AUTARK Institute and Agnion Energy Develop Catalytic Gas Purification for Biomethane

GÖRLITZ, Germany, July 9, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

In June 2013 the AUTARK Institute for Energy Research launched a cooperation with agnion energy GmbH with the aim of developing catalytic gas purification technology for the so-called "Heatpipe Reformer" (HPR). In future this will enable biomethane to be produced and fed into the public grid in addition to electricity and heating.

The agnion energy HPR is a pioneering wood-gasification power plant with an electrical output of 400 kW and a thermal output of 630 kW, and has so far been utilised to generate power and heating. The aim of the research project is to expand the application range. High-quality methane gas with a level of purity that enables it to be fed into the grid is now to be generated on the basis of wood or biogenic solid waste. The downstream catalytic gas purification process will then remove impurities such as sulphur and hydrocarbons from the synthesis gas.

Autark Institute brings together research and industry

The project leader is Prof. Jürgen Karl, Professor of Energy Process Technology at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg. Scientific support will be provided by the University of Zittau/Görlitz and the Fraunhofer Institute for Safety and Energy Technology (UMSICHT) in Oberhausen. Ten years ago Professor Karl and his team developed the HPR at the Technical University of Munich before protecting the system with over 30 patents and preparing it for the market.

Within the framework of the cooperation leading scientists and agnion energy GmbH are working on sustainable solutions for energy and gas generation which do not rely on imports. The cooperation is initially planned for two years.

The Autark Institute is committed to finding and promoting solutions for sustainable energy supplies on the basis of renewable raw materials. In the process the research projects of companies and scientific institutions are coordinated and managed.

For more information please see http://www.agnion.de and http://www.autark.de.

Contact:

Autark  - Institute for Energy Research, Transfer and Consulting
Ms Regina Krause
Tel.: +49(0)1520-9086611
Grüner Graben 2
02826 Görlitz
[email protected]

SOURCE Autark - Institute for Energy Research, Transfer and Consulting