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Europe’s biogas plants could produce fertilizer on-site

The article notes raw biogas is typically about 55% to 65% methane, which in one example could theoretically support ammonia output of roughly 25 to 30 tonnes per day.

Reported · Written up by our desk · Energy Transition

OilPrice says Europe’s fertilizer crunch is often treated as a natural gas story, because higher gas prices raise ammonia costs and can lead fertilizer plants to cut production.

The outlet argues the picture is incomplete, pointing to thousands of anaerobic digesters across Europe that already produce methane-rich gas near farms and food operations, with sites commonly burning it for combined heat and power, upgrading it to biomethane, or flaring small surpluses.

OilPrice also raises a more disruptive idea, that the gas could become fertilizer before leaving the site, describing a potential “new industrial category” between biogas digestion and conventional large ammonia plants.

In technical terms, it says raw biogas typically contains roughly 55% to 65% methane, and gives an example that a plant producing 1,000 normal cubic metres per hour could theoretically yield methane sufficient to support ammonia production on the order of 25 to 30 tonnes per day, depending on methane content and other operating factors.

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