Knowledge Base

CO₂ recovery is the capture of the biogenic CO₂ produced when raw biogas is upgraded to biomethane, keeping this CO₂ stream available for further use instead of letting it escape to the atmosphere. During biogas upgrading, HoSt’s membrane-based technology separates methane from CO₂ to produce pipeline-quality biomethane; CO₂ recovery is the complementary step that collects the separated CO₂ rather than venting it. Because this CO₂ originates from the anaerobic digestion of organic feedstock, it is classified as biogenic CO₂, and recovering it allows plant operators to capture value from a stream that would otherwise be a pure waste product. Recovered CO₂ can be further purified and liquefied, as HoSt does through its daughter company Bright Renewables, to produce food-grade liquid CO₂ for use in the food and beverage, horticulture, welding, and refrigeration industries. In this way, CO₂ recovery is the first step that turns a biogas plant’s CO₂ output from an emission into a resource, supporting both project economics and carbon capture and circular economy goals.