Moving RNG to Market with Natural Gas Expertise

Project Overview

• A Midwestern farmer embarked on a groundbreaking Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) project, collaborating with experienced pipeline system engineers to establish a connection to a traditional natural gas pipeline system. HT Engineering played a pivotal role, serving as the designer of the interconnect station and pipelines, providing a comprehensive design package and consulting on project implementation.

Project Impact 

• The collaboration empowered the client to deliver specification-compliant RNG to a gas utility buyer, despite limited resources and understanding of the natural gas market and regulatory environment 
• The natural gas pipeline system expertise applied to the renewable natural gas interconnect station resulted in a fully functional facility that is analyzing, measuring, and regulating the gas as intended

Challenges and Solutions

• Biogas Constituents: Varied constituents in biogas require tailored analyzers. HT Engineering assisted in finalizing analyzers, ensuring compliance with quality standards. 
• Pipeline Quality Assurance: Meeting and documenting local, state, and federal requirements for RNG injected into the traditional pipeline system involved collaboration with the client’s instrumentation team.  

A Midwestern farmer looking to “waste not, want not” successfully took a renewable natural gas (RNG) project across the finish line by leveraging the expertise of experienced pipeline system engineers, who designed the facilities needed to connect the RNG production system to the natural gas pipeline transmission system.  

The farmer’s RNG facility transforms cow manure into methane through an anaerobic digester. As the manure decomposes, the methane produced is captured and processed into a consumer-usable form of natural gas. However, before the gas can make it to end users, it needs to be connected to the existing pipeline infrastructure that transports and distributes it.  

Before the gas can be delivered to the existing pipeline network, it must be properly processed to remove constituents that would pose issues for the integrity of the pipeline transportation system. These constituents differ based on the biomass used across different RNG production projects, so it was important to understand the entire RNG system and its associated threats. The requirements for the quality of gas being injected into the pipeline system are dictated by the local utility receiving the gas and national standards. The interconnect system must be capable of analyzing and confirming the quality of the gas being injected into the transmission system. 

Holding true to the client’s desire to ensure only pipeline quality gas is passed on to market, the design includes analyzers and a shut-in valve set to close until the farm-produced gas returns to within specification. HT Engineering assisted the instrumentation team in selecting the analyzers, which are critical to ensuring that this goal is met. This included quoting new analyzers as well as incorporating some that were already sourced.  

HT Engineering acted as a continuous resource during construction, facilitating communication between the client, the inspection team, and the future pipeline owner-operator. This ensured that requirements were clarified, adjustments were made, and approvals were obtained, which was crucial for meeting the client’s needs. 

Individual interconnect system requirements differ based on design specifications and operating procedures specific to each pipeline operator, so having a comprehensive understanding of the requirements of both the RNG producer and transmission or distribution pipeline operator is vital. HT Engineering lent its expertise gained from both designing similar stations and managing pipeline integrity across a broad range of natural gas infrastructure projects. 

This project exemplifies a successful collaboration between a Midwestern RNG producer and industry professionals and demonstrates the capability to seamlessly integrate renewable natural gas systems into existing infrastructure. The project not only met stringent quality standards but now also contributes to the client’s diversified revenue stream and the expansion of our nation’s natural gas production capabilities.