Patent ID: 8414691

Claim:
A system for utilizing the heat produced by compressing gas in a biogas treatment plant, comprising: a. a source of contaminated biogas; b. a first stage gas compressor connected to said biogas source used to compress biogas from said source of contaminated biogas; c. a first stage heat exchanger connected to an outside air source and to said first stage gas compressor, wherein the air from an outside air source is used to cool said compressed gas from said first stage gas compressor; d. a heat exchanger/economizer used to remove moisture from the biogas and reheat it to prevent condensation downstream in the treatment process; and which is supplied chilled fluid from a refrigerated chilling circuit and heated air from the first stage compressor; e. an adsorber connected to said first stage heat exchanger used to strip contaminants from said cooled compressed air from said first stage heat compressor, said adsorber including a media used to remove contaminates from said biogas, said absorber includes a conduit that carries an inert gas and contaminates away from said absorber; f. a second stage gas compressor connected to said adsorber to receive treated gas from said adsorber; g. a second stage heat exchanger connected to said second stage compressor to receive compressed treated gas therefrom, said second heat exchanger being connected to said adsorber to deliver heated air thereto; h. a third stage compressor connected to said second stage heat exchanger to receive cooled treated air from said second stage heat exchanger; i. a third stage heat exchanger connected to said third stage compressor, said third stage heat exchanger also being connected to an outside air source to deliver cool air thereto, said third stage heat exchanger also connected to said adsorber to deliver waste heat collected by said third stage exchanger to said adsorber; and, k. an inert gas generator and VOC destruction unit used to generate hot inert gas, said inert gas generator and VOC destruction unit includes a burner that produces hot inert gas used to remove contaminates collected by said adsorber from said biogas, said inert gas generator and VOC destruction unit also includes an heat exchanger that is coupled to said conduit that carriers insert gas and contaminants from said adsorber, said heat exchanger used to remove heat from said inert gas and said contaminants from said adsorber thereby reducing the amount of energy used by said system, said inert gas generator and VOC destruction unit also connected to said absorber so that inert gas containing contaminants purged from spent media in said adsorber is burned in said inert gas generator.