Journal of Advanced Research in Biofuel and Bioenergy 2, Issue 1 (2018) 10-15

Journal of Advanced Research in

Penerbit Biofuel and Bioenergy
Akademia Baru
Journal homepage: www.akademiabaru.com/arbb.html
ISSN: 2600-8459

Design of Liquefaction Process of Biogas using Aspen HYSYS Open

Access
Simulation
Nurjehan Ezzatul Ahmad1, Maizirwan Mel1,∗, Nazaruddin Sinaga2
1
Department of Biotechnology Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, International Islamic University, Malaysia (IIUM),
PO Box 50278, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
2
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Diponegoro University, Tembalang, Semarang 50275, Indonesia

ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT

Article history: The liquefaction of biogas appears to be an appropriate solution in cases where
Received 21 June 2018 logistics constraints arise due to the absence of a transportation network. In liquid
Received in revised form 5 August 2018 form, biomethane is easy to transport to its point of use. Aspen HYSYS, computer-aided
Accepted 2 September 2018 process design programs, widely used in chemical and thermodynamic process
Available online 11 September 2018
industries, which has built-in process models that can effectively simulate the
liquefaction process. In this study liquefaction process of biogas was simulated in
Aspen HYSYS with the aim to at assess the technology using cryogenic process to
liquefy the biogas and obtain the liquefied biomethane and CO2 as a by-product
through the simulation results. The parameters such as biogas feed, temperature and
pressure are obtained from the case study from Havys Biogas Power Plant owned by
Cenergi Sdn. Bhd. Hence, with a working principle of cryogenic process, a design of the
process of liquefaction of biogas was simulated in Aspen HYSYS simulation
environment where it consists of three stages, which are pre-cooling stage,
liquefaction stage and sub-cooling stage. As a result, with a biogas feed of 1,500 m3/h
consists of 60% CH4 and 40% CO2 at 200 kPa and 35˚C, liquefied biomethane were
obtained from the design of the simulation with a purity of 99% and liquid CO2 was
also obtained as a by-product of the liquefaction process.
Keywords:
Biogas, liquefaction, cryogenic, Aspen
HYSYS Copyright © 2018 PENERBIT AKADEMIA BARU - All rights reserved

1. Introduction

Malaysia has a huge amount of potential for power generation when it comes to the gas industry.
Imbued with a wealth of natural gas that can be exported and utilized in domestic power plants,
Malaysia also has a flourishing palm oil industry, which allows the potential for co-generation, biogas
and bio-fuel applications [1]. Besides, the increasing trend of oil and natural gas prices and new
targets for renewable fuels quotes lead to an increasing interest in the use of biogas as an alternative
source of energy.

∗
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: [email protected] (Maizirwan Mel)

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Journal of Advanced Research in Biofuel and Bioenergy
Volume 2, Issue 1 (2018) 10-15 Akademia Baru

Biogas is a gas mixture obtained from the decomposition of organic matter by bacteria in
anaerobic conditions. The gas mixture consists of CH4, CO2, H, N2, H2O, and H2S [2]. The proportion
of these gases can be seen in the Table 1. Methane (CH4) is the main component in the fuel, and it is
flammable. Methane content in biogas is over 50 percent. The raw biogas is purified to prevent
corrosion and mechanical wear of the equipment in which it is used. For some applications
demanding a high energy content gas, namely vehicle fuels and injection in the natural gas grid, the
biogas must be upgraded into biomethane [3]. It means that the concentration of methane in the
biogas must be increased by removing carbon dioxide. However, for certain applications, biogas must
be liquefied.

Table 1
Properties of natural gas, raw biogas and biomethane [4]
Gas composition Biogas Biomethane Natural Gas
Methane 50-75% 94-99.9% 93-98%
Carbon Dioxide 25-45% 0.1-4% 1%
Nitrogen <2% <3% 1%
Oxygen <2% <1% -
Hydrogen <1% Traces -
Hydrogen Sulphide 20 – 20,000 ppm <10 ppm -
Ammonia Traces Traces -
Ethane - - <3%
Propane - - <2%
Siloxane Traces - -
Water 2-7% - -

