Industry
Energy, Resources & Utilities
Rebalance the energy equation
Highlights
- With methane being one of the major contributors to the global warming effect of greenhouse gas emissions, there is an increasing focus on reducing methane emissions.
- A significant portion of methane emission is from organic waste. While the direct action is to reduce this emission, reusing it is the way to convert it from a waste to a resource.
- Methane from organic waste can be used as a major energy source and can accelerate energy transition by replacing fossil fuels. Digital innovations can advance methane reuse, fostering sustainability.
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COP29
The COP declaration associated with the COP29 Summit 2024 in Baku, Azerbaijan, formally included waste for the first time.
On November 19, 2024, the COP29 Presidency launched the Reducing Methane from Organic Waste Declaration. Thirty countries were among the initial signatories, representing nearly half of global methane emissions from organic waste. These countries agreed to set sectoral targets for methane emission reduction from organic waste.
Innovative digital will play a pivotal role in methane emission reduction, capture, and utilization to unlock value.
Reducing emissions
How can we reduce methane emissions from organic waste faster?
In Some of the ways in which methane emission can be reduced from organic waste are:
- Source reduction of waste through effective operations and supply chain management
- Aerobic digestion for composting and vermicomposting
- Thermal technologies like pyrolysis and gasification avoiding methane emissions
- Methane inhibitors to methane production during organic waste decomposition
- Microbial treatments with engineered microorganisms to accelerate decomposition while minimizing methane release
While reducing methane emissions remains a strong priority, re-use of emitted methane is an equally important option. Emitted methane is indeed a resource.
As an energy source
Methane produced from organic waste, primarily through anaerobic digestion or landfill decomposition, is a valuable energy source.
Methane can be captured, processed, and utilized in various ways to generate heat, electricity, fuel, or industrial products. This is an important transition fuel for most oil and gas (energy) companies. Replacing coal with methane is accelerating the energy transition.
Energy production
Methane is combusted to produce electricity, which is used in power grids, remote communities, and industrial operations. Direct burning of methane produces heat for space heating, water heating, or industrial processes and can be used in district heating systems and food processing plants. Methane-powered systems produce combined heating power (CHP), which improves efficiency in commercial and industrial applications such as hospitals, universities, and factories. Small-scale biogas digesters convert methane into clean cooking fuel for small businesses and households, especially in rural areas.
Renewable fuels
Methane purified to produce biomethane can be directly injected into natural gas grids and power vehicles. Methane on pyrolysis produces hydrogen, a clean energy carrier. Applications include powering fuel cells, industrial processes, and ammonia production. Methane can be converted into liquid fuels like methanol or synthetic diesel, which can be used in aviation, shipping, and other heavy-duty transportation sectors.
Environmental and economic applications
Captured methane can be combined with CO₂ to create synthetic fuels or building materials. Applications include carbon-neutral fuel production and green construction materials. Methane-powered systems can be paired with technologies like desalination to produce clean water in regions facing water scarcity. Integrating methane recovery with other waste management processes creates closed-loop systems. For example, waste-to-energy plants produce power and fertilizer from landfill methane.
Emerging possibilities
Solid oxide fuel cells use methane directly for efficient power generation. These systems recover water produced as a byproduct of methane combustion, which is useful in arid regions.
Integration opportunities
Co-locating methane utilization facilities with landfills, wastewater treatment plants, or agricultural operations can maximize resource recovery. Another option is to combine methane capture with renewable energy sources to create hybrid energy systems.
Digital innovation
Organizations across sectors are using digital transformation to drive business value.
Innovative digital will play a pivotal role in methane emission reduction, capture, and utilization to develop, deploy, and scale innovative digital solutions at scale to unlock new value.
Digital innovation in the methane ecosystem
Some solution areas with high potential for digital innovation and scale in the future are as follows:
- Deploying IoT-enabled gas detectors to identify leaks or hotspots
- Processing hyperspectral and thermal imaging data leaks with algorithms to map methane
- Methane emission forecasting using predictive modeling predicts methane emissions based on historical patterns, weather conditions, and operational data.
- Enhancing route optimization algorithms for waste collection vehicles to minimize emissions
- Leveraging digital twin technology to simulate and optimize methane utilization processes, such as biogas production or methane-to-methanol conversion
- Designing suitable catalysts with the help of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) for converting methane into high-value products efficiently
Digital innovations will revolutionize methane reuse by making the process affordable, scalable, transparent, and efficient, fostering sustainability and advancing the circular economy.
