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Hydrothermal Carbonization II
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Hydrothermal Carbonization II

A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "A4: Bio-Energy".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 November 2023) | Viewed by 8527

Special Issue Editor

Dr. M. Toufiq Reza

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Biomedical and Chemical Engineering and Sciences, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL 32901, USA
Interests: hydrothermal carbonization; pyrolysis; pelletization; biochar; hydrochar; process intensification; adsorption; deep eutectic solvents
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The guest editor is inviting submissions to a Special Issue on Energies in the subject area of “Hydrothermal Carbonization”. Hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) has been considered as one of the most viable pathways to treat wet biomass and wastes into energy, fuel, materials, and chemicals. The basic understanding of HTC for model biomass compounds has already been established. However, HTC technology advancement will require applied research on specific feedstock, process optimization, scale-up, and byproduct valorization.

This Special Issue will deal with the recent advancement of hydrothermal carbonization. Topics of interest for the publication include but are not limited to:

  • Hydrothermal carbonization of mixed wastes, including plastics;
  • Hydrothermal depolymerization of plastic wastes and marine debris;
  • Catalytic hydrothermal carbonization;
  • Process optimization and scale-up;
  • Advanced treatment of HTC process liquid;
  • Combustion of hydrochar;
  • Nutrient recovery;
  • Soil amendment;
  • Valorization of byproducts from hydrothermal carbonization;
  • Activated hydrochars as adsorbents;
  • Integration of HTC with other treatments, e.g., anaerobic digestion, wet air oxidation, pyrolysis;
  • Life cycle analysis;
  • Technoeconomic assessment.

Dr. M. Toufiq Reza
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Energies is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • wastes
  • biomass
  • plastics
  • hydrothermal carbonization
  • process optimization
  • LCA
  • TEA
  • nutrient recovery
  • value-added products
  • adsorption
  • process integration

