Gas standards and test methods for measuring relevant impurities in biogas and biomethane

As known European natural gas resources is declining and the EU is depending increasingly on imported natural gas. Consequently, diversification of the European natural gas supply has become necessary and this is being implemented as required by the Renewable Energy Directive 2009/28/EC. Under mandate M/475, CEN/PC 408 developed specifications for biomethane (i.e. EN16723-1 for injection into natural gas grids and EN16723-2 for transport fuel). Currently, the test methods cited in EN16723 are neither harmonised nor validated, lack aspects of metrological traceability, and are usually not dedicated to biomethane. Thus, they are hampering the energy transition from natural gas to biomethane and are causing the realisation of the EC's H2020 goals to be too slow. Regulators, grids and refuelling stations, and testing laboratories urgently require harmonised and validated test methods to enable the transportation of biomethane using existing infrastructure as well as clear financial transactions without disputes.

In order to address these issues, VSL developed various fit-for-purpose gas standards and metrological test methods for measuring the relevant impurities (siloxanes, halogenated volatile organic compounds, hydrogen chloride, hydrogen fluoride, ammonia, and amines) in biogas and biomethane within the scopes of EU joint research projects, i.e., EMRP ENG54 - Metrology for biogas (2014 - 2017) and EMPIR 16ENG05 - Metrology for biomethane (2017 - 2020). The work will also address the short-term and long-term stability of the measurement standards. Furthermore, the test methods using gas chromatography and spectroscopic techniques are presented.

The developed infrastructure will enable SI traceable calibration and accurate measurement results for these groups of components.