Zentrum Fuer Sonnenenergie- Und Wasserstoff-forschung Baden-wuerttemberg

Ulrich Zuberbuehler

Michael Specht

Volkmar Frick

Bernd Stuermer

Sebastian Thaler

Michael Sterner

Berthold Hahn

The invention relates to a method and an apparatus for generating a methane-containing substitute natural gas from a carbon oxide-containing input gas and also to an energy supply system equipped with such an apparatus. According to the invention, the input gas is subjected to a methanation reaction where a superstoichiometric hydrogen fraction is established in the reactant gas. The product gas of the methanation reaction is divided by gas separation into a methane-containing retentate gas, which yields the substitute natural gas, and a hydrogen-containing permeate gas. At least some of the permeate gas is returned to the input gas and admixed therein to form the reactant gas for the methanation reaction. The invention may be used, for example, for renewable energy supply systems with biomass valorization.

Method and apparatus for generating a methane-containing substitute natural gas and related energy supply system

An energy supply system is provided with an electricity generating device for regeneratively generating electrical energy that can be fed into an electricity supply grid. The energy supply system includes an electricity generating device for regeneratively generating electrical energy which can be fed into an electricity supply grid, a hydrogen generating device for generating hydrogen using electrical energy from the regenerative electricity generating device, a methanation device for converting hydrogen generated by the hydrogen generating device and a supplied carbon oxide gas into a gas containing methane, and a gas providing device for providing a supplementary gas or a replacement gas in a variably specifiable supplementary/replacement gas quality suitable for feeding into a gas supply grid with the use of the gas containing methane from the methanation device and/or the hydrogen from the hydrogen generating device. A method of operating the system is also provided.

Energy supply system and operating method

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Stuttgart, Germany

Ulrich Zuberbuehler