Biomethane in Poland—Current Status, Potential, Perspective and Development

Abstract

Every year the interest in biofuels, including biomethane, grows in Poland. Biomethane, obtained from biogas, is widely used in the Polish economy; the most important two applications are as gas injected into the gas grid and as automotive fuel. The aim of this work is to determine the potential for the development of the biomethane sector in Poland. The following article presents the technological stages of biomethane extraction and purification. The investment process for biogas/biomethane installation is presented in the form of a Gannt chart; this process is extremely long in Poland, with a duration of three years. In the coming months, the Polish Oil Mining and Gas Extraction will begin to invest in biomethane, which will be connected to the gas grid, while the Polish oil refiner and petrol retailer, Orlen, will invest in biomethane to be used as automotive fuel. This article includes a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) and PEST (Political, Economic, Social, Technological) analysis of the biogas/biomethane sector in Poland. The main barriers to the development of the biogas/biomethane sector in Poland are high investment costs, long lead times and a strong conventional energy lobby. The most important advantages of biogas/biomethane technology in Poland include environmental aspects, high biomethane potential and well-developed agriculture. The development of biogas/biomethane technology in Poland will slowly reduce environmental pollution, reduce carbon dioxide emissions and allow for partial independence from the importing of natural gas.

Energy Transition in Poland—Assessment of the Renewable Energy Sector

“…Undoubtedly, the globalization processes have led to systematic socio-economic development in most world economies, combined with a significant increase in the level of innovation, the level of investment outlays and the level of foreign direct investment [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16]. Globalization processes have also contributed to the emergence of new lifestyles and consumption styles [17][18][19][20], which together with the increase in the wealth of the society and the level of innovation in enterprises contributed to the creation of the renewable energy (RE) sector, which is one of the fastest developing branches of the world economy [21][22][23][24][25]. Currently, there is a systematic increase in the RE sector in terms of production and research, which results in the increase of efficiency in sourcing RE and the decrease in the prices of RE sector installations, which simultaneously contributes to its further development.…”

Problems of Selected Sectors of Biofuels for Transport in Poland

“…Sustaining the mechanism applicable to date, the share of biocomponents, biofuels and biogas produced from certain raw materials will be considered to be twice as high in the energy balance of the member states using them [24,25]. That concerns both advanced biocomponents and biofuels, as well as biogas (produced from raw materials enumerated in part A of appendix IX to the Directive (including waste and residues from the forestry and timber sector, algae), and those produced from other raw materials enumerated in part B of that appendix (used edible oils and animal fats).…”

Siloxanes in Biogas: Approaches of Sampling Procedure and GC-MS Method Determination

“…Regarding the reduction of the emission and continuously increasing demand for renewable resources, the concept of biogas [1,2] and biomethane utilization [3] have gained a special significance. During the last 10 years, studies on biogas and biomethane and the determination of silica compounds in the form of volatile methylsiloxanes (VMSs) has been investigated [4][5][6].…”