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Hydrothermal Processing for Valorization of Wet Biomass

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2022) | Viewed by 11735

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Special Issue Editor

Dr. Bishnu Acharya

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Guest Editor

Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
Interests: biomass conversion; biofuels; bioenergy; bio-based materials; thermochemical conversion; green extraction

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The Guest Editor is inviting submissions to a Special Issue of Energies on the subject area of “Hydrothermal Processing for Valorization of Wet Biomass”. Hydrothermal processing (hydrothermal carbonization or subcritical water extraction) has been considered a green option for either recovering energy from wet biomass or producing high value bioproducts. There has been emerging scientific advancement towards the development of continuous hydrothermal processing systems and utilization of byproducts (hydrochar and extracts/process water) for energy, fertilizer, chemical, and material applications. The process is also being investigated for extracting high-value chemicals from biomass sources for medicinal application.

Topics of interest for publication include but are not limited to:

Reaction kinetics and process optimization;
Design and development of hydrothermal processing systems;
Hydrochar characterization;
Hydrochar soil remediation application;
Hydrochar for material application;
Extracts characterization;
Extracts application in agriculture;
Extracts application in biochemical and nutraceuticals;
Thermochemical conversion of hydrochar;
Biological conversion of process water/extract;
Technoeconomic assessment;
Circular bioeconomy with hydrothermal processing.

Prof. Bishnu Acharya
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

Hydrothermal processing
Subcritical water extraction
Hydrothermal carbonization
Hydrochar
Process water
Extracts
Thermochemical conversion
Reaction kinetics
Continuous hydrothermal system

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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15 pages, 1644 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Potential Application of Canola Hull Fuel Pellets for the Production of Synthesis Gas and Hydrogen

by Ramin Azargohar, Sonil Nanda, He Cheng and Ajay K. Dalai

Energies 2022, 15(22), 8613; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en15228613 - 17 Nov 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1199

Abstract

The production of biopellets from agricultural residues is an effective method to overcome the expected shortage in the supply of fuel pellets in the future. This work focused on the new potential applications of fuel pellets to produce liquid and gas fuels through thermochemical and hydrothermal biomass-to-gas technologies. The outcomes also provide a basis to compare the effects of steam and hydrothermal gasification techniques on the properties of product and byproduct, as well as their potentials. For steam gasification, the syngas yield increased from 10.7 to 27.8 mmol/g (on a dry and ash-free basis) by a rise in the gasification temperature at a constant steam-to-biomass ratio. In the case of hydrothermal gasification, there was no carbon monoxide, and hydrogen was the main gas product, and with an increase in the temperature, the hydrogen yield rose from 0.4 mmol/g to 3.17 mmol/g with temperatures from 350 to 650 °C. CO had the largest share in the gas product from steam gasification, which was between 23.3 and 31.3 mol%. The range of the molar ratio of H₂/CO for the steam gasification (1.13–1.40) showed the necessity of the further purification of gas products to utilize them as feed for liquid fuel production using the Fischer–Tropsch process. Examination of the mineral content of biochar that remained after the gasification techniques showed large essential elements in them compared with heavy metals, which shows potential for soil amendment. The results highlight the possibility of converting an agricultural residue into a value-added product with potential applications in the energy sector and agriculture. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hydrothermal Processing for Valorization of Wet Biomass)

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16 pages, 828 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Upgrading the Organic Fraction of Municipal Solid Waste by Low Temperature Hydrothermal Processes

by Gregor Sailer, Victoria Knappe, Jens Poetsch, Sebastian Paczkowski, Stefan Pelz, Hans Oechsner, Monika Bosilj, Siham Ouardi and Joachim Müller

Energies 2021, 14(11), 3041; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en14113041 - 24 May 2021

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2189

Abstract

In comparison to lignocellulosic biomass, which is suitable for thermo-chemical valorization, the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) is mainly treated via composting or anaerobic digestion (AD). An efficient utilization of OFMSW is difficult due to variations in its composition. Based on the characteristics of OFMSW, hydrothermal treatment (HTT) experiments at temperatures < 200 °C as an alternative OFMSW-processing were evaluated in this study. The raw OFMSW was characterized with a dry matter (DM)-based organic dry matter (oDM) content of 77.88 ± 1.37 %_DM and a higher heating value (HHV) of 15,417 ± 1258 J/g_DM. Through HTT at 150, 170 and 185 °C, the oDM contents as well as H/C and O/C ratios were lowered while the HHV increased up to 16,716 ± 257 J/g_DM. HTT led to improved fuel properties concerning ash melting, corrosion stress and emission behavior. Negative consequences of the HTT process were higher contents of ash in the biochar as well as accumulated heavy metals. In the sense of a bioeconomy, it could be beneficial to first convert raw OFMSW into CH₄ through AD followed by HTT of the AD-digestate for the generation of solid fuels and liquid products. This could increase the overall utilization efficiency of OFMSW. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hydrothermal Processing for Valorization of Wet Biomass)

