Continuous Hydrothermal Liquefaction of Biomass: A Critical Review
Abstract
:1. Introduction
1.1. Hydrothermal Liquefaction Basics
1.2. Why Continuous?
- Thermal transience. During batch operations, process conditions are not constant, because the system has to go from ambient conditions to the desired temperature and hence pressure and back. This transience makes it difficult to separate effects of temperature and time, which is sometimes overcome by using the severity index of Overend and Chornet [33], lumping these two into a single parameter. It is evident that, the faster this heating is, the more the effect of thermal transience can be neglected. This can actually be achieved when the experimental device has a reduced size [34].
- Difficulty in decoupling temperature and pressure. In most batch experiments, pressure is obtained by the heating up of the reactants. As a result, the experimental conditions are often those corresponding to saturation conditions of water, i.e., the points lying on the saturation line in the phase diagram. Pre-pressurizing the system with an inert gas can partially overcome this problem. However, high pressure increases the solubility of the inert gas in liquid water, thus making pre-pressurization less and less useful. In a continuous system, pressure and temperature can be controlled in a completely independent fashion.
- Different contact pattern. In a batch reactor, the reactants are usually completely mixed by means of an impeller or by shaking the reactor itself. This contact pattern could be substantially different from that achieved in a continuous reactor. For example, in a continuous stirred flow reactor (CSTR), although there is continuous mixing, new fresh reactant is continuously supplied and products are continuously removed. In a continuous tubular reactor, flow pattern (laminar or turbulent) can significantly change the outcomes of the process.
- Significant distance towards actual industrial implementation. The industrial utilization of batch type reactors is normally justified only for the production of high added-value products, often produced in limited amounts. This is definitely not the case for fuel production, which often accounts for production volumes in the order of thousands of barrels per day. Additionally, HTL requires a thorough optimization in order to reduce the energy consumption of the process, which can be effectively realized only in a continuous configuration.
1.3. Scope of This Review
2. Continuous HTL Systems at a Glance
2.1. Historic Processes
2.2. Research Plants and Setups
2.2.1. Pilot Plants
2.2.2. Bench-Scale Plants
2.3. (Near-) Commercial Processes
3. Interpreting Data from Continuous HTL Processing
3.1. The Influence of Dry Matter Concentration
3.2. The Influence of the Feedstock
4. HTL Products Processing
4.1. Bio-Crude Upgrading
4.2. Aqueous Phase Processing
5. Techno-Economic Considerations
- Optimization of the solid content of the HTL feed slurries.
- Optimization of biocrude yield.
- Optimization of HTL reactor liquid hourly space velocity (LHSV).
- Optimization of heat recovery and phase separation systems.
- Optimization of fuel yield from hydrotreating and minimization of hydrogen consumption.
- Combined large and small HTL scale and integration benefits (e.g., with existing refineries).
6. Final Remarks and Recommendations
6.1. Reactors and Plants
6.2. Developing a Common Paradigm for Product Processing and Results Reporting
