Introduction

0.1 General

The technical committee on biogas (ISO/TC 255) was established in 2011 in order to:

— provide liberalization and facilitation for international trade of biogas systems;
— contribute to international co-operation on technical regulations, standards and assessment procedures;
— curb discriminatory technical requirements as the main form of trade protectionism; and
— reduce and eliminate the technical barriers for international trade of biogas systems.

This document about biogas systems is applicable for biogas production by anaerobic digestion, biogas conditioning, biogas upgrading and biogas utilization. The main purpose of this document is the safe operation of biogas systems without damaging the environment.

The availability of a standard for biogas systems is necessary in order to:

— ensure that biogas systems are built, operated and maintained safely;
— facilitate development of regional and national regulations and incentive programs to regulate methane emissions;
— moderate communication between the different biogas parties through meaningful discussions;
— contribute to reinforcement of biogas flares’ safety and business competitiveness with recognized terms and definitions that clarify actors’ expectations related to procurement, contracts and services as well as reporting on biogas related action plans, road maps, etc.; and
— contribute to the use of standards by facilitating their development and furthering users’ understanding and application of standards.

ISO/TC 255 intends to promote international technology exchange and to accelerate international application of biogas (products) and equipment by developing and maintaining globally harmonized standards. For the avoidance of doubt, it is noted that national legislation may apply which may deviate from or may be additional to the contents of this document.

0.2 Description of the applied technologies

Biogas systems are amongst others applied at industrial plants like food and beverage industries, waste water treatment plants, waste plants, landfill sites, and small-scale plants next to agricultural companies.

Biogas is produced by anaerobic digestion of organic matter.

Biogas mainly comprises methane, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, oxygen, hydrogen sulphide and/or water and furthermore could contain hydrogen, carbon monoxide, heavier hydrocarbons (including aromatic hydrocarbons), siloxanes and/or other substances.

Biogas can be treated in order to eliminate hydrogen sulphide, siloxanes, water and other substances and be upgraded to a gas with higher methane content. Sometimes the biogas is pressurized.

A description of the most common technologies used in biogas systems is included in Annex B.

Guidelines to prevent risks from gasses and explosive atmospheres in buildings are included in Annex C.

BS ISO 24252:2021

Biogas systems. Non-household and non-gasification

Current

Published:

31 Dec 2021