In this study, due to the fact that conducting the experiment on liquefaction process of biogas is
expensive, simulations process is used to design the liquefaction process of biogas close to the real
plant. Process simulation is a widely used technique in the design, analysis, and optimization of
process plants. Aspen HYSYS can be used to simulate most cryogenic liquefaction processes. In
cryogenic process, the process is based on separating mixture components according to their
different relative volatilities or boiling points where methane and CO2 are at -162 °C and -80 °C.
Nitrogen with boiling point of -197 °C are used as a coolant to cool the biogas first before being
separated. Cryogenic technology has been seen as the most efficient method for liquefying the
biogas.
Biogas is considered as renewable gases and the combustion of the biomass has little effect upon
GHGs concentrations in the atmosphere [5]. If the biogas is being utilized to other applications, the
negative of GHGs emission can be easily realized. The release of biogas which mainly comprises of
methane and CO2 to the atmosphere is such a waste hence it can be used for utilization in the energy
industry. A cleaner energy future depends on the development of alternative energy technologies to
meet the world growing energy needs. Figure 1 illustrates data and scale of reductions of GHG
emissions from passenger cars when compared with fossil fuel alternatives. Based on the figure,
production of biogas from waste from all sources which are agricultural, forestry, industrial and
municipal, for the production of combined heat and power is a very effective GHG mitigation
measure.

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Volume 2, Issue 1 (2018) 10-15 Akademia Baru

Fig. 1. Comparative GHG emissions from passenger cars using different fuels [5]

Currently, most of the studies focus on how to improve the efficiency of biogas upgrading [6].
There has not been a comprehensive analysis from the perspective of the liquefaction of the biogas
process. Therefore, to bridge the knowledge gap, this study aims at assessing the aforementioned
technologies that is by using cryogenic technology to liquefy the biogas to obtain the liquefied
biomethane and liquid CO2 as a byproduct through the simulation results. This paper will shows the
design of the liquefaction process of biogas using Aspen HYSYS simulator to obtain the liquified
biomethane and liquid CO2.
The liquefaction of biomethane appears to be an appropriate solution in cases where logistics
constraints arise due to the absence of a transportation network. In liquid form, biomethane is easy
to transport to its point of use. The advantages of the liquefaction of biomethane process are when
the energy consumption is optimal, the process is reliable and efficient, and the technology is well
understood and well managed [7]. When biogas is condensed to a liquid by cooling it to about -162°C.
This process reduces its volume by a factor of more than 600 [8]. Thus, this will allow the liquefied
biomethane to be shipped safely and efficiently.

2. Methodology

Table 2 represent the parameters used for the simulation of liquefaction process.

Table 2
The parameters specified for biogas feed stream
Parameter Value References
3
Feed 1500 m /h (63.44 kgmol/h) of raw
Case study
biogas
Pressure 200 kPa
[9]
Temperature 35 ˚C
Composition
Methane 60 %
Carbon dioxide 40 % [9]

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Journal of Advanced Research in Biofuel and Bioenergy
Volume 2, Issue 1 (2018) 10-15 Akademia Baru

Aspen HYSYS v9 software was used for the simulation of liquefaction of biogas unit. Because, in
this simulation available components are hydrocarbon and nonpolar, Peng Robinson equation of
state is used for thermodynamic calculations. The design of liquefaction process is based on the case
of nitrogen rejection using cryogenic distillation column, which is available in Aspen HYSYS library.
Modifications on the case are being done based on the literature review to achieve the objective of
this study. It consists of two compressors, three coolers, a LNG exchanger, a pump, and a distillation
column.

3. Results and Discussion

As a result, the design of a liquefaction process of biogas by using the Aspen HYSYS simulation is
shown in the simulation environment in Figure 2. Figure 2 describes the liquefaction process of
biogas. The flowsheet in Aspen HYSYS shows the various components and the material streams
needed to bring about the liquefaction of the biogas.