Related Special Issue

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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19 pages, 13823 KiB  
Article
Hydrothermal Carbonization of Sewage Sludge: New Improvements in Phosphatic Fertilizer Production and Process Water Treatment Using Freeze Concentration
by Gabriel Gerner, Jae Wook Chung, Luca Meyer, Rahel Wanner, Simon Heiniger, Daniel Seiler, Rolf Krebs, Alexander Treichler, Roman Kontic and Beatrice Kulli
Energies 2023, 16(20), 7027; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16207027 - 10 Oct 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1317
Abstract
In recent years, promising developments in the hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) of sewage sludge, as well as the potential to reclaim phosphorus and nitrogen, have emerged. In this study, the HTC of digested sewage sludge (DSS) was investigated for the downstream production of heavy [...] Read more.
In recent years, promising developments in the hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) of sewage sludge, as well as the potential to reclaim phosphorus and nitrogen, have emerged. In this study, the HTC of digested sewage sludge (DSS) was investigated for the downstream production of heavy metal (HM)-free fertilizer and the use of freeze concentration (FC) as a novel technology for process water treatment. To obtain clean fertilizer, phosphatic acid extracts were first treated with ion-exchange resins to remove dissolved HM, as well as phosphorus precipitating agents (i.e., aluminum and iron). Over 98% of the aluminum (Al) and 97% of the iron (Fe) could be removed in a single treatment step. The purified extract was then used for the precipitation of HM-free struvite crystals, with P-recovery rates exceeding 89%. Process water (PW) makes up the largest share of the two main HTC-products (i.e., hydrochar and PW) and is very rich in organic compounds. Compared to evaporation or membrane separation, FC is a promising technology for concentrating solutes from PW. Separation experiments resulted in the recovery of over 90% of the dissolved compounds in the concentrate. In our study, the concentrate was later utilized as an ammonium source for struvite precipitation, and the subsequent aerobic digestion of the remaining ice water resulted in an 85% reduction in chemical oxygen demand (COD) in 15 days. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hydrothermal Carbonization II)
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15 pages, 4176 KiB  
Article
Recovery and Reuse of Valuable Chemicals Derived from Hydrothermal Carbonization Process Liquid
by Abu-Taher Jamal-Uddin, M. Toufiq Reza, Omid Norouzi, Shakirudeen A. Salaudeen, Animesh Dutta and Richard G. Zytner
Energies 2023, 16(2), 732; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16020732 - 8 Jan 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1406
Abstract
Recovery and reuse of valuable chemicals from hydrothermal carbonization process liquid (HTC-PL) from tomato plant biomass (TPB) was conducted. Different HTC-PLs were characterized with FTIR and Py-GC-MS analyses revealing the presence of low molecular weight linear, cyclic, and aromatics compounds in the HTC-PL. [...] Read more.
Recovery and reuse of valuable chemicals from hydrothermal carbonization process liquid (HTC-PL) from tomato plant biomass (TPB) was conducted. Different HTC-PLs were characterized with FTIR and Py-GC-MS analyses revealing the presence of low molecular weight linear, cyclic, and aromatics compounds in the HTC-PL. Separation of these valuable chemicals by fractional distillation resulted in eutectic constrains. Solvent extraction separation followed by solvent recovery and reuse provided encouraging results. The non-polar portion of HTC-PLs were extracted by using n-hexane (C6H14), and diethyl ether (C2H5)2O solvents with 8.5 and 4.3% recoveries, respectively. Characterization by FTIR and Py-GC-MS revealed petrol fuel like materials in the extracts of C6H14 and (C2H5)2O, irrespective of higher boiling components. Blends of both non-polar extracts were flame tested revealing good burning characteristics with minimal smoke and residue. Bench scale spirit lamp tests showed the blend would be very useful for greenhouse winter heating. The polar extracts using methylene chloride (CH2Cl2) resulted in about 55% recovery. Py-GC-MS analysis revealed acetic acid and 5-Hydroxymethyl furfural (5HMF) majors in the extract along with related derivatives. 5HMF is a valued chemical and demonstrated to be a useful building block for many industrial applications, and flatform chemical for various synthesis. Other identified minor components of HTC-PL were vanillin, divinyl terephthalate, and syringol. After the extractions of polar and non-polar components in three steps, the HTC-PL residue was applied as nutrient source after maintaining pH (5.6) and concentration (TOC, 100–200 mg/L) to typical greenhouse plants. Plant growth was encouraging. The paper discusses all the potential valued reuse applications of HTC-PL in greenhouses without discharges, which contributes to environmental protection and economic benefits. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hydrothermal Carbonization II)
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17 pages, 1520 KiB  
Article
Bamboo as a Cost-Effective Source of Renewable Carbon for Sustainable Economic Development in Low- and Middle-Income Economies
by Nneka B. Ekwe, Maksim V. Tyufekchiev, Ali A. Salifu, Klaus Schmidt-Rohr, Zhaoxi Zheng, Alex R. Maag, Geoffrey A. Tompsett, Charles M. Cai, Emmanuel O. Onche, Ayten Ates, Winston O. Soboyejo, Robert Krueger and Michael T. Timko
Energies 2023, 16(1), 331; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16010331 - 28 Dec 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2401
Abstract
Low- and middle-income countries have tremendous potential for renewable energy production, including production of renewable carbon from locally prolific crops. In this work, bamboo endemic to West Africa (Bambusa vulgaris) was studied as a feedstock for the production of renewable sugars [...] Read more.
Low- and middle-income countries have tremendous potential for renewable energy production, including production of renewable carbon from locally prolific crops. In this work, bamboo endemic to West Africa (Bambusa vulgaris) was studied as a feedstock for the production of renewable sugars as the gateway to the local production of biofuels and bio-based chemical products. The effectiveness of delignification and amorphization pretreatments was evaluated, with the observation that quantitative (97 ± 4%) sugar yields could be obtained with a rapid initial hydrolysis rate (82 ± 4 mg g−1 h−1) but only when amorphization was performed following delignification. Experimental measurements and further characterization using 13C solid state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) helped establish the importance of amorphization and delignification and explained why the order of these treatments determined their effectiveness. The economics of the bamboo-based process were compared with those projected for corn stover, selected as a well-studied benchmark crop. Because of the higher bamboo growth rate compared with corn stover and the effectiveness of the pretreatment, the projected net present value (NPV) of the bamboo biorefinery was positive ($190 MM, U.S.), whereas the corn biorefinery projected to negative NPV (−$430 MM, U.S.). A socially sustainable framework for deployment of a bamboo biorefinery in a low- or middle-income economy was then proposed, guided by the principle of local ownership and stakeholder buy-in. The findings presented here motivate further investment in development of bamboo cultivation and conversion to sugars as a rapid route to decarbonization of low- and middle-income economies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hydrothermal Carbonization II)
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Review

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45 pages, 1945 KiB  
Review
Recent Progress on Emerging Applications of Hydrochar
by Md Tahmid Islam, Al Ibtida Sultana, Cadianne Chambers, Swarna Saha, Nepu Saha, Kawnish Kirtania and M. Toufiq Reza
Energies 2022, 15(24), 9340; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15249340 - 9 Dec 2022
Cited by 17 | Viewed by 2780
Abstract
Hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) is a prominent thermochemical technology that can convert high-moisture waste into a valuable product (called hydrochar) at a relatively mild treatment condition (180–260 °C and 2–10 MPa). With rapidly growing research on HTC and hydrochar in recent years, review articles [...] Read more.
Hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) is a prominent thermochemical technology that can convert high-moisture waste into a valuable product (called hydrochar) at a relatively mild treatment condition (180–260 °C and 2–10 MPa). With rapidly growing research on HTC and hydrochar in recent years, review articles addressing the current and future direction of this research are scarce. Hence, this article aims to review various emerging applications of hydrochars, e.g., from solid fuel to soil amendment, from electron storage to hydrogen storage, from dye adsorption, toxin adsorption, heavy metal adsorption to nutrient recovery, and from carbon capture to carbon sequestration, etc. This article further provides an insight in the hydrochar’s working mechanism for various applications and how the applications can be improved through chemical modification of the hydrochar. Finally, new perspectives with appropriate recommendations have been made to further unveil potential applications and its improvement through hydrochar and its modified version. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hydrothermal Carbonization II)
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