US-based Gevo achieves record RNG production levels

Nasdaq-listed Gevo announced on July 15 that its renewable natural gas (RNG) business recently achieved record production levels. The company reached an annualised production rate of approximately 402,000 mmBtu in May, surpassing the previous record of approximately 401,000 mmBtu set in March.

“These results show we have hit our stride from a production perspective, and I think we have room for further improvement too. The system is running well,” said Staci Bogue-Buchholz, general manager of Gevo’s RNG facilities.

Gevo’s RNG is produced by capturing methane biogas from manure digesters across three dairy farms in northwest Iowa. The biogas is then delivered by pipeline to a centrally located gas upgrading unit, where it is refined to pipeline-quality RNG and injected into the local gas pipeline.

RNG is biogenic methane that substitutes for fossil-based methane, or natural gas. The benefit of RNG from a process like Gevo’s, which is made from renewable carbon and mitigates fugitive methane emissions during production, is that the overall mitigation of greenhouse gases is large, the company said.