Grupo Urca Energia announced today (7) the construction of a green carbon dioxide (CO2) production plant at the Waste Treatment Center (CTR) in Seropédica, a municipality in the metropolitan region of Rio de Janeiro. The plant will be the first in Brazil to produce green CO2 by using biomethane generated from organic waste from landfills and is part of the portfolio of Gás Verde, recently acquired by Urca Energia. 
Investments in the construction and acquisition of equipment for the new green CO2 plant reached R$ 45 million and comprise the total investment in Gás Verde of R$ 1.2 billion.
Gás Verde already has a biomethane plant in Seropédica and two plants for generating electricity from biogas in Nova Iguaçu, Baixada Fluminense, and São Gonçalo, in the metropolitan region of Rio. These two units will be transformed into biomethane plants by 2023 .
The plant is expected to start operating in 18 months. The plant will generate around 100 tons of green carbon dioxide per day, which represents approximately 10% of Brazil’s daily consumption, which is 1,100 tons. Green CO2 has many uses. In the food and beverage industry, it is used in liquid gasification and food freezing processes; in metallurgy, in the heat treatment of welds; and in the sanitation sector, in the treatment of effluents.
Diversification
The Secretary of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (SPG) of the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME), Rafael Bastos, stated that although Brazil already has the most diversified matrix in the world, with around 48% of renewable sources, the plant it is one more step in the expansion of these energy matrices. “We keep moving forward. This is a big step in that direction. Another venture that brings another energy alternative to Brazil and we are taking initiatives that go in that direction”, he said.
Rafael Bastos pointed out that Rio de Janeiro is an energy power in the country, producing 80% of Brazil’s oil and 64% of natural gas. In the last six years, the production of oil in Rio de Janeiro has increased by 30% and that of natural gas, by 55%. “Initiatives like this by Grupo Urca Energia are in line with the national energy policy that seeks to use alternative sources of energy and biofuels on an economic, environmental and social basis,” he said.
A study by the Energy Research Company (EPE), linked to the ministry, points to a production potential of 3.9 billion cubic meters of biomethane in Brazil by 2031. The MME’s intention is to enable the inclusion of renewable biofuel projects in the Special Regime of Incentives for Infrastructure Development (REIDI) for benefits to the implementation of structuring projects.
Clean energy
For the Secretary of State for Economic Development, Energy and International Relations of Rio de Janeiro, Vinicius Farah, Urca Energia’s investments and the inauguration of the biogas plant expand the generation of clean energy in the state. “And they add to a significant number of solar, wind and green hydrogen projects that will make Rio a national reference in renewable sources,” he added.
The executive director of Grupo Urca Energia, Marcel Jorand, assured that the company seeks to make investments that have a positive impact on the environment. “And this is what happens when we treat carbon dioxide so that it can be used by various industries. We work to offer environmentally better alternatives,” he indicated.
The expectation is to generate more than 500 jobs in the construction of the new plant. The three plants together will produce, within 24 months, a volume of around 400 thousand cubic meters of methane per day.
Purity
Green carbon dioxide reaches a degree of purity for consumption as food, meeting the international standard determined by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the body that controls the quality of medicines, food and beverages in the United States. The difference, according to him, is that the national green CO2 comes from renewable fuel, which means that the process avoids the emission of greenhouse gases.
According to Grupo Urca Energia, a gas stream composed of 42% carbon dioxide is generated in the biogas treatment process for biomethane. This current will be sent through ducts from the biomethane plant to the green CO2 plant, where it will be treated, aiming to raise the concentration of carbon dioxide to 99%.
Then, the gas will go through the liquefaction process and will be stored for future sale to distributors and traders. Gás Verde already has a contract signed with Ambev, in January of this year, for the supply of biomethane to be used in the company’s industrial plant in Cachoeiras de Macacu (RJ).
