Frequently Asked Questions

Raw material used in manufacturing advanced biofuels is mostly comprised of biodegradable waste and by-products from agriculture and industry, including cattle manure, green waste, and energetic plants. Waste is handled in accordance with the law and strict regulations applied to this sector. Manufacturing of advanced biofuels allows for solving the problem of organic waste by developing new environmentally friendly products.
Manufacturing biogas includes natural processes, i.e. decomposition. It is very similar to composting garden waste. The main difference is that greenhouse gases are collected and used to manufacture advanced biofuels.

Waste in this type of plant is recycled without oxygen (anaerobically). It is a natural fermentation process during which microorganisms break down organic waste. All of this takes place with the help of modern equipment and monitoring systems; the process is automated.
Having such a modern facility representative of circular economy in the neighbourhood may attract other high technology businesses and generate new higher qualified jobs in the renewable energy sector.
Raw Materials Are Carried in Closed Vehicles

Organic waste from farms and food production sites is transported to the facility in closed vehicles. This helps control unpleasant odours and ensure that organic waste does not lose its valuable properties required for manufacturing biogas.

The Air in the Storeroom Is Constantly Filtered

When raw materials arrive at the facility, they are stored in a closed room. The air in this room is constantly cleaned using a modern biological filter to prevent the release of unpleasant odours into the environment.

Raw materials are only stored in the facility short-term. Usually, 3-5 days’ worth of resources are brought to the manufacturing line and they are immediately moved to closed bioreactors for recycling.

Raw Materials Are Processed Anaerobically

Biodegradable organic waste from agriculture and industry is recycled anaerobically, i.e. without oxygen, in completely enclosed bioreactors. This is a natural fermentation process similar to composting during which microorganisms break down organic waste with the help of modern equipment, producing biogas. Biogas is then technologically converted into biomethane, environmentally friendly gas.

The entire advanced biofuel manufacturing line – from raw materials entering it to gas reaching purifiers through a closed pipeline – is closed. The manufacturing line is controlled by an automated system that records manufacturing deviations and, in case of any faults, stops work automatically.

Material That Remains after Manufacturing Is Odourless Organic Fertiliser

Having isolated methane and removed sulphur compounds from waste, as they are the ones causing the unpleasant smell, the odourless organic material that remains is an ecological odourless organic fertiliser. It is particularly valued by farmers and continues to be used in agriculture due to its beneficial properties for the soil.

After the biogas process and until transported to the farms, liquid fertiliser is stored in a watertight lagoon, and solid fertiliser – indoors. This helps control any risks associated with unpleasant odours as well as ensure tidiness in the area of the facility.
Transporting agricultural waste is a strictly regulated activity. Before reaching the plant, each transport load needs to be entered into a unified product, packaging, and waste record keeping information system (GPAIS).

The arriving waste is weighed, checked and its amounts are provided to the Environmental Protection Agency and State Food and Veterinary Service. From the beginning until the end of transportation, this activity is strictly monitored.
Both biofuels and advanced biofuels are manufactured from organic materials (plants, organic waste). They are a green alternative to petroleum products in seeking to reduce the use of the latter and promoting the use of renewable resources, thus creating a cleaner environment.

Regular biofuels are manufactured from various nutritive cultures (sugar, rape, etc.). Nonetheless, such biofuels, despite being better than petroleum products, have a negative effect on the environment. Growing raw materials for manufacturing biofuels does not contribute to the reduction of dangerous greenhouse gases, and raw materials used for their extraction could be used for other purposes (e.g. food or fodder).

Advanced biofuels are manufactured from biodegradable waste generated in agriculture and food industry. Being organic, this kind of waste does not compete with nutritive cultures. At the same time, it allows for solving the problem of waste by using it for developing new products. Hence, this is an environmentally friendlier way of extracting biofuels.
In order to implement state-level objectives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, such projects are best developed in less urbanised areas with many cultivated lands, both agricultural and stockbreeding farms, and industries generating biodegradable waste.
Generally, biogas contains 55 to 70% methane, 30 to 45% carbon dioxide, 1% hydrogen, and 3% sulphuretted hydrogen. Biogas is part of the nature’s cycle so there is zero emission of pure carbon dioxide after cleaning biogas, and in itself biogas is not explosive. The risk of explosion in the plant of advanced biofuels is low. A two-level protection system is installed to prevent overpressure in bioreactors. The risk of gas leak is controlled by continuously operating monitoring systems.

In exceptional circumstances, due to potential biogas surplus (when gas supply to the trunk pipeline is interrupted), excessive biogas is accumulated in a separate biogas repository or burned in the emergency flare. The flare is equipped with a continuously operating reliable electric ignition system.
Having isolated methane and removed sulphur compounds from waste, as they are the ones causing the unpleasant smell, what remains is the odourless organic material.

This material is an ecological odourless organic fertiliser. It is particularly valued by farmers and continues to be used in agriculture due to its beneficial properties for the soil.
There are no such plants of advanced biofuels in Lithuania.

There are over 800 advanced biofuel manufacturing projects in Europe, and their number is doubling every year.

As countries are actively looking for ways to solve an increasingly relevant problem of climate change, such projects will also start throughout Lithuania in the following years.