Hydrothermal Carbonization as a Tool for Waste Biomass Upgrading to Solid Bio-Fuels, Valuable Carbonaceous Materials, and Nutrients Recovery

Dear Colleagues,

The continuous increase of urban population leading to the increase of energy demand and waste production is contributing to the depletion of natural resources posing to the world overwhelming challenges. It is universally accepted that only a strict application of a circular economy approach could lead to the sustainable use of natural resources and thus it is imperative to assure access to affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy for all while limiting the environmental consequences due to the massive increase of waste produced and its associated risk of management and disposal. Developing new sustainable technologies for efficient residual biomass conversion to renewable energy sources, advanced carbonaceous materials, and nutrient recovery will boost the transit toward a green economy more environmentally friendly approach while ensuring widespread access to sustainable energy and the recovery of nutrients of critical importance. In this context, hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) of waste biomass is recently receiving more and more attention for its capability of conversion high moisture waste biomass (i.e., sewage sludge, agro-industrial residues, organic fraction of municipal solid waste, etc.) into valuable carbonaceous materials that could find application as solid biofuel, soil amendment, activated carbons for environmental remediation, and carbonaceous electrode materials. This Special Issue will bring together all the recent advances in the field of waste biomass upgrading via HTC and its potential applications in the use of hydrochar and liquid fraction for energy recovery and the production of bio-based valuable materials.

The focus is on the hydrothermal carbonization of waste biomass for the production of bio-based carbon materials for energy applications (bio-fuels, energy storage materials, electrodic materials) and the production of activated carbons for environmental remediation and recovery of nutrients (phosphorous and nitrogen, in particular).

The aim is to provide a state-of-art overview of knowledge of the field of residual biomass conversion via HTC to produce valuable carbon-based materials and nutrients (P, and N).

Dr. Maurizio Volpe
Guest Editor

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