The “cold boxes” of the high-capacity wagabox
Waga Energy has started manufacturing high-capacity cryogenic modules for the WAGABOX® units that will be commissioned at the Veolia site in Claye-Souilly (Seine-et-Marne) and the Enercycle site in Saint-Étienne-des-Grès (Quebec, Canada). These “cold boxes”, which weigh 8 tonnes and are 8 metres high, will be able to process over 1,775 scfm (3,000 m3/h) of gas, which is five to six times more than the capacity of the WAGABOX® units currently in operation.
« The high-capacity WAGABOX® units will produce renewable natural gas (RNG) at an even more competitive price because our technology allows significant economies of scale »,explains Nicolas Paget, co-founder and Deputy CEO of Waga Energy
Behind their massive exterior, these steel cylinders are crammed with technology: housing a distillation column and a cryogenic heat exchanger in a vacuum chamber, they are used to separate methane from oxygen and nitrogen contained in landfill gas. This process is key to ensure the production of grid compliant RNG.
The WAGABOX® units that will be commissioned in Claye-Souilly and Saint-Étienne-des-Grès in 2022 will produce 410,000 MMBtu (120 GWh) and 445,000 MMBtu (130 GWh) per year, respectively. Each unit will supply several thousand households with renewable gas and avoid around 25,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year.