Japanese technology company Asahi Kasei has successfully produced biomethane using zeolites at its biogas upgrading plant in Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture, Japan.

The trial, which began in February 2025, achieved biomethane production with a yield of at least 99.5% and a purity of at least 97%. With this exceptional performance in both yield and purity, the system holds great promise for the cost-effective production and use of biogas and biomethane in various industries. Asahi Kasei aims for commercialization by 2027 and has already initiated licensing activities with partners worldwide.

Asahi Kasei has extensive experience in developing catalysts and gas capture technologies. Based on this technological foundation, the company has developed a system that captures CO2 and methane from biogas using an optimal combination of a specialized vacuum pressure swing adsorption (PVSA) process and a novel zeolite. This unique configuration removes CO2 from biogas to produce biomethane with high yield and high purity.

Zeolite is a crystalline aluminosilicate with regular channels (pores) on the order of a ten-millionth of a millimeter and cavities (pores) with a specific surface area of over several hundred square meters per gram.

“We have already initiated discussions worldwide with potential licensees for this technology," explains Kazuya Noda, head of Asahi Kasei's Material Business Research & Development Department. "We plan to launch it on the market in 2027, following further pilot studies at a commercial scale."