Facsa highlights its work to create renewable gases from wastewater treatment plants at the latest edition of the Ecoforum

The future of energy must be linked to eliminating polluting emissions into the atmosphere, and renewable gases will play an important role in achieving this goal. Therefore, FacsaFacsa is currently developing various initiatives to achieve this goal, leveraging one of the types of infrastructure in which it has extensive experience: wastewater treatment plants. The processes for separating waste from wastewater treatment result in byproducts that can be transformed into energy. This was the central theme of the presentation at the Ecoforum by Malú Barrera, Renewable Gas Projects Coordinator at Facsa, who emphasized that research in this field is crucial "to achieve the objectives of the circular economy, reduce greenhouse gases, limit the consumption of fossil fuels, mitigate the effects of climate change, and become less dependent on external energy supplies." All of this presents significant opportunities to penetrate sectors such as industry and heavy transport.

Apart from biogas, there is progress towards the production of biomethane, "which is biogas from which the CO has been removed₂"It is also 100% compatible with natural gas and can be injected into the network," he emphasized.

One of the keys to the projects she is involved in Facsa It is the generation of biogas from wastewater sludge through the anaerobic digestion of its components. He explained that this process "reduces the volatile fraction of waste in treatment plants, eliminates odors, and provides substrates that can be used to extract gas; and even, through further treatment, fertilizer can be obtained."

Currently, the company "has ten plants that generate biogas, which can be transformed into energy for consumption on the premises," Barrera explained. Among these plants, he mentioned facilities in Castelló, with an electrical cogeneration unit, while Almassora has a boiler.

But the ambition to make the most of wastewater doesn't stop there. Malú Barrera mentioned an innovation and development project involving the use of digesters at different temperatures. This allows for "increased biogas production." This is already happening in places like the Alcoi wastewater treatment plant.

Other projects

Regarding biomethane research, Facsa presented at the Eocoforum its work on the Biovo project, which is centered in the Catalan region of Vallès Oriental. The processes employed make it possible to generate this energy, which is injected directly into the gas network.

Most research focuses on large-scale plants, but wastewater treatment is present in all types of municipalities. For this reason, Facsa is collaborating with Enagás on an exciting project, Trovant Technology, which allows for the adaptation of all emerging innovations to plants of all sizes. This is a way to maximize the potential of sanitation facilities.

Green hydrogen

For some time now, green hydrogen has become the great hope for the energy future. The company doesn't want to be left behind in this area, which is why it has a stake in the Hacdos project. Hydrogen is obtained as an energy source through water electrolysis, and the project is studying how wastewater can be used to contribute to this future.

Unlocking full potential

Barrera also reviewed the various alternatives to greenhouse gases at the Ecoforum, emphasizing the need to further promote them. "The potential is not being fully realized in our country," Barrera pointed out, explaining that growth "is slow, with only four biogas plants per million inhabitants in Spain, while in other European Union countries, such as France and Germany, the number has multiplied."

This course is expected to change soon, as the Government has drawn up a biogas roadmap, which aims to increase current production by 3,8 times, with the goal of reaching 10,4 terawatt hours by 2030.

More recently, the Valencian biogas route has been added, "which is much more ambitious than the Government's," Barrera explained, because it aims to increase current generation up to ninefold, from the current 0,26 terawatt-hours to 2,34. Furthermore, he commented, "it also defines the social and economic impact, with the creation of some 6.000 direct and indirect jobs and investments of around 500 million euros."

The hydrogen race

In contrast, the path forward for green hydrogen is much more promising, the speaker pointed out, which provides a boost for Facsa's research in this area. She indicated that "Spain is leading this race, accounting for 20% of project announcements worldwide, second only to the United States." In the case of wastewater treatment plants, water from sewer systems can be used in the electrolysis process before treatment. Hydrogen has advantages over renewable electricity because it can be stored, giving it great potential in both industry and energy-intensive transportation.