6.3. Focusing on the Whole Chain: HTL + Hydrotreating
Author Contributions
Funding
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Process/Plant | Reactor Concept | Biomass | Throughput (kg/h) | Pressure (bar) | Temp. (°C) | Residence Time (min) | Catalyst | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
PDU–PERC Albany, USA | Tubular/stirred | Wood | 230–270 | 207 | 330–340 | 19–100 | Na2CO3 | [36] |
PDU–LBL Albany, USA | Tubular/stirred | Wood | 43–360 | 207 | 340–345 | 11.3–465 | Na2CO3 | [36] |
LBL Berkeley, USA | Stirred | Wood | ~1 | 200–230 | 330–350 | ~20 | - | [37] |
STORS–EPA, USA | Column | Sewage sludge | 30 | 86–148 | 275–305 | 90 | Na2CO3 | [38] |
STORS–Organo Corp., Japan | Column | Sewage sludge | 240 | 88–98 | 290–300 | N/A | - | [39] |
HTU® process Shell, The Netherlands | Tubular | Wood | 10 | 180 | 350 | 6 | - | [40] |
HTU® process Biofuels B.V., The Netherlands | Tubular | Sugar beet pulp, onion pulp | 100 | 180 | 350 | 15 | - | [41] |
Pacific Northwest National Laboratories (PNNL), USA | Stirred + tubular | Algae | 1.5 | 200 | 350 | 27–50 | - | [42,43] |
Macroalgae | - | [44] | ||||||
Grape pomace | Na2CO3 | [45] | ||||||
Wastewater solids | - | [46] | ||||||
University of Sydney, Australia | Coils in sandbath | Algae | 24–40 | 200–250 | 350 | 15–20 | - | [47,48] |
University of Illinois, USA | Stirred | Swine manure | 0.9–2.0 | 103 | 305 | 40–80 | - | [49,50] |
Iowa State University, USA | Tubular | Fungi | 3.0–7.5 | 270 | 300–400 | 11–31 | - | [51] |
Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden | Fixed bed, with recycle loop | Kraft lignin | 1–2 | 250 | 350 | 6–11 | ZrO2, K2CO3 | [52,53,54,55,56] |
Aalborg University, Denmark | Tubular | Wood/glycerol | 20 | 300–350 | 390–420 | 15 | K2CO3 | [27] |
Wood | [28] | |||||||
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Germany | Tubular, with recirculation | Waste biomass | 0.29–0.63 | 250 | 330–350 | 5–10 | K2CO3, ZrO2 | [57] |
Tubular, with MeOH gasifier | Yeast, pomace | 0.06–0.61 | 200–250 | 330–450 | 1–30 | K2CO3, ZrO2 | [58,59] | |
Stirred | Algae | 0.76 | 200 | 350 | 15 | - | [60] | |
University of Leeds, UK | Coils in sandbath | Chlorella | 0.6–2.4 | 185 | 350 | 1.4–5.8 | - | [61] |
Aarhus University, Denmark | Tubular (bench) | Dried digested grains with solubles | 0.36–1.44 | 250 | 250–350 | ~20 | K2CO3 | [62,63] |
Tubular (pilot), with oscillator | Wood, sewage sludge, Spirulina | 60 | 220 | 350 | 10 | KOH, no | [64] | |
Imperial College London, UK | Tubular, hexane as co-solvent | Algae | 0.03–0.24 | 180 | 300–380 | 0.5–4 | - | [65] |
Bath University, UK | Concentric tubular | Wastewater algae | 0.18–0.42 | 160 | 302–344 | 17.7–41.8 | - | [66] |
University of Twente, The Netherlands | Coils in sandbath | Scenedesmus sp. | 0.06–0.33 | 150–300 | 250–350 | 7–30 | - | [67] |
Cat-HTR™ process Licella, Australia | N/A | Pulp/paper, plastics | 10,000 t/y 2 | N/A | N/A | N/A | Yes | [68] |
Hydrofaction™ process Steeper Energy 3, Denmark-Canada | Tubular | Wood | 20 | 300–350 | 390–420 | 15 | K2CO3 | [13] |
Green2black™ process Muradel, Australia | Tubular | Tires, algae | 168 | 200 | 360 | 10 | N/A | [69] |
HTP process Genifuel, USA | Stirred + tubular 1 | Sewage sludge | N/A | 200 | 350 | 45 | N/A | [70,71] |
W2F process ENI S.p.A., Italy | N/A | Organic fraction of municipal solid waste | 1–5 | 100 | 250–310 | 60–120 | N/A | [72,73] |
