S-IRCLE

The Vietnamese biogas sector is characterized by high hydrogen sulfide (H2S) concentrations in the biogas, leading to health impacts and inefficient gas usage due to corrosion. The S-IRCLE project aims to meet the demand for efficient, effective, and durable biogas filters with a smart and reusable small adsorber. Compared to short-lived existing Systems, the small adsorber should be able to automatically regenerate the filter material during operation to filter more sulfur. After use, the charged filter material is then to be used as sulfur fertilizer.

The S-IRCLE project adresses the further development and testing of a small adsorber to capture H2S from Vietnam's domestic biogas plants and sulfur fertilizer development from loaded filter material.

Therefore, a small adsorber prototype will be further developed and extended to include automated regeneration. Subsequently, field tests will be conducted with at least three small-scale biogas plants in northern Vietnam and supervised by the local company eGreen. After one year of operation, the small-scale adsorbers will be dismantled and the tests will be evaluated.

Parallel to this, two plant trials will be conducted. One trial serves to determine the sulfur release as a function of the grain size of the filter material (FerroSorp®). The second plant trial serves as an effect test of three prototype fertilizer mixtures. The plants and soils will be analyzed and evaluated after the trials in laboratories of the TU Berlin.

In addition, a survey on the Vietnamese waste disposal and recycling system will be developed and conducted by the Hanoi University of Science and Technology (HUST) in Vietnam.

Data from the small adsorber field trials, the plant trials, the survey on the Vietnamese waste disposal and recycling system, and a tool to 

determine recyclability will be incorporated into material flow analyses of small biogas plants with small adsorbers as well as reference systems. Based on these analyses, the environmental impacts of the S-IRCLE approach will be quantified and evaluated.

As part of the project, a biogas workshop with local stakeholders and an international scientific conference will be organized.