Air Liquide Selected as Finalist for the Platts Global Energy Awards

Air Liquide’s innovative new solution for reusing organic waste on farms, the AG050/AG100 biomethane station, is a finalist for S&P Global Commodity Insights’ Platts Global Energy Award in the “Sustainable Chemicals - Best Product” category. Currently available in Brazil, the biomethane station enables a greenhouse gas (GHG) reducing circular economy by processing biogas derived from the decomposition of organic biomass into biomethane.

Biomethane, also known as renewable natural gas (RNG), can be used as fuel in tractors, trucks, cars and other types of vehicles powered by Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), instead of diesel fuel. RNG production lowers the amount of methane released into the atmosphere from biogas, which is about 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide as a GHG. 

As part of a longstanding commitment to developing technologies that enable its industrial customers to lower their GHG emissions, Air Liquide has been facilitating the expansion of this key energy source around the world for over a decade.

The biomethane station is a plug and play biogas upgrading system for small to medium farms that works in tandem with existing anaerobic digester equipment to produce, store, and dispense RNG. Anaerobic digesters are enclosed, oxygen-free environments in which microorganisms break down biodegradable material to produce biogas and digestate liquids and solids. 

Biogas is primarily composed of methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2), along with hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and trace contaminants. The biomethane station purifies biogas to produce RNG by separating these gases using a proprietary membrane-based technology. Air Liquide has developed competencies throughout the whole RNG value chain, from biogas purification into RNG, to its liquefaction, storage, transportation, and distribution. 

The solution was developed by Biogas Engineering teams in Brazil and the United States for a previously unserved customer: small-scale family farms in remote rural areas. With reduced operational costs, carbon credits generated through lowered GHGs and a reliable fuel supply, the biomethane station not only shrinks the environmental impact of these farmers’ agricultural operations, but boosts competitiveness, promoting growth for their families and in the communities they serve.