H.C. Starck GmbH (Goslar, Germany; www.hcstarck.com) and Clausthaler Umwelttechnik-Institut GmbH (Cutec; Clausthal-Zellerfeld, Germany; www.cutec.de) have joined forces to successfully develop a completely new generation of catalysts and process technology for the production of substitute natural gas (SNG) from biomass as a renewable energy source.
H.C. Starck and Cutec have engineered a range of catalysts with an oxide base containing cobalt, molybdenum, and aluminum, which have been successfully tested under laboratory and pilot plant conditions. The catalysts proved to be robust and reclaimable, even under the most unfavorable conditions, having achieved high yields with which the synthesis of SNG is possible.
The successful research project was funded as part of the European research network ERA-NET Bioenergy. Research and funding partners were the Vienna University of Technology, the Güssing biomass power station, the Austrian company Repotec, the Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection, and the Agency for Renewable Resources — lead partner of the Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection (For more on this project and SNG, see “Substitute natural gas déjà vu,” CE, August 2010; www.chemengonline.com/news/5885.html).