East Midlands Airport embarks on a world first to meet target of Carbon Neutrality


In a world-first, East Midlands Airport and Gasrec (the UK's first commercial producer of Liquid Biomethane) will be entering into a six month trial to run an airport passenger transfer bus powered by Liquid Biomethane fuel (LBM), a carbon neutral fuel.

The bus uses gas produced by the decomposition of biomass (ie. organic waste, such as food byproducts) which is created by extracting the natural gas produced by biomass in landfill or by digestion of the biomass byproducts of industries, such as food manufacture and retail.

The production of LBM takes potentially environmentally damaging gases, known as 'greenhouse gases', and converts them into an environmentally friendly fuel that can be directly substituted for both Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG).

The airport is over half way towards its commitment to carbon neutrality by 2012 and the trial of Biomethane is the latest in a line of innovative environmental projects it is implementing. The airport’s carbon neutral ambition targets all aspects of operation within our direct control, namely our ground support vehicles and the energy used in our buildings. The Biomethane trial is just one of a number of projects taking place at the airport to reach this target.
It is expected the benefits of using this carbon neutral fuel will include; significant improvements to air quality, a reduction in CO2 emissions and a reduction in costs. Following the six month trial period that will test vehicle performance compared to the performance of a similar vehicle fuelled with diesel, the airport will consider progressively increasing the number of vehicles using this environmentally friendly fuel on the airport site.

About Gasrec
Gasrec processes decomposing organic waste in landfill into a clean Liquid Biomethane fuel that can power vehicles from commercial trucks to high-performance cars. It is the UK’s first and only commercial producer of Liquid Biomethane.

Gasrec produces this fuel by extracting the natural gas produced by biomass (organic waste such as food by-products) in landfill, or by digestion of the biomass byproducts of industries such as food manufacture and retail.

The gas is then converted to Liquid Biomethane (LBM), a commercially competitive and environmentally sound fuel that can be directly substituted for both Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG).

This LBM is used to fuel dedicated gas-powered or duel-fuel vehicles, from commercial trucks to high-performance cars; or for decentralised (off grid) power generation.

About Liquid Bio Methane (LBM)
As the organic content of landfill decomposes, landfill gas is produced. This gas is actually a combination of potentially environmentally damaging gases, which include methane and carbon dioxide in different proportions depending on the content of the landfill. These gases are classified as 'Greenhouse Gases' (GHGs), which are deleterious to the environment and to human health when vented directly to the atmosphere.

Gasrec separates the methane from this mixture, and purifies it, before liquefying it to produce LBM. This creates a fuel that is environmentally sound and prevents harmful methane being released into the environment.

LBM not only offers an alternative to fuels generating harmful greenhouse gases which damage the atmosphere, but also burns more cleanly than liquid fossil fuel equivalents (diesel or petrol), with a 90% reduction in particulate matter, a 60% reduction in Nitrous Oxide and a 50% reduction in Sulphur Dioxide. On a well-to-wheel basis the CO2 savings achieved by using LBM as a fuel substitute for fossil diesel or petrol are in the region of 70% (as per JEC2006 and CONCAWE studies).

The generation of power from landfill sites in the UK is tried and tested, with more than 200 landfill sites generating approximately 1,700 MW/h each year. And yet still a number of sites continue to flare unused gas, wasting its energy potential and risking damage to the environment.

The supply of LBM is effectively inexhaustible, being classed as a renewable, and not subject to the vagaries of traditional oil and gas exploration, all factors that feed into its competitive economics of production.

LBM is a clean fuel at a competitive price suitable for any vehicle that is able to run on CNG or LNG.

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