Renewable Energy

RINNAI REPORT SHOWS OFF-GRID BioLPG CAN PRODUCE 81% CARBON SAVINGS

Leading manufacturer Rinnai has completed a detailed report into the possible savings of 81% on carbon emissions if off-grid sites convert to using BioLPG as the main fuel source.

BioLPG is conceptually renewable and sustainable, as it is made from a blend of waste, residues and sustainably sourced materials.

BioLPG, can be described as an ecopropane, the chemical makeup of this gas is identical to LPG and is therefore compatible with existing in situ LPG products from a combustion perspective. BioLPG is a co-product of the biodiesel production process. In the manufacturing process, feedstocks undergo a series of complex treatments. They are combined with hydrogen in a process, called hydrogenolysis, which separates and purifies their energy content. During the refining procedure, a variety of waste gases are produced that contain BioLPG.

For every tonne of biodiesel, around 50 kg of BioLPG is produced from this gas stream. This co-product is then purified to make it identical to conventional propane. The carbon factors associated with BioLPG used for this report are 0.0487 kgCO2e/kWh.

The Rinnai report highlights several off-grid building envelopes that can benefit from high efficiency LPG fired water heaters and compares the carbon footprint from an energy transition perspective. The transition focuses on the carbon savings that can be achieved by shifting from widely used oil heating systems to LPG and then upgrading LPG to Bio-LPG.

The applications are modelled for the report using hot water intensive buildings in the off-grid leisure & hospitality sector.

Says report author Chris Goggin, ‘This report sets out to establish the environmental impact of a transition in energy types within typical offgrid high volume DHW applications. The energy transition focussed on dominant off-grid energy sources namely oil, LPG and BioLPG.

‘The report set out to establish the possible reductions in carbon emissions if this energy transition was used to support widespread decarbonisation in an off-grid setting. The results demonstrate that there is potential for widespread decarbonisation whilst also providing an economical and technically feasible solution for consumers.

‘As stated earlier in the report where LPG is already used the incumbent water heating technology can still be used in the future when BioLPG switching is available. This would make use of the existing fuel infrastructure and heating technology which would lead to the potential for both capital and operational expenditure savings for end users.

He concludes by saying, ‘Further study should be considered to establish the capital expenditure and operational expenditure impact when BioLPG fired appliances are compared to alternative energies and technology. ‘

Copies of the report are freely available on direct request to the company. www.rinnaiuk.com

RENEWABLE ENERGY

HOW HYDROGEN FITS INTO THE NET ZERO PICTURE

Hydrogen is a major part of the government’s net zero strategy, appearing as second billing in the Prime Minister’s recently-released Ten Point

Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution. According to Boris Johnson, in his foreword to the plan, we could soon be cooking our breakfast on hydrogen while breathing in cleaner air, thanks to trucks, trains, ships and planes running on hydrogen rather than fossil fuels. Hydrogen is also being hailed as the answer to decarbonising the UK’s heating. But, of course, this is all hypothetical. Because as yet, there is no mainstream, affordable or lowcarbon-manufactured source of hydrogen commercially available.

A SOLUTION SINCE THE SEVENTIES

This is despite hydrogen being hailed as a sustainable energy solution in the 1970s (during the oil crisis) and again in the 1990s (with nearly every car manufacturer launching a programme to build a fuel-cell vehicle).

For many decades, those in the energy sector have liked to joke that hydrogen is the fuel of the future – and always will be.

But could it be that now, with enough investment and focus, hydrogen will finally come to the fore?

ENERGY-INTENSIVE PROCESS

The catch has always been that extracting hydrogen to use is a very energy-intensive process.

Currently, most hydrogen is made via steam methane reformation powered by fossil fuels. This generates around 11 tonnes of CO2 emissions for every tonne of hydrogen extracted.

To make it greener, some manufacturers are using carbon capture and storage to stop the emissions reaching the atmosphere.

But the greenest hydrogen of all could be made using renewable energy, powering a process to extract pure hydrogen from water by electrolysis. To date, this is also the most expensive method (in oil terms, the equivalent of around $270 per barrel versus $44 for oil).

HARNESSING RENEWABLE POWER

However, with more than one million megawatt hours of wind power currently wasted each year (as the grid cannot yet accommodate peaks in intermittent generation), it’s proposed that harnessing this could instead produce up to 18,000 tonnes of hydrogen via electrolysis.

Certainly, developing zero-carbon hydrogen is part of the government’s Ten Point Plan.

INFRASTRUCTURE CHALLENGES

However, as well as scaling up production, there are also safety, storage and transport concerns to consider. Hydrogen is extremely flammable (although, to be fair, so is petrol). It is also invisible and odourless, so when storing or transporting, careful monitoring for any leaks is essential.

If not produced on site, hydrogen needs to be compressed or stored at low temperatures (where it becomes liquid) to keep the volume down when transporting.

This creates challenges when using it for fuel.

For example, any transport vehicle would need to incorporate robust double-walled cryogenic tanks to maintain hydrogen as liquid at -253°C. And although liquid hydrogen weighs less than regular petrol, it takes up about four times the volume, so having a major impact on design. This is all likely to add to the cost of production.

THE GOVERNMENT’S WISH LIST

Overcoming challenges such as these will be necessary to achieving the key goals set out in the government’s hydrogen goals, which include: • Reaching 5GW of low-carbon hydrogen capacity by 2030. • Developing hubs where hydrogen production can sit alongside renewable energy generation and carbon capture and storage. • Pioneering hydrogen home heating trials. • Creating hydrogen/gas blends to use in cooking and heating without changing existing domestic

appliances (estimated to result in a 7% reduction in gas emissions). • Encouraging the use of hydrogen in industrial processes, industrial heat and power, shipping and trucking. • Attracting more than £4billion of private investment to finance hydrogen development up to 2030, alongside the £240million pledged as part of the government’s

Net Zero Hydrogen Fund. • Generating savings of 41 metric tonnes of CO2 equivalent between 2023 and 2030, which accounts for 9% of the UK’s emissions.

ELECTRIC VERSUS HYDROGEN VEHICLES

One area the government has not highlighted in its hydrogen plans is domestic vehicles, despite ‘Accelerating the shift to zero emissions vehicles’ appearing as point four in its Ten Point Plan.

Electric vehicles (EVs) seem to be the preferred option here.

But when it comes to reducing emissions in heavy goods vehicles (HGVs), hydrogen is suggested as part of the solution. Compared to EVs, hydrogen vehicles can refuel faster, drive longer distances and don’t need heavy and energy-intensive batteries.

POWERING AIR AND SEA TRAVEL

Hydrogen is also seen as a solution to decarbonising air travel. Indeed, the first hydrogen-powered commercial flight took off from Cranfield airport in Bedfordshire in September. And Airbus has announced plans to manufacture three hydrogen planes seating up to 200 passengers by 2035.

Shipping – another big source of global emissions – could also switch to hydrogen. Already, the world’s first hydrogen ferry is being trialed in Orkney. So finally, could the much-anticipated ‘Dawn of the Hydrogen Age’ be set to become a reality? Only time will tell. But we’ll certainly be watching with interest…

In the meantime, if you’d like to discuss how your business could reduce its carbon emission now – along with your energy bills business@npower.com.