Italy’s ‘first’ municipal waste to methane plant inaugurated

A new plant for the production of biomethane and carbon dioxide has been inaugurated and started operation in Montello, Italy. The biogas upgrading plant is the ‘first’ in Italy able to produce biomethane and carbon dioxide exclusively from the treatment of municipal solid waste.

The new facility has been created by Tecno Project Industriale (TPI), a company in the SIAD Group.

Biogas, the product of the anaerobic digestion of municipal waste, is broken down at the plant into its two main components: carbon dioxide (40%), and methane (60%). The carbon dioxide will be used for industrial processes, while the methane will be placed into the national network.

For the project, Tecno has developed and industrialised a solution based on the use of highly selective polymer membranes, producing 97% pure methane and 99% recovery efficiency. The CO₂ produced also boasts a high level of purity, controlled by analysis systems from Pentatec, a leading company within TPI. These analysis systems are able to detect abnormal concentrations of micro pollutants during the production cycle.

SIAD claims that the new plant is the ‘first carbon negative’ plant in Italy, introducing less CO₂ to the environment than it takes from it.