BioCNG to design vehicle fuel system and pipeline

In the US, BioCNG, a provider of biogas conditioning systems, will design and build one of these systems, along with gas pipeline, for the Persigo wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), which is jointly owned by the City of Grand Junction and Mesa County, Colorado.

The BioCNG system will produce around 500 gallons of petrol equivalent per day from the WWTP digester gas, which will be piped roughly six miles to Grand Junction's existing compressed natural gas (CNG) fuelling station. BioCNG will be supported locally by River City Consultants and other local vendors and sub-contractors.

The BioCNG will be used as fuel for a fleet of buses owned by Grand Valley Transit (GVT) and fuelled at the City of Grand Junction facility, as well as city refuse trucks, street sweepers, and general utility pickups. The city and GVT are continuing to purchase additional CNG vehicles to increase the overall CNG fleet.

'We are excited about being able to produce our own fuel so we can have a better handle on what our fuel costs will be in the future,' comments Rich Englehart, Grand Junction's city manager. 'This project will help control the potential fuel price escalation.'

BioCNG will engineer the system, obtain all necessary permits, manage the construction, and commission and start up the system. Future work may include investigation of an option to modify BioCNG system tail gas for use in the WWTP digester boiler, thereby saving on treatment plant operating costs.