Case Story CO2 Recovery Denmark November 2020

Production of food grade
sustainable CO2 from a

Case Story large biogas facility
GO’CO2 at The Korskro Biogas Plant, Denmark.
IEA Bioenergy: Task 37: 11 2020
Figure 1: The Korskro Biogas Plant, Denmark. Source: Nature Energy
From residual CO2 to GO’ CO2

Strandmøllen A/S developed Denmark's first biogas-based CO2 plant at one of the world's
largest biogas plants, built by Nature Energy in Korskro, outside the city of Esbjerg (Figure 1).
Biogas typically consists of 60% biomethane which is used as a renewable fuel, while the
remaining 40% is a natural residual product in the form of CO2. Instead of wasting this residual
CO2 and emitting to the atmosphere, a specially built unit was designed to recover and
recycle all of the CO2 enhancing the sustainability and the circular economy credentials of the
facility.
CO2 recovery is part of the circular economy
The biogas plant processes around 1 million tonnes of biomass per year, of which 85% is
composed of animal manure and slurries; this is co-digested with animal bedding, industrial
waste, food waste and small amounts of energy crops. The biogas plant produces c. 49 million
Nm3 of biogas each year. The produced digestate is returned to the farmers, to be applied on
their crops as plant biofertilizer while the produced biogas is upgraded to biomethane quality
and injected in the gas grid, to be used as a renewable substitute for natural gas and as a
means of “greening” the gas grid. The upgrading process removes the CO2 from the biogas.
Instead of release to the atmosphere, CO2 is captured and transferred to the CO2 facility
(Figure 2), where it undergoes a complex, seven-step process of purification. The seven step
purification process consists of filtering, washing, distillation, compressing, condensation,
drying and cooling. These steps remove all unwanted residues and impurities from the CO2,
producing a product of quality and purity suitable for use in the food industry. The produced
purified CO2 trades as GO’ CO2. It is also used in other industries and sectors beyond the food
industry. The residual CO2 from the biogas production which would have been emitted to the
atmosphere is now captured, reused and integrated into a circular economy system.
Figure 2: General diagram of GO’ CO2 production at Korskro Biogas Plant.

Source: Strandmøllen A/S
Security of supply
Denmark imports about 65,000 tonnes of CO2 each year. It is typically sourced from fertilizer
production, which is based on fossil energy systems. Capture and reuse of CO2 from biogas
production generates a sustainable CO2 market and reduces dependence on imports. In recent
years, the high demand of various beverages during summer months has created a shortage of
CO2 in Europe. An accessible sustainable source of CO2 not only increases security of supply
but also removes the threat of CO2 shortage in the summer season. The CO2 plant at Korskro,
produces 16,250 tonnes of CO2, equivalent to 25% of Denmark's CO2 consumption each year
(Figure 3). Not all the CO2 produced at the biogas plant is purified for the CO2 market; there
is still spare capacity at the Korskro Biogas Plant to expand production and deliver food grade
CO2 to more customers who wish to avail of this circular economy system.
Figure 3: Up to 25 % of the CO2 consumption in Denmark is covered by sustainable GO’ CO2.
Source: Strandmøllen A/S
Suitable purity for all sectors

The biogas plant operates mainly on livestock manure, deep litter from stables, organic waste
from industry and retail and a small amount of energy crops. The CO2 from the GO’ CO2 unit
has the same purity and quality as traditionally produced CO2; however it is sustainable. The
complex purification process ensures the CO2 is free of unwanted microorganisms, and that it
is odourless, tasteless and meets all the standards required for utilisation in many sectors and
activities, including the food industry. GO’ CO2 is ideal for carbonation in the soft drink and
beer industry, as well as for cooling and freezing food, because it is odourless and tasteless.
GO’ CO2 has a wide range of applications beyond the food and beverage industry, because of
its high quality and because it can be produced in a variety of forms and degrees of purity
(Table 1).
Food industry Iron & machine industry
• Cooling food • Laser cutting