Fig. 2. Design of a liquefaction process of biogas in Aspen HYSYS

For production of liquefied biomethane, the biogas is cooled down to temperature of -162 °C. In
this case, the gas turned to an odourless and transparent liquid. In this study, nitrogen is used as
refrigerants for the liquefaction of biogas due to the boiling points of nitrogen which is at -197 °C.
Based on Figure 2, before entering the cryogenic distillation column, which is the important unit
operation for liquefying biogas, the biogas need to be cooled first to avoid freezing in the cooling
step. The biogas feed at the temperature of 35 °C and pressure at 200 kPa is compressed to 2 MPa
and cooled down to temperature of -48 °C to freeze out of possible impurities. LNG exchanger is used
for cooling the cool biogas to -162 °C. Three stage exchangers used for this purpose. The first stage
which is precooling stage, is as mentioned before where the biogas is cooled down to -48 °C. In
second stage which is liquefaction stage, biogas is cooled to -120 °C. Finally, in the third stage which
is sub cooling stage, the biogas is cooled down to -162 °C to obtain liquefied biomethane.
In precooling stage, the cooler has been used to decrease the temperature of the biogas. Inlet
biogas feed is in temperature 35 °C and the pressure of 200 kPa. In this stage, the temperature is
reduced to -40°C after being compressed. In liquefaction stage, liquified natural gas (LNG) exchanger
with two streams is used. The first stream is a nitrogen which used as a refrigerant with the
temperature set at -130°C. This stream is a part of stage which includes a compressor and cooler. In
this stage, the temperature of biogas is reduced to -120°C. The temperature cannot be reduced to

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Journal of Advanced Research in Biofuel and Bioenergy
Volume 2, Issue 1 (2018) 10-15 Akademia Baru

lower than the stated temperature using nitrogen. The second stream is “cool biogas” cooled in the
LNG exchanger for using in third exchanger which is sub cooling stage as a “cold biogas”. In this stage
also, the first stream which is “coolant in” enters to the compressor for increasing its pressure, then
it enters into a cooler for the reduction of its temperature. At last, it enters back into the LNG
exchanger.
In the third stage, the cold biogas enters pump for increasing its pressure, then it enters the
cryogenic distillation column. The cryogenic distillation process is the important process for the
overall process because this process performs the actual liquefaction of biogas into liquefied
biomethane. The operation in the column at one (1) bar is a good compromise for an acceptable low
temperature of the liquid. The heat duties of the reboiler of the low-pressure column and heat duties
of the condenser of the high-pressure column are different to obtain two various products which is
liquid biomethane at high pressure and solid carbon dioxide at low pressure. At the end of the
process, liquid biomethane is obtained by condensing the biogas to -162 °C. The carbon dioxide will
enter the reboiler and left the distillation column as liquid carbon dioxide.
The simulated data summary is extracted from Aspen HYSYS simulation shown in Table 3. Based
on the data, it shows that the liquefied biomethane are obtained with purity of 99 per cent and 99
per cent of liquid CO2 as a byproduct of this process. Hence, based on the literature study, the
percentage of the purity of the methane are following the requirement for the biogas to be used as
a vehicle fuel. From the table, liquefied biomethane are obtained at temperature of -161.719 °C and
liquid CO2 also obtained with the temperature of -56.6 °C where at this temperature, both gases are
in the liquid form. In the liquid form, both gases can be stored and transported easily to minimize the
cost of storage and transportation.

Table 3
Summary of the data extracted from Aspen HYSYS simulator
Name Liquefied Biomethane Liquid Carbon Dioxide
Vapour 0 0
Temperature [°C] -161.7190 -56.6000
Pressure [kPa] 100 2620
Molar Flow [kgmole/h] 51.1880 12.2520
Mass Flow [kg/h] 825.4980 539.1340
Mole fraction [%]
Methane 0.9970 0.0002
Carbon dioxide 0.0030 0.9998
Molar Enthalpy [kJ/kgmole] -90489.0800 -410169.2400
Molar Entropy [kJ/kgmole°C] 76.3883 85.1360

4. Conclusions

Production of biogas from waste, which otherwise would have decomposed and released both
methane and CO2 to the atmosphere, appears an uncontroversial, low cost route to reduce carbon
emissions. Liquefied biomethane through refinement process and cryogenic liquefaction process has
many advantages that include improvement in transportability and storability. Liquefied biomethane
are obtained through the design with a purity of 99% and liquid carbon dioxide also obtained as a
byproduct of the liquefaction process. The results obtained from simulation will helps to carry out

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experiments in laboratory at optimum condition and in large scale of production of liquefied

biomethane can be made.

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