Renewable gases in the water sector in Spain

New possibilities of use have been opened for biogas from WWTPs that will complement existing ones within the sanitation sector, always with the aim of making the public urban sanitation service more efficient in terms of cost while contributing to the European goal of achieving a carbon neutral Europe by 2050 By PEDRO AGUILÓ MARTOS 9675 readings AUTHOR PEDRO AGUILÓ MARTOS 11-12-2023 TAGS WATER The will and obligation to decarbonize is very present in the wastewater treatment sector and is reflected in the proposal to review the European legal framework for wastewater treatment, which reviews and expands the existing Directive 91/271. , also introducing greater demands on the wastewater treatment itself, other concepts such as the circular economy, GHG emissions, energy efficiency and energy neutrality for larger WWTPs by 2040, that is, even 10 years ahead of the calendar established in the European Green Deal . The production of renewable gas in WWTPs is the main lever for the sector to achieve this ambitious objective. The production of renewable gas in WWTPs is the main lever for the sector to achieve the ambitious European objectives in terms of decarbonization.



Furthermore, framed in the European objective of achieving climate neutrality in the year 2050, in accordance with the European Green Deal, which is the roadmap to achieve it, we have lived from the urban wastewater sanitation sector the experience of rediscovery of our biogas from the perspective of actors external to our activity , such as the gas sector, which has detected in the biomethane produced from our biogas an outstanding vehicle to contribute to achieving its decarbonization objective, also presenting biomethane, comparatively CZ Leads with the other paradigmatic renewable gas is hydrogen, the great advantage is that no adaptation is necessary in its transportation and distribution infrastructure, for the beginning of the substitution of traditional natural gas. It should also be noted that the current situation of geopolitical crisis in Europe and the historical dependence on natural gas from third parties has also led to the implementation by the European Union of the RePower Europe program, which has put Spain at the center of attention of Europe as a strategic country in the replacement of natural gas with biomethane, as Spain is the third country in its production potential, only behind Germany and France. This situation makes us key to achieving the production objective of 35 million cubic meters , 10% of the demand for natural gas at the European level.







In this sense and according to a potential study carried out by Sedigas, PwC and BioVic, Spain could produce up to 163 TWh/year of biomethane, which would correspond to 45% of the current demand for natural gas, if it is true that, This potential, the sanitation sector represents a small percentage, around 1%, this contribution could be increased with the instrument of co-digestion , given that in the WWTPs, not only can the increased production of the biogas generated be conveyed but also Treatment is given to the liquid effluents and the solid digestate resulting from the anaerobic digestion process, ensuring compliance with the parameters for discharge into public waterways and agricultural applications. After years of local use of biogas in our facilities as heat energy and in electricity production for our own consumption or injection into the network within the specific regime, we have had a Biogas Roadmap in Spain since March 2022. which, together with that of Hydrogen, derive from compliance with measure 1.8 of the PNIEC, a document that is currently being reviewed. This roadmap, whose objective is to increase biogas production in Spain to 10.41 TWh/year, that is, multiply biogas production in 2020 almost by four, identifies lines of action, some of which were already being implemented. performing in our sector; such as co-digestion with organic substrates compatible with the purification process to achieve an increase in biogas production, with the added incentive that the great geographical dispersion of the WWTPs allows treatment close to the possible co-substrates, avoiding the creation of macro waste treatment complexes, other measures that have already been implemented since its publication, such as the mechanism of guarantees of origin of biogas in accordance with Royal aid for the investment of new production and use facilities for biogas conveyed to through the two PERTE biogas calls.