A new form of carbon dioxide – technological advance in Linköping
Tekniska verken in Linköping is the first company in the country to build a plant able to upgrade carbon dioxide from biogas production so that it can be approved for food products. FVB is responsible for integrating the media flow and process equipment, ensuring efficient interaction between the existing and new systems.
Carbon dioxide is currently formed in biogas production as a relatively clean residual flow, which Tekniska verken previously vented into the atmosphere. The new plant adds additional filtering of the carbon dioxide – including a carbon filter and drying – before it is cooled down to liquid form. It is then subjected to exacting analyses to ensure it meets food product quality. When fully operational, the plant will be able to produce 20,000 tonnes of filtered liquid carbon dioxide per year.
Carbon dioxide for food products
“Producing food-classed carbon dioxide increases the value of our process and we gain a new product to sell that helps us on our journey towards a more resource-effective and climate-friendly society. That’s both strategically important and rewarding,” says Andreas Björk, Project Leader at Tekniska verken.
The company is the first in Sweden to use biogenic carbon dioxide from a biogas plant for food through a process known as CCU (Carbon Capture Utilisation). But the main supplier of the process equipment, Bright Renewables, has built similar plants in countries such as the Netherlands and Germany.
“They know the technology, but this is the biggest installation they have ever built. They have been able to scale up the plants they’ve built previously and I’m in no doubt that it will work,” says Björk.
The process equipment will be produced and tested at a factory in the Netherlands before being delivered to Tekniska verken during the spring. Four storage tanks able to store a total of 280 tons of filtered liquid carbon dioxide were recently lifted into place.
Investment in the new plant totals SEK 54 million, including a SEK 22 million grant from the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency’s fund Klimatklivet.
Extending the facility
Concurrent with Tekniska verken building its CCU plant, it is also expanding its existing biogas plant in a programme that will successively double production through the year. Most of the production will be converted to liquid biogas (LBG) through a filtering and cooling process.
“This is a fuel much in demand at the moment for heavy transport and industries, which means we see considerable potential for the new expansion,” explains Björk.
FVB is involved in the building of the CCU plant and the new biogas plant.
“There are many elements that must work together, and FVB has helped us connect and integrate new and existing parts of the plant. Our biogas organisation is relatively small, and FVB fulfils a key function as a sounding board on a range of different issues,” states Björk.
FVB has also been responsible for the process and instrument diagram (P & I diagram), all information relating to the process flow and 3D models of how the pipes are connected.
“We’ve helped with the design work for pipe routing, pipe lanes and bridges, along with how various flows can be taken from point A to point B in purely technical terms,” says David Lindén Elofsson of FVB, who acted as Designer and 3D Coordinator for the project.
“The fact that we work with 3D models means we can have an iterative process via which we can use feedback and new data from the client, contractors and suppliers to successively update the models,” he explains.
The advantages of 3D
Andreas Björk also believes that working with 3D has considerable benefits.
“3D has helped us and our piping contractors a lot. When you use a drawing and things don’t end up as intended, you’re forced back to the drawing board. Instead, David has been able to make direct adjustments to the 3D model. Working this way was extra important as we also had plant in operation, which meant we had to be extra careful and smart when deciding when and where to connect different pipes and valves,” he explains.
More information:
David Lindén Elofsson, 013-25 09 49
