Abstract
Upgrading biomass waste streams can improve economics in wood industries by adding value to the process. This work considers use of a hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) process for the residual feedstock after lignin and hemicelluloses extraction. Batch experiments were performed at 200–240 °C temperatures and three hours residence time with an 8:1 biomass to water ratio for two feedstocks: Raw spruce and spruce after lignin extraction. The proximate analysis and heating value showed similar results for both feedstocks, indicating that the thermochemical conversion is not impacted by the removal of lignin and hemicelluloses; the pretreatment processing slightly increases the heating value of the treated feedstock, but the HTC conversion process produces a consistent upgrading trend for both the treated and untreated feedstocks. The energy yield was 9.7 percentage points higher for the treated wood on average across the range temperatures due to the higher mass yield in the treated experiments. The energy densification ratio and the mass yield were strongly correlated with reaction temperature, while the energy yield was not. Lignocellulosic composition of the solid HTC product is mainly affected by HTC treatment, the effect of lignin extraction is negligible.
Highlights
Alternative fuel sources and low-carbon energy generation technologies are essential for meeting the future world energy needs [1]
This study aims to quantify and assess the differences in energy yield, mass yield and chemical composition for untreated and treated hydrochars produced under the same reactor conditions
Y m = m out/m in where: m in—initial mass of solids in the feedstock (d.b.), g; m out—the solid mass output (d.b.), g. For both the hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) experiments with treated wood and untreated wood, the mass yield decreases as temperature increases
Summary
Alternative fuel sources and low-carbon energy generation technologies are essential for meeting the future world energy needs [1]. In wood-based industries, such as pulp and paper, upgrading waste streams from primary production offers an additional revenue source, and an opportunity for meeting internal heat and electricity demands for the industrial processes. As the market develops for synthetic chemicals produced from biomass, new challenges and opportunities arise for wood-based industry. In industries such as pulp and paper, upgrading waste streams from primary production offers an additional revenue source, and an opportunity for meeting internal heat and electricity demands for the industrial processes. Lignin can be used to produce various chemicals and materials which are currently produced from expensive and non-renewable substances [4,5,6]. Hemicelluloses are recognized as a potential material for various applications: Coating and packaging films [9], hydrogels [10], food emulsion stabilizers [11], etc
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