What are CBG, LBG, CNG and LNG? The ABC of gas technology

Gases are excellent bridge fuels for the transition to a carbon-neutral society based on renewable energy sources. We need low-emission and renewable fuels to supplement fossil oil and coal. These fuels must be cost-efficient, reliable and flexible.

Renewable, domestically produced biogas holds great potential for heat and power production as well as a general-purpose fuel. The role of natural gas as a low-emission fuel should not be ignored either. Although natural gas is a fossil fuel, its emissions are a fraction of those of conventional fuels.

The particulate emissions of natural gas are practically none, and its CO2 emissions factor is 30 per cent lower than that of fuel oil, for example.

At Sarlin, we have worked for many years with gas technology. With our solid experience, we can provide complete solutions from building transport fuel stations to gas transport and maintenance services. High operational reliability, end customer satisfaction and smooth service are the key factors underpinning the high quality of our solutions.

Gases are energy sources of the future, and gas technology is constantly improving. In this blog post, we explain the key terms of gas technology so you can better understand the opportunities offered by gases in the energy transition.

Biogas is the most environmentally friendly of all fuels. It is a renewable gas mixture that can replace fossil fuels in heat and power generation, on the road, and in many industrial processes.

Biogas is released whenever organic material decomposes in anaerobic conditions. Nearly all organic matter can yield biogas: household biowaste, food production side streams, agricultural waste, etc. The gas mixture mainly contains methane and carbon dioxide.

Effective exploitation of biogas is the epitome of circular economy. Biogas plants can recycle organic waste back into a fuel suitable for heat and power generation, for example. Effective biogas recovery and upgrading also play an important role in reducing agricultural methane emissions.

The greatest advantage of biogas is its capacity to be refined and transported in a variety of ways.  Biogas can be stored and transported under pressure in containers, liquefied or as raw biogas. Biogas plants should be located close to the gas extraction sites as the processed gas can be transported flexibly for hundreds of kilometres.

For transport fuel use, biogas must be purified and upgraded accordingly.

“Raw biogas” refers to the unprocessed gas that must be dried and purified for burning by removing hydrogen sulphides, for example. Purified biogas can be transported outside the biogas plant.

Biogas can be converted to biomethane by removing carbon dioxide from the mix. Liquefaction completely removes the above from biomethane.

CBG refers to compressed biogas (also biomethane).

In its compressed form, the gas is primarily used in passenger cars. Compression maximises the amount of gas per volume, making compressed gas especially suitable for long-distance transportation.

CBG filling stations can be installed in conjunction with biogas plants. CBG can be transported to gas filling stations and other plants in special containers, which are also suitable for storage use. Strict safety guidelines exist for CBG, like other gases, for the pressure levels, safety distances and other factors to consider during storage and transport.

Biogas can also be liquefied into LBG. While LBG sees relatively limited use right now, its applications are increasing by the day.

LBG is especially useful for heavy transport because of its effective compaction into a small volume. Liquefied biogas can be compressed up to 600 times, allowing large volumes of gas to be stored and transported efficiently. Filling stations include such storage tanks that can feed the gas via pumps or sheer pressure for distribution.

Both liquefied and compressed biogas are excellent solutions for traffic emission reduction targets. Right now, biogas is the only renewable fuel for heavy transport that can quickly bring down traffic emissions. The life cycle emissions of biogas are estimated to be 80 to 90 per cent lower than conventional fuels.

At Sarlin, we have already worked for two decades to make it possible to exploit the full potential of biogas. We are continuously developing new technological solutions and also delivering liquefied biogas and natural gas filling stations with many years of experience. 

In addition to biogas, a great deal of unused potential remains in natural gas as a replacement for the worst-polluting fuels. Although natural gas is a fossil fuel, its total environmental impacts are what count, and they are significantly lower than those of fuel oil and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).

Liquefied natural gas, LNG, is on the rise as a fuel, especially in shipping and heavy goods vehicles. LNG can replace fuel oil in many industrial processes that could use a cost-efficient low-emission fuel right now.

LNG has the advantage of being flexible to store and transport outside the gas network. Natural gas can be transported to filling stations as LNG and stored in tanks or discrete LNG containers. For energy production, LNG is converted from a liquid back into gas by evaporation.

Our technological solutions can effectively convert liquefied gases into useful forms. Our first LNG evaporation plant was completed in 2018 in Lieksa in Finland, and we have since delivered more evaporation plants all over Finland for growing domestic demand.

LNG is especially flexible because it can serve entire industrial estates – multiple operators can share an LNG tank, and it can also be used to refuel gas-powered cars and heavy goods vehicles. As infrastructure develops, these tanks can also provide energy for local distribution networks.

Multiple factors recommend LNG as a cleaner, environmentally friendly fuel. Both the particulate and carbon dioxide emissions of LNG are considerably lower than those of oil and coal, and LNG is completely free of harmful sulphur dioxide emissions. LNG meets the strictest limits for particulate and carbon dioxide emissions.

At Sarlin, we have been Finland’s LNG technology pioneers for many years and, in cooperation with our partners, we have promoted the widespread adoption of the fuel in heavy transport and industry. We deliver filling stations, transport solutions (LNG trailers), and maintenance services that allow LNG to be used in various applications.

Just like compressed biogas is becoming more common as a fuel for gas-powered vehicles, compressed natural gas, CNG, is also used as a fuel.  Like LNG, CNG is a more environmentally friendly fuel that has seen increased use in passenger transport, especially as a replacement for conventional fuels.

Our CNG filling stations can be connected to a gas network or operate as autonomous daughter stations

When you are ready to transition into cost-efficient gas use, we can deliver complete solutions tailored to your needs.

First and foremost, we are a solution-focused partner. We not only supply the latest technology on the market but can take responsibility for maintaining and servicing your plants. You can trust the details of the solution to us and focus on your core business.

We provide versatile solutions for using gases, including:

• Purification and upgrading plants
• Compression and liquefaction solutions
• Filling stations
• Distribution solutions (e.g. transport containers)
• Satellite tanks and terminals
• Project deliveries

You can outsource your full gas services to us – we can handle maintenance, monitoring and energy production.

Contact us to discuss the most effective solution for you with our experts. We will be happy to tell you more about how we can help you with gas solutions.