Protos Biofuels moves into FEED stage

In the UK, Protos Biofuels Ltd, a project developed by Advanced Biofuel Solutions Ltd and Greenergy, announced that its first municipal waste to advanced biofuels project has progressed into the front-end engineering design (FEED) phase. 

Petrofac has been appointed to deliver the FEED, with Sumitomo SHI FW (SFW) to supply the gasifier that converts the household waste into synthesis gas (syngas); Proval to design the direct current plasma arc furnace that will be used to clean the syngas; and Wood to licensed their VESTA process that will convert syngas into biomethane and biohydrogen. 

The commercial scale Protos plant will incorporate ABSL’s RadGas process technology and will be the first to produce grid-grade biomethane and biohydrogen from municipal waste. Located on the Protos site in the North West of England, the project site is part of HyNet North West, one of the UK’s leading industrial decarbonization projects.

Due for completion in 2025, the project will divert 150,000 metric tons of household waste annually, the amount produced by a large town, from landfill and incineration, converting it into renewable low carbon fuel. By using waste as a feedstock, the plant will avoid 160,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions each year, equivalent to the emissions of 107,000 cars, through the replacement of fossil fuel with waste-based fuel alternatives and the capture of carbon dioxide.