Valorization of the liquid fraction of co-hydrothermal carbonization of mixed biomass by anaerobic digestion: Effect of the substrate to inoculum ratio and hydrochar addition

In the paper experiments and theory of biogas production using industrial waste from paper production as a co-substrate are described. The main aim of the experiments was to evaluate the sensitivity and applicability of the biochemical conversion using the anaerobic digestion of the mixed biomass in the pilot fermentor (5 m3), where the mesophillic temperature was maintained. It was in parallel operation with a large scale fermentor (100 m3). The research was carried out at the biogas plant in Kolíňany, which is a demonstration facility of the Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra. The experiments proved that the waste arising from the paper production can be used in case of its appropriate dosing as an input substrate for biogas production, and thus it can improve the economic balance of the biogas plant.

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Mass and energy integration study of hydrothermal carbonization with anaerobic digestion of sewage sludge

Renewable Energy ◽

10.1016/j.renene.2020.11.103 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

C.I. Aragón-Briceño ◽

A.B. Ross ◽

M.A. Camargo-Valero

Keyword(s):

Anaerobic Digestion ◽

Sewage Sludge ◽

Hydrothermal Carbonization ◽

Energy Integration

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Integrated Bioprocessing of Urban Organic Wastes by Anaerobic Digestion Coupled with Hydrothermal Carbonization for Value Added Bio-Carbon and Bio-Product Recovery: A Concept of Circular Economy

Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering - Sustainable Environmental Geotechnics ◽

10.1007/978-3-030-51350-4_7 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 47-54

Author(s):

Sagarika Panigrahi ◽

Hari Bhakta Sharma ◽

Brajesh K. Dubey

Keyword(s):

Anaerobic Digestion ◽

Circular Economy ◽

Value Added ◽

Hydrothermal Carbonization ◽

Organic Wastes ◽

Product Recovery

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Numerical Comparison of a Combined Hydrothermal Carbonization and Anaerobic Digestion System with Direct Combustion of Biomass for Power Production

Processes ◽

10.3390/pr8010043 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 (1) ◽

pp. 43 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Mohammad Heidari ◽

Shakirudeen Salaudeen ◽

Omid Norouzi ◽

Bishnu Acharya ◽

Animesh Dutta

Keyword(s):

Anaerobic Digestion ◽

Rankine Cycle ◽

Hydrothermal Carbonization ◽

Gas Production ◽

Numerical Comparison ◽

Fuel Gas ◽

Operational Conditions ◽

Unit Process ◽

Direct Combustion ◽

Balance Analysis

Two of the methods for converting biomass to fuel are hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) and anaerobic digestion (AD). This study is aimed at designing and analyzing two scenarios for bioenergy production from undervalued biomass (sawdust). In one of the scenarios (direct combustion or DC), raw biomass is burned in a combustor to provide the heat that is required by the Rankine cycle to generate electricity. In the other scenario (HTC-AD), the raw biomass first undergoes HTC treatment. While the solid product (hydrochar) is used to produce power by a Rankine cycle, the liquid by-product undergoes an AD process. This results in fuel gas production and it can be used in a Brayton cycle to generate more power. Energy and mass balance analysis of both scenarios were developed for each unit process by using Engineering Equation Solver (EES). The required data were obtained experimentally or from the literature. The performances of the proposed systems were evaluated, and a sensitivity analysis was presented to help in finding the best operational conditions.

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Hydrothermal carbonization of unwanted biomass materials: Effect of process temperature and retention time on hydrochar and liquid fraction

Journal of the Energy Institute ◽

10.1016/j.joei.2017.05.002 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 91 (5) ◽

pp. 786-796 ◽

Cited By ~ 22

Author(s):

Kamonwat Nakason ◽

Bunyarit Panyapinyopol ◽

Vorapot Kanokkantapong ◽

Nawin Viriya-empikul ◽

Wasawat Kraithong ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Retention Time ◽

Liquid Fraction ◽

Hydrothermal Carbonization ◽

Process Temperature ◽

Biomass Materials

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Industrial Process Description for the Recovery of Agricultural Water From Digestate

Journal of Energy Resources Technology ◽

10.1115/1.4046141 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 142 (7) ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Halina Pawlak-Kruczek ◽

Agnieszka Urbanowska ◽

Weihong Yang ◽

Gerrit Brem ◽

Aneta Magdziarz ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Anaerobic Digestion ◽

Rural Areas ◽

Reclaimed Water ◽

Industrial Process ◽

Hydrothermal Carbonization ◽

Full Potential ◽

Agricultural Water ◽

Heating Value ◽

Lower Heating Value ◽

Lower Heating

Abstract Currently, the reclamation and reuse of water have not reached their full potential, although more energy is needed to obtain and transport freshwater and this solution has a more serious environmental impact. Agricultural irrigation is, by far, the largest application of reclaimed water worldwide, so the proposed concept may result in the production of water that can be used, among others, for crop irrigation. This paper describes a novel installation for the recovery of the agricultural water from the digestate, along with the results of initial experiments. Currently, water is wasted, due to evaporation, in anaerobic digestion plants, as the effluent from dewatering of the digestate is discharged into lagoons. Moreover, water that stays within the interstitial space of the digestate is lost in a similar fashion. With increasing scarcity of water in rural areas, such waste should not be neglected. The study indicates that hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) enhances mechanical dewatering of the agricultural digestate and approximately 900 L of water can be recovered from one ton. Dewatered hydrochars had a lower heating value of almost 10 MJ/kg, indicating the possibility of using it as a fuel for the process. The aim of this Design Innovation Paper is to outline the newly developed concept of an installation that could enable recovery of water from, so far, the neglected resource—i.e., digestate from anaerobic digestion plants.

