shale oil resources considered.
IR This optimistic so-called Increased Recovery(IR) scenario is based on the assumption that
there is a further increase of the overall mean recovery factor from today's 35% up to 45%
and applies it to all remaining conventional reserves and resources from the BGR data.
In the reference scenario oil prices in the past are extrapolated towards a future of impressive
technological improvements and high economic growth (2% in the OECD countries and almost
Reference twice as high in developing countries, according to the Sauner project). This growth, and
associated high levels of capital investment facilitate the assumed rapid rates of technical
progress. This scenario assumes that oil and gas remain dominant during the 21st century.
Realistic
Extremely
Pessimistic
Pessimistic
Optimistic
Rather
Optimistic



30
Robin Zwart
zwart@ecn.nl
Economy of SNG production (4)
8. Economy of SNG production
The projected long-term production costs of SNG = 11.7 /GJ
SNG
Additional costs:
- 5.7 /GJ, with a natural gas price = 6 /GJ
- equivalent to 2.7 ct/kWh
SNG
(or relating to electricity ~ 5.5 ct/kWh
e
)
- carbon costs: 100 per ton CO
2
(with CO
2
storage 55 per ton CO
2
)
Support options:
- subsidy (e.g. Gas MEP) of 5.7 /GJ
- establishment of CO
2
trading market
- additional cost of ~3.6 ct for each m
n
3
gas consumed (when substituting 20%)
But what happens to the natural gas price in 2030?
- increase to level of SNG production costs
Financial support required for Development and Demonstration
- new technology
- first plants are small scale



ECN-L--07-069 17
31
Robin Zwart
zwart@ecn.nl
-300
-200
-100
0
100
200
300
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200
[Mton reduction CO2-eq.]
c
o
s
t

e
f
f
e
c
t
i
v
e
n
e
s
s

[

/
t
o
n

C
O
2
-
e
q
]
-300
-200
-100
0
100
200
300
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
[% reduction CO2-eq.]
Economy of SNG production (5)
8. Economy of SNG production
Costs of CO
2
emission reduction
Reference
Toll Nuclear Wind
roads at sea
Optiedocument
ECN policy studies
Oil: 25$/bbl
Natural gas: 4.1/GJ
20% capital (IRR =15%)
80% loan (ir =5%)
Biomass costs 4/GJ
at gate
Total emissions 215 Mton/a
Conclusions
Reduction potential limited
Exponential cost increase
at 35% CO
2
reduction



32
Robin Zwart
zwart@ecn.nl
Economy of SNG production (6)
8. Economy of SNG production
The projected long-term production costs of SNG = 10.5 /GJ
SNG
Additional costs:
- 6.4 /GJ, with a natural gas price = 4.1 /GJ
- equivalent to 2.3 ct/kWh
SNG
(or relating to electricity ~ 4.5 ct/kWh
e
)
- carbon costs: 115 per ton CO
2
(with CO
2
storage 61 per ton CO
2
)
Support options:
- subsidy (e.g. Gas MEP) of 6.4 /GJ
- establishment of CO
2
trading market
- additional cost of ~4.1 ct for each m
n
3
gas consumed (when substituting 20%)
Based on assumptions ECN
policy studies (optiedocument)



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Robin Zwart
zwart@ecn.nl
Economy of SNG production (7)
8. Economy of SNG production
SNG costs competitive and with huge potential
Reference
Based on assumptions ECN
policy studies (optiedocument)
Same as in Optiedocument
ECN policy studies
Oil: 25$/bbl
Natural gas: 4.1/GJ
20% capital (IRR =15%)
80% loan (ir =5%)
Biomass costs 4/GJ
at gate
SNG without CO2 storage:
115 /ton
CO2
/ 85 Mton
CO2
SNG with CO2 storage:
61 /ton
CO2
/ 170 Mton
CO2



34
Robin Zwart
zwart@ecn.nl
SNG development trajectory (1)
9. SNG development trajectory
Phased approach
2
0
0
6

0.01
0.1
1
10
100
1000
MW
th
biomass capacity
2
0
0
8

2
0
1
0

2
0
1
2

2
0
1
4

2
0
1
6

2
0
1
8

2
0
2
0

2
0
2
2

SNG
SNG
CHP +SNG
SNG
SNG
demo 0% 10% 100% SNG
pilot-scale (ECN)
lab-scale (ECN)
full-scale



ECN-L--07-069 19
35
Robin Zwart
zwart@ecn.nl
SNG development trajectory (2)
9. SNG development trajectory
ECN Slipstream demonstration

green
electricity
& heat
biomass
Gasification to product gas Product gas firing on boiler
Possible line-up of demonstration project
10 MW
th
biomass gasifier (~15 kton/jr)
Production of green electricity with boiler-firing
(low risk, direct profit)
Slipstream gas for demonstration (10%)
Product gas cleaning & Green Gas
(attractive demo with possible subsidies)

SNG
on natural gas
specification
Product gas cleaning methanation & upgrading
(90%)
(10%)



36
Robin Zwart
zwart@ecn.nl
SNG development trajectory (1)
9. SNG development trajectory
1
st
commercial demo
100 MWth SNG
Planned for 2012
1
st
generation, hence:
- Gssinggasification?
- OLGA tar removal?
- Rectisol S removal?
- Lurgi methanation?
- Grid injection?



20 ECN-L--07-069

ECN-L--07-069 21
37
Robin Zwart
zwart@ecn.nl
Conclusions (1)
10. Conclusions

135 000 km pipe line: in average within 120 m


94% of houses connected to gas grid
~70% of the gas is used for heating
Almost 50% of primary energy is natural gas
Almost 40% of CO
2
emissions result from natural gas consumption
HP grid central heating radiator cooking
Natural gas in the Netherl ands



38
Robin Zwart
zwart@ecn.nl
Conclusions (2)
10. Conclusions
central heating radiator cooking
Natural gas increasingly important as fuel for medium-long term
Green gas comprises biogas and SNG; SNG will however be main source
SNG mainly for heat in the Netherlands, excellent existing infrastructure
Today, SNG is more expensive than natural gas
- but
Implementation via phased approach with stepwise larger plants
SNG offers excellent opportunities for Dutch industry.
Green gas important as renewable fuel
Biomass import required to meet targets
- sufficient biomass available globally
- logistics easily adaptable in existing infrastructure
SNG is more attractive option then most green alternatives
Development & Demonstration requires financial support


39
Robin Zwart
zwart@ecn.nl
Visit also: Phyllis internet database for biomass, coal, and residues: www.phyllis.nl
Thersites internet model for tar dewpoint calculations: www.thersites.nl
BioSNG website of ECNs biomass to SNG program: www.biosng.com
OLGA website of the OLGA technology: www.olgatechnology.com
MILENA website of the MILENA technology: www.milenatechnology.com
Thank you for your attention
For more information, please contact:
Ir. Robin Zwart Publications can be found on:
phone +31 224 56 4574 www.ecn.nl/en/bkm
fax +31 224 56 8487
email zwart@ecn.nl

22 ECN-L--07-069

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