CatLiq® process SCF Technologies, Denmark | Stirred | Wet digested grains with solubles | 30 | 250 | 350 | 1–15 | ZrO2 | [74] |
CatLiq® process Altaca Enerji, Turkey | N/A | Different wastes and residues | 15,000 2 | 250 | 350 | N/A | Yes | [75,76] |
TDP process Changing World Technologies, USA | N/A | Turkey waste | 8500 | N/A | 200–300 4 | N/A | - | [77,78] |
Location | Biomass | HTL Bio-Crude | Catalyst | Upgraded Bio-Crude | Overall Yield (wt. %) | C Yield (wt. %) | Ref. | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
HHV (MJ/kg) | H/C (-) | HHV (MJ/kg) | H/C (-) | ||||||
Chalmers Institute of Technology, Sweden 1 | Wood | 36.3 | 1.38 | CoMo/Al2O3 | 42.5 | 1.44 | N/A | N/A | [106,108] |
University of Leeds, UK | Algae (Chlorella) | 36.1 | 1.55 | NiMo | 41.5 | 1.57 | 34.3 | 49.0 | [61] |
University of Illinois, USA 2 | Algae (Chlorella) | 35.7 | 1.45 | Pd/C | 43.1 | 1.64 | 26.5 | 38.7 | [110] |
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany | Algae (Scenedesmus) | 36.3 | 1.52 | Pt/Al2O3 | 41.9 | 1.60 | 31.5 | 54.9 | [112] |
HZSM-5 | 40.7 | 1.50 | 31.5 | 54.2 | |||||
Algae (Nannochloropsis) | 37 | 1.63 | Pt/Al2O3 | 43.2 | 1.67 | 33.9 | 52.6 | ||
HZSM-5 | 42.3 | 1.62 | 27.6 | 42.5 | |||||
Imperial College London, UK | Algae (Nannochloropsis) | 36.5 | 1.58 | NiMo/Al2O3 | 38.3 | 1.89 | 35.7 | 60.0 | [111] |
Ru/Al2O3 | 43.9 | 1.67 | 23.5 | 45.0 | |||||
Pt/Al2O3 | 45.4 | 1.78 | 23.5 | 45.2 | |||||
Pd/Al2O3 | 44.2 | 1.73 | 24.1 | 45.7 | |||||
Pt/C | 44.9 | 1.78 | 24.1 | 46.0 | |||||
Ru/C | 43.7 | 1.77 | 25.9 | 48.5 | |||||
Pd/C | 42.2 | 1.76 | 26.6 | 48.8 | |||||
Aalborg University, Denmark | Aspen wood | 38.6 | 1.40 | NiMo/Al2O3 | 41.1 | 1.57 | N/A | N/A | [114] |
Hardwood | 40.4 | 1.48 | NiMo/Al2O3 | 43.9 | 1.67 | N/A | N/A | [113] | |
Steeper Energy, Denmark-Canada | Pine/spruce | 37.2 | 1.34 | NiMo/Al2O3 | 42.2 | 1.57 | 36.0 | 63.3 | [25] |
38.0 | 1.34 | NiMo/Al2O3 | 43.2 | 1.71 | 38.1 | 66.1 | |||
38.6 | 1.26 | NiW/SiO2/Al2O3 Pd/Al2O3 | 43.5 | 1.58 | N/A | N/A | |||
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), USA | Wood 1 | 36.3 | 1.29 | CoMo/Al2O3 | 45.2 | 1.75 | N/A | 68.9 | [106] |
Algae (Solix) | 39.5 | 1.52 | CoMo/Al2O3 | 46.3 | 2.00 | 42.3 | 72.3 | [116] | |
Algae (NB238) | 39.8 | 1.59 | CoMo/Al2O3 | 45.4 | 1.87 | 32.1 | 57.5 | ||
Algae (Cellana low lipid) | 39.5 | 1.62 | CoMo/Al2O3 | 45.2 | 1.92 | 51.4 | 83.5 | ||
Algae (Cellana high lipid) | 39.9 | 1.63 | CoMo/Al2O3 | 45.7 | 2.00 | 51.3 | 83.9 | ||
Algae (Chlorella standard lipid) | 39.4 | 1.47 | CoMo/Al2O3 | 45.6 | 1.98 | 30.1 | 53.1 | [43] | |
Algae (Chlorella high lipid) | 39.4 | 1.72 | CoMo/Al2O3 | 47.1 | 2.04 | 63.9 | 86.8 | ||
Primary sludge | 37.9 | 1.57 | CoMo/Al2O3 | 46.1 | 2.00 | 28.6 | 50.7 | [46] | |
Digested solids | 38.1 | 1.40 | CoMo/Al2O3 | 45.7 | 1.92 | 32.0 | 70.5 |
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Castello, D.; Pedersen, T.H.; Rosendahl, L.A. Continuous Hydrothermal Liquefaction of Biomass: A Critical Review. Energies 2018, 11, 3165. https://doi.org/10.3390/en11113165
Castello D, Pedersen TH, Rosendahl LA. Continuous Hydrothermal Liquefaction of Biomass: A Critical Review. Energies. 2018; 11(11):3165. https://doi.org/10.3390/en11113165
Chicago/Turabian StyleCastello, Daniele, Thomas Helmer Pedersen, and Lasse Aistrup Rosendahl. 2018. "Continuous Hydrothermal Liquefaction of Biomass: A Critical Review" Energies 11, no. 11: 3165. https://doi.org/10.3390/en11113165