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Pretreatment of Lignocellulosic Biomass with 1-Ethyl-3-methylimidazolium Acetate for Its Eventual Valorization by Anaerobic Digestion

Resources ◽

10.3390/resources10120118 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (12) ◽

pp. 118

Author(s):

Jose D. Marin-Batista ◽

Angel F. Mohedano ◽

Angeles de la Rubia

Keyword(s):

Ionic Liquid ◽

Anaerobic Digestion ◽

Wheat Straw ◽

Lignocellulosic Biomass ◽

Methane Production ◽

Liquid Fraction ◽

Soluble Sugars ◽

Crystallinity Index ◽

Barley Straw ◽

Cellulose Crystallinity

This study assessed the breakdown of lignocellulosic biomass (LB) with the ionic liquid (IL) 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate ([Emim][Ac]) as a pretreatment to increase the methane yield. The pretreatment was conducted for wheat straw (WS), barley straw (BS), and grape stem (GS) at 120 °C for 120 min, using several LB to [Emim][Ac] ratios (1:1, 1:3, and 1:5 w/w). Pretreatment significantly disrupted the lignocellulose matrix of each biomass into soluble sugars. GS showed the highest sugar yield, which was followed by WS, while BS was slightly hydrolyzed (175.3 ± 2.3, 158.2 ± 5.2, and 51.1 ± 3.1 mg glucose g–1 biomass, respectively). Likewise, the pretreatment significantly reduced the cellulose crystallinity index (CrI) of the resulting solid fractions of GS and WS by 15% and 9%, respectively, but slightly affected the CrI of BS (5%). Thus, BMP tests were only carried out for raw and hydrothermally and [Emim][Ac] (1:5) pretreated GS and WS. The untreated GS and WS showed similar methane yields to those achieved for the solid fraction obtained after pretreatment with an LB to [Emim][Ac] ratio of 1:5 (219 ± 10 and 368 ± 1 mL CH4 g–1 VS, respectively). The methane production of the solid plus liquid fraction obtained after IL pretreatment increased by 1.61- and 1.34-fold compared to the raw GS and WS, respectively.

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Coupling hydrothermal carbonization with anaerobic digestion: an evaluation based on energy recovery and hydrochar utilization

Biofuel Research Journal ◽

10.18331/brj2021.8.3.4 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 (3) ◽

pp. 1444-1453

Author(s):

Mahmood Al Ramahi ◽

Gábor Keszthelyi-Szabó ◽

Sándor Beszédes

Keyword(s):

Anaerobic Digestion ◽

Energy Recovery ◽

Oxygen Demand ◽

Hydrothermal Carbonization ◽

Steam Gasification ◽

Post Treatment ◽

Point Of View ◽

Yield Potential ◽

Treatment Technique ◽

Dairy Sludge

This work evaluates the effect of hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) as a pretreatment and post-treatment technique to anaerobic digestion (AD) of dairy sludge. HTC's effect on AD was evaluated based on energy recovery, nutrient transformation, and hydrochar utilization. The first approach was executed by performing HTC under a range of temperatures before mesophilic AD. HTC optimal pretreatment temperature was 210 °C for 30 min residence time. HTC pretreatment significantly increased the methane yield potential by 192%, the chemical oxygen demand removal by 18%, and the sludge biodegradability during AD by 30%. On the other hand, the application of HTC after AD (post-treatment) increased the total energy production, i.e., in addition to methane, a hydrochar with a caloric value of 10.2 MJ/kg was also obtained. Moreover, HTC post-treatment improved the steam gasification performance of the AD digestate. From the fertilizer quality point of view, HTC implementation generally boosted the concentrations of macro, micro, and secondary nutrients, suggesting its suitability for use as a liquid fertilizer. Overall, the findings of the present study indicate that if bioenergy production were the main target, HTC post-treatment following AD would lead to the most promising outcomes.

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Feasibility of Coupling Anaerobic Digestion and Hydrothermal Carbonization: Analyzing Thermal Demand

Applied Sciences ◽

10.3390/app112411660 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (24) ◽

pp. 11660

Author(s):

Rubén González ◽

Marcos Ellacuriaga ◽

Alby Aguilar-Pesantes ◽

Daniela Carrillo-Peña ◽

José García-Cascallana ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Anaerobic Digestion ◽

Energy Demand ◽

Biological Process ◽

Biogas Production ◽

Hydrothermal Carbonization ◽

Energy Performance ◽

High Energy ◽

Subsequent Treatment ◽

Treatment Unit ◽

Pre Treatment

Anaerobic digestion is a biological process with wide application for the treatment of high organic-containing streams. The production of biogas and the lack of oxygen requirements are the main energetic advantages of this process. However, the digested stream may not readily find a final disposal outlet under certain circumstances. The present manuscript analyzed the feasibility of valorizing digestate by the hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) process. A hypothetical plant treating cattle manure and cheese whey as co-substrate (25% v/w, wet weight) was studied. The global performance was evaluated using available data reported in the literature. The best configuration was digestion as a first stage with the subsequent treatment of digestate in an HTC unit. The treatment of manure as sole substrate reported a value of 752 m3/d of biogas which could be increased to 1076 m3/d (43% increase) when coupling an HTC unit for digestate post-treatment and the introduction of the co-substrate. However, the high energy demand of the combined configurations indicated, as the best alternative, the valorization of just a fraction (15%) of digestate to provide the benefits of enhancing biogas production. This configuration presented a much better energy performance than the thermal hydrolysis pre-treatment of manure. The increase in biogas production does not compensate for the high energy demand of the pre-treatment unit. However, several technical factors still need further research to make this alternative a reality, as it is the handling and pumping of high solid slurries that significantly affects the energy demand of the thermal treatment units and the possible toxicity of hydrochar when used in a biological process.

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