Clarke Energy commissions membrane-based biogas upgrader in India

Clarke Energy, a U.K.-based Rehlko company, has commissioned its first membrane-based biogas upgrading plant in India. The facility is located at a municipal solid waste anaerobic digestion site operated by Srinivas Waste Management Services Private Ltd. in Chetpet, Chennai.

The new system replaces an existing pressure swing adsorption (PSA) unit with a membrane-based purification system capable of upgrading 600 normal cubic meters per hour of raw biogas into high-purity biomethane. Key components were sourced locally.

Key features include:

• a biogas dryer;
• scrubber;
• low-pressure compressor;
• two-stage membrane separation system; and
• complete instrumentation and interconnection piping.

Clarke Energy says its membrane-based upgrader offers higher methane recovery, potentially lower operational costs and modular scalability versus conventional PSA systems. Initial commissioning results have confirmed the system is meeting guaranteed performance levels at part load while minimizing methane losses, with methane purity exceeding 97.4 percent.

For 30 years, Clarke Energy has operated in India and installed almost 2 gigawatts of low-carbon, renewable power across India and Bangladesh. The project directly supports India's Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation initiative, which aims to establish 5,000 bio-compressed natural gas plants nationwide.

"This project marks the first biogas upgrader system fully designed, developed and manufactured in India by Clarke Energy,” Clarke Energy President Kyle Quinn says. “It's a significant milestone for our Indian operations by demonstrating how we're combining international expertise with local execution to deliver state-of-the-art renewable gas solutions that support India's clean energy future.”