Biogas Upgrading and Waste-to-Energy

NREL's waste-to-energy research seeks pathways to use waste feedstock to recover energy and produce fuels and chemicals.

We focus on resource assessment, techno-economic analysis, and the research and development required for upgrading biogas to fuels and high-value coproducts.

A petri dish of M. alcaliphilum 20ZR.

Featured Publications

Using Waste CO2 to Increase Ethanol Production from Corn Ethanol Biorefineries: Techno-Economic Analysis, Applied Energy (2020)

Upgrading Brown Grease for the Production of Biofuel Intermediates, Bioresource Technology Reports (2020)

Muconic Acid Production from Methane Using Rationally-Engineered Methanotrophic Biocatalysts, Green Chemistry (2019)

Wet Waste-to-Energy Resources in the United States, Resources, Conservation and Recycling (2018)

Biogas Biocatalysis: Methanotrophic Bacterial Cultivation, Metabolite Profiling, and Bioconversion to Lactic Acid, Frontiers in Microbiology (2018)

View all NREL biogas upgrading and waste-to-energy publications.

Waste-to-Energy Technical Assistance

To help advance waste to energy technologies, we offer technical assistance for local governments.

Illustration showing, at the top, a red sphere labeled "MMO" and a grey oval labeled "MDH" superimposed on a rectangular shape composed of a double row of pale green spheres overlapping in a horizontal line with vertical lines connecting the two rows of spheres; the top row is labeled "periplasm" and the bottom row is labeled "cytoplasm". CH4 goes into the MMO sphere and comes out CH3OH; CH3OH goes into the MDH oval and comes out CH2O2; CH2O2 goes into an orange sphere labeled "RuMP"; RuMP has a black arrow going into a yellow sphere labeled "EMP"; EMP has an arrow leading to pyruvate which than has a double arrow leading to fuels and chemicals.

Methane Conversion to Liquid Fuels and Chemicals Using a Methanotrophic Biocatalyst

NREL is working to valorize biogas and natural gas through the development of biological methane upgrading strategies, targeting conversion of methane to liquid fuels and chemicals. Research activities for these multi-institutional projects encompass strain development, high-productivity gas fermentation process development, product recovery and upgrading, and techno-economic analysis.

Contact: Michael Guarnieri

A map of the United States illustrating wastewater treatment plants in the country with the wastewater flow (million gallons per day) represented by large (greater than 50) to small (less than 5) blue dots.

Waste Feedstocks

We inventory and analyze waste feedstocks—fats, oils, and greases; municipal solid waste including food waste, plastics, and wood; wastewater sludge; animal manure; biorefinery residues and biogas—and work to address feedstock data gaps, inventory feedstock characteristics, map their geographic distribution, and estimate the market and energy potential from these resources.

Contact: Anelia Milbrandt

Illustration with three right-pointing arrows on the left (in gradations of orange) labeled (from top to bottom) "Feedstock Composition," "Operating Conditions," and "Conversion Yields." The arrows point to "Plant Model in Aspen Plus" with a yellow Aspen Plus logo. A blue arrow below the logo is labeled "Product Yield" and points right to "gal". A blue arrow to the right of the logo is labeled" and points right to an icon of an Excel spreadsheet labeled "Equipment and Raw Material Accounting." A green arrow labeled "Cost" points right from the Excel icon to "MSFP Minimum Fuel Selling Price $" that sits over a division bar over "gal".

Waste-to-Energy Techno-Economic Analysis

We perform techno-economic analysis for converting waste feedstocks to power, fuels, and bioproducts to compare different conversion pathways for utilizing waste materials, as well as to support the renewable energy mission, provide economic variability, environmental sustainability, and support decision-making at different levels.

Contact: Ling Tao

A map of the United States illustrating methane generation potential from biogas sources in the country with thousand tonnes per year represented by red (greater than 10), purple (5 to 10), turquoise (2.5 to 5), yellow (1 to 2.5), and grey (less than 1) shapes.

Waste-to-Energy System Simulation Model

NREL's waste-to-energy system simulation model is designed to develop and analyze scenarios that explore the evolution of the waste-to-energy industry and determine how waste-to-energy fuel technologies may be deployed in such a way that they make a significant contribution to the country's transportation energy.

Contact: Danny Inman

Research Team

Photo of a group of smiling men and women in a wintry outdoor setting.

Principal Investigators

Photo of Michael Guarnieri

Michael Guarnieri

Research Scientist

Michael.Guarnieri@nrel.gov
303-384-7921

Photo of Danny Inman

Danny Inman

Research Scientist

Daniel.Inman@nrel.gov
303-275-4997

Photo of Anelia Milbrandt

Anelia Milbrandt

Senior Energy Resources Analyst

Anelia.Milbrandt@nrel.gov
303-275-4633

Photo of Ling Tao

Ling Tao

Senior Process Engineer

Ling.Tao@nrel.gov
303-384-7809

Engineers

Jack Ferrell

Gary Grim

Kevin Harrison

Zhe Huang

Eric Karp

Violeta Sanchez i Nogue

Josh Schaidle

Scientists

Steve Decker

Nancy Dowe

Mike Resch

Related and Integrated Programs

Analysis and Characterization

Biochemical Processes

Waste to Energy Combustion, Gasification, and Anaerobic Digestion On-Site Evaluation

Collaborators

Argonne National Laboratory (Life-Cycle and Sustainability Analysis)

Farmatic Inc.

Johnson Matthey

LanzaTech

Metabolon Inc.

North Carolina State University

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (Analysis and Sustainability Interface)

San Diego State University

University of North Dakota Energy and Environmental Research Center (EERC) with Lockheed Martin (Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program projects, PI Kim Magrini)

University of Washington

This program is funded in part by the U.S. Department of Energy's Bioenergy Technologies Office.

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