Biogas upgrading at Hawaii Gas

Project overview

Hawai’i Gas supplies gas energy to nearly every major market segment: residents, food service, military, hospitality, health care, education, government, agriculture and more. Hawai’i Gas has been providing the state of Hawaii with gas since 1904. Since this time, Hawai’i gas has installed gas pipeline infrastructure, built storage facilities with harbor access and has established a highly skilled workforce on every major island to serve the people of Hawai’i.

The challenge

The innovative character of the Hawai’i gas has been recognized early on by the Pacific Coast Gas Association and was awarded the company for being ‘years ahead of its time’ in 1909. Hawai’i Gas has always focused on bringing cleaner, low-cost energy to the islands. The company offers a wide variety of energy sources. Next to the different sources of natural gas, the company offers solar power generated from a local solar farm.

Even though Hawai’i Gas already is a very progressive company when it comes to clean sources of energy, it was looking for a way to become even greener. In line with the state goal to generate 100% renewable energy by 2045, the organisation started investigating alternative sources of renewable energy to add to the portfolio to become independent of fossil fuels. Existing wastewater treatment plants and landfills produce biogas.

Project details

Product: Carborex®MS
Year: 2015
Location: Wyke Farms, Champflower
Biogas Inlet: 1000 Nm³
Biogas Source: Waste Water treatment Plant (WWTP)
Application: Gas to Grid injection

Learn more about the project

In partnership with the City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii Gas worked together to produce Renewable Natural Gas from the biogas produced at the wastewater treatment facility in West Oáhu. With the help of DMT’s Carborex®MS, a biogas upgrading technology using membrane technology, Hawaii Gas can capture this biogas, clean it up to a predominantly methane stream and inject it into its existing distribution infrastructure to serve the general public.

Hawaii Gas is also exploring the use of large-scale biomass production to produce additional biogas and working with government and industry to develop new pathways for clean, reliable and cost-effective hydrogen fuel supplies.

Through DMT’s membrane separation technology, biogas is collected, processed and injected into Hawaii Gas’ O’ahu utility pipeline to provide energy for homes and businesses.

• Reduce carbon footprint
• Cost effective source of renewable energy
• Sustainable

Project results

DMT’s project was a critical piece to Hawai’i’s resiliency plan for surviving natural disasters as well as reducing the state’s greenhouse gas emissions. As the premier provider of gas solutions since 1904, Hawai’i Gas supplies gas energy to nearly every major market segment: residents, food service, military, hospitality, health care, education, government, agriculture and more. After the biogas is upgraded, the RNG is delivered safely and reliably through Hawai’i Gas’ 1,100-mile underground utility pipeline, meaning that when winds are high and the power goes out, gas users can still cook and access hot water for sanitation.