Analysis of liquors from biomass hydrothermal carbonization to determine feasibility of further energy and/or material recovery

Abstract

Hydrothermal Carbonization is a promising and relatively novel biomass conversion technology which can transform highly humid biomass into useful coal-like solids that can be utilized for energy applications and also as feedstock for bio-products manufacture. However, the aqueous byproduct of the process may be subject of concerns from the sustainability perspective given the possible high costs of treatment and environmental affectations, especially when the technology is scaled up. Despite few authors have examined in detail the HTC liquors, the research on HTC technology has focused primarily in the optimization and improvement of the hydrochar. This work is intended to analyze que composition of the liquid phase resulting from the HTC treatment of various biomasses at different temperatures, compare with data obtained by other researches and study the possible treatment pathways for the HTC liquors. Implementing recirculation of the liquids and anaerobic digestion stand out as solutions that would reduce the environmental impacts associated while improving the efficiency of the overall HTC process.