Biomethane is produced from biogass generated from landfills and anaerobic digestion. We are looking at the standards it must meet to allow it to be used without waste management controls.
Revised draft quality protocol
We have revised the draft quality protocol for biomethane. The revisions are in response to comments received during the 12-week national consultation on the draft protocol in 2012.
We have published three documents for you to comment on until 28 February 2013. These are the revised draft quality protocol, the revised environmental risk assessment, and a document explaning these revisions:
Comments are accepted until 28 February 2013
If there are no further comments during this period, the quality protocol as drafted will be notified under the EU Technical Standards and Regulations Directive 98/34/EC. Notification is the final stage of review before the quality protocol is implemented.
Please email us with your comments:
Background
The solid and liquid outputs (digestate) from anaerobic digestion already benefit from a quality protocol. However, the methane-rich gas produced from the treatment of waste does not. At the moment, biogas produced by the treatment of waste by anaerobic digestion in landfills, and its subsequent upgrade to biomethane, may be considered a waste.
This new quality protocol will bring regulatory clarity about the point at which biomethane is no longer regarded as a waste. It will also help to establish a consistent set of standards required in order to facilitate direct injection of waste-derived biomethane into the gas grid and use in other appliances. By reducing the regulatory burden on businesses using biomethane from waste sources, we hope to encourage its increased production and use.
