News and Projects

In Kirchgellersen, our colleagues from FRIEDRICH VORWERK in Tostedt have almost completed the installation of a CO2 liquefaction plant. The abbreviation COOL stands for CO2 and liquid. The biogas treatment plant (BGAA) is used to compress, dry, purify and liquefy the carbon dioxide (CO2). The aim is to obtain food-grade liquid CO2 from the waste gas stream of the existing BGAA.

Carbon dioxide is produced as a by-product during the production of biomethane. Biogas is produced by fermenting biomass, such as plant residues or organic waste, under anaerobic conditions. This process is carried out by microorganisms that decompose the biomass. In addition to the main product methane (CH4), CO2 is also produced. As methane is the valuable energy source, CO2 remains as a “worthless” by-product and is released unused into the atmosphere.

The first steps of the installation included placing the refrigeration unit and the two-stage, dry-running piston compressor from Spanish manufacturer ABC, as well as the 13m high CO2 storage tanks on the foundations. In future, the pure CO2 will be stored in these tanks and made available for collection by tanker truck.

One tank holds around 50 tons of liquid CO2, which can be used to fill around 100,000 CO2 cylinders for the SodaStream, for example. But carbon dioxide is also found in many other everyday products such as toothbrushes, sports shoes and aspirin. We expect that liquid carbon dioxide will be in demand in the future as part of the decarbonization of industry.

This project once again demonstrates our commitment to innovative solutions in the gas value chain.