Levidian and United Utilities have announced plans to use sewage biogas as a sustainable feed source for graphene and hydrogen production.
The government-funded collaboration is a first for the UK’s water industry. Levidian’s LOOP technology will be used to decarbonise biogas created through the wastewater treatment process at United Utilities’ Manchester Bioresources Centre. This will then be used to produce hydrogen and graphene.
Following a successful feasibility study, this will mark the first demonstration of Levidian’s LOOP100 system, with £3 million (€3.5 million) backing from the government’s Hydrogen BECCS Innovation Programme competition.
Levidian and United Utilities aim to deliver more than 1,000 hours of in-situ testing. This should verify the production of separated hydrogen and graphene.
The LOOP100 system is capable of processing around 15 m³ of biogas each hour. Both hope the demonstration will lead to larger installations, helping United Utilities to sustainably produce hydrogen from biogas.
During the project, Liverpool John Moores University will explore the potential usage of hydrogen within the Liverpool City Region as part of the project, while Jacobs will be tasked with providing expertise in the carbon lifecycle assessment, social value analysis and commercialisation.
