Hydrothermal Carbonisation as Treatment for Effective Moisture Removal from Digestate—Mechanical Dewatering, Flashing-Off, and Condensates’ Processing

Halina Pawlak-Kruczek*, Agnieszka Urbanowska, Łukasz Niedzwiecki, Michał Czerep, Marcin Baranowski, Christian I. Aragón-Briceño, Malgorzata Kabsch-Korbutowicz, Amit Arora, Przemyslaw Seruga, Mateusz Wnukowski, Jakub Mularski, Eddy Bramer, Gerrit Brem, Artur K. Pozarlik

*Corresponding author for this work

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Abstract

One of the processes that can serve to valorise low-quality biomass and organic waste is hydrothermal carbonization (HTC). It is a thermochemical process that transpires in the presence of water and uses heat to convert wet feedstocks into hydrochar (the solid product of hydrothermal carbonization). In the present experimental study, an improvement consisting of an increased hydrophobic character of HTC-treated biomass is demonstrated through the presentation of enhanced
mechanical dewatering at different pressures due to HTC valorisation. As part of this work’s scope, flashing-off of low-quality steam is additionally explored, allowing for the recovery of the physical enthalpy of hot hydrochar slurry. The flashing-off vapours, apart from steam, contain condensable hydrocarbons. Accordingly, a membrane system that purifies such effluent and the subsequent recovery of chemical energy from the retentate are taken into account. Moreover, the biomethane potential is calculated for the condensates, presenting the possibility for the chemical energy recovery of the condensates.
Original languageEnglish
Article number5102
Number of pages9
JournalEnergies
Volume16
Issue number13
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jul 2023

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