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Graphical abstract

16 pages, 4659 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Hydrothermal Carbonization (HTC) of Seaweed (Macroalgae) for Producing Hydrochar

by Neel Patel, Bishnu Acharya and Prabir Basu

Energies 2021, 14(7), 1805; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en14071805 - 24 Mar 2021

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 2954

Abstract

Waste seaweed that is collected at coastal regions of maritime provinces in Canada is creating ecological problems as it promotes an anoxic event, which produces nearly zero dissolved oxygen in water along with hydrogen sulfide emission. The work done in this study attempts to address this issue by producing a coal-like solid hydrochar and nutritious liquid slurry (processed water) by employing a rather recent thermo-chemical process called hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) on the seaweed. The HTC was carried out in a batch reactor system for three different reaction temperatures, 180 °C, 200 °C, 220 °C, and three different reaction times, 30, 60, and 120 min. Each of the produced hydrochars was characterized by different analytical methods. The effects of the process conditions on the yield and the properties of the hydrochar and process water were examined. The hydrochar produced at 220 °C and 120 min showed the highest carbon content (48.5%) and heating value (18.93 MJ/kg). The energy density and carbon to nitrogen (C/N) ratio in the hydrochar increased significantly as compared to raw seaweed. Moreover, HTC reduced the ash yield and volatile compounds of the seaweed. Thus, hydrochar can be used as a fuel for direct combustion, in soil remediation, or in carbon sequestration applications. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hydrothermal Processing for Valorization of Wet Biomass)

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11 pages, 2575 KiB

Open AccessArticle

New Insights for the Future Design of Composites Composed of Hydrochar and Zeolite for Developing Advanced Biofuels from Cranberry Pomace

by Omid Norouzi, Mohammad Heidari, Mario M. Martinez and Animesh Dutta

Energies 2020, 13(24), 6600; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en13246600 - 14 Dec 2020

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1690

Abstract

This study provides fundamental insight and offers a promising catalytic hydrothermal method to harness cranberry pomace as a potential bioenergy and/or hydrochar source. The physical and chemical properties of Canadian cranberry pomace, supplied by Fruit d’Or Inc., were examined and the optimum operational conditions, in terms of biocrude yield, were obtained by the I-optimal matrix of Design Expert 11. Afterward, cranberry pomace hydrochar (CPH) and zeolite were separately introduced to the hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) process to investigate the benefits and disadvantages associated with their catalytic activity. CPH was found to be a better host than zeolite to accommodate cellulosic sugars and showed great catalytic performance in producing hydrocarbons. However, high amounts of corrosive amino and aliphatic acids hinder the practical application of CPH as a catalyst. Alternatively, zeolite, as a commercial high surface area catalyst, had a higher activity for deoxygenation of compounds containing carbonyl, carboxyl, and hydroxyl groups than CPH and resulted in higher selectivity of phenols. Due to the low hydrothermal structural stability, coke formation, and narrow pore size distribution, further activations and modifications are needed to improve the catalytic behavior of zeolite. Our results suggest that a composite composed of CPH and zeolite can resolve the abovementioned limitations and help with the development and commercialization of advanced biofuels from cranberry pomace. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hydrothermal Processing for Valorization of Wet Biomass)

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Review

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18 pages, 1939 KiB

Open AccessReview

A Review of Antiviral and Antioxidant Activity of Bioactive Metabolite of Macroalgae within an Optimized Extraction Method

by Rasha El-Shafei, Hala Hegazy and Bishnu Acharya

Energies 2021, 14(11), 3092; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en14113092 - 26 May 2021

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 2690

Abstract

Non-conventional extraction of bioactive metabolites could provide sustainable alternative techniques to preserve the potency of antioxidants and antiviral compounds extracted from macro-algae. In this paper, we first reviewed the antioxidant and antiviral potential of the active metabolites that exist in the three known macro-algae classes; Phaeophyceae, Rhodophyceae, and Chlorophyceae, and a comparison between their activities is discussed. Secondly, a review of conventional and non-conventional extraction methods is undertaken. The review then focused on identifying the optimal extraction method of sulphated polysaccharide from macro-algae that exhibits both antiviral and antioxidant activity. The review finds that species belonging to the Phaeophyceae and Rhodophceae classes are primarily potent against herpes simplex virus, followed by human immunodeficiency virus and influenza virus. At the same time, species belonging to Chlorophyceae class are recorded by most of the scholars to have antiviral activity against herpes simplex virus 1. Additionally, all three macro-algae classes exhibit antioxidant activity, the potency of which is a factor of the molecular structure of the bioactive metabolite as well as the extraction method applied. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hydrothermal Processing for Valorization of Wet Biomass)

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