• Modified Atmosphere (MA) packing of • Welding in black steel
minced meat • Shielding gas.
• Supplement to soft drinks and beer
• Stunning animals before slaughter.
Healthcare sector Pharmaceutical industry
• Laparoscopy (surgical procedure) • pH control

• Dry ice for sending samples • Dry ice for the transport of stem cells
• Cooling eggs and sperm in fertility • Controlling oxygen levels in cell culture.
clinics.
Table 1: The multiple uses of GO’ CO2
A sustainable future
Environmentally sustainable CO2 always was a desirable comodity, but it is only now that a
biogas plant of the scale of the Nature Energy facility in Korskro can facilitate economic
sustainability in the production of biogenic sustainable CO2 of a purity standard that can be
used in the food and beverage industry.
When the residual CO2 is separated from methane in the biogas by upgrading, instead of
emission to the atmosphere it is captured, reused and substitutes the use of fossil CO2 in the
considerable market for CO2; in Denmark this market is 65,000 tonnes per annum.
GO’ CO2 in Power to X projects

The GO' CO2 concept has also found its way into the research world, where it is applied in
Power to X projects, focusing on the transition to green renewable gas and advanced gaseous
biofuels and/or renewable fuels. Here, the researchers combine hydrogen produced from
electrolysis and GO' CO2 to produce sustainable electro-fuels based on renewable electricity
and biogenic CO2. The electro-fuels produced include for renewable methane (such as from
the exothermic Sabatier process; 4H2 + CO2 = CH4 + 2 H2O), methanol and ammonia. These
advanced electro-fuels can be used as a propellant in particular for applications in the hard
to decarbonize heavy transport sector. These processes and methods are already
implemented at larger demonstration scale. A new Danish consortium plans for very large-
scale electrolysis facilities in the metropolitan area. The GO’ CO2 systems intend to expand
their production capacity, to meet the future demands for green CO2.
IEA Bioenergy Task 37 “Energy from Biogas” http://task37.ieabioenergy.com
CONTACT
Strandmøllen A/S; +45 701 02 107

www.strandmollen.dk
Att: Lars Laursen, Market Director; +45 40 80 62 08
[email protected]
A substantial amount of information was drawn from the brochure “GO’CO2 fra restprodukter til
ressourcer og større forsyningssikkerhed” published by Strandmøllen A/S.
https:natureenergy.dk/en; +45 40 57 47 44
[email protected]
Further Information
IEA Bioenergy Website
www.ieabioenergy.com
Contact us:
www.ieabioenergy.com/contact-us/
The IEA Bioenergy Technology Collaboration Programme (TCP) is organised under the auspices of the International Energy Agency (IEA) but is functionally
and legally autonomous. Views, findings and publications of the IEA Bioenergy TCP do not necessarily represent the views or policies of the IEA Secretariat
or its individual member countries.
The IEA Bioenergy Technology Collaboration Programme (TCP) is organised under the auspices of the International Energy Agency (IEA) but is functionally
and legally autonomous. Views, findings and publications of the IEA Bioenergy TCP do not necessarily represent the views or policies
of the IEA Secretariat or its individual member countries.

Case Story CO2 Recovery Denmark November 2020

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Case Story CO2 Recovery Denmark November 2020

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Production of food grade

sustainable CO2 from a

Figure 1: The Korskro Biogas Plant, Denmark. Source: Nature Energy

From residual CO2 to GO’ CO2

Figure 2: General diagram of GO’ CO2 production at Korskro Biogas Plant.

Suitable purity for all sectors

Food industry Iron & machine industry

• Cooling food • Laser cutting

Healthcare sector Pharmaceutical industry

• Laparoscopy (surgical procedure) • pH control

Table 1: The multiple uses of GO’ CO2

GO’ CO2 in Power to X projects

IEA Bioenergy Task 37 “Energy from Biogas” http://task37.ieabioenergy.com

Strandmøllen A/S; +45 701 02 107

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