Search for: All records

Valorization of hydrochar, a solid byproduct from hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) of anaerobically-digested agriculture wastes (digestates), requires fundamental knowledge of elemental speciation. This study investigated the effects of reaction temperatures (320–360 °C), digestate pH (3.5–8), and digestate cellulose-to-lignin ratios (0.2–1.8) on the speciation (chemical form) and composition of organics and inorganics in hydrochars produced during hydrothermal treatment. Quantitative X-ray diffraction (XRD) method was the primary technique used to characterize hydrochars. The comprehensive XRD pattern processing including the Rietveld refinement protocols demonstrated that the organic phase was comprised of mostly crystalline monocyclic, heterocyclic, and polycyclic aromatics with diverse aliphatic and aromatic substituents, while the inorganic mineral phase consisted of calcium-phosphates, magnesium-phosphates, calcium-carbonates, and magnesium-carbonates. XRD results were validated by the elemental yields of products and the distribution of chemical functionalities measured using solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The characterization data were used to evaluate proposed mechanistic pathways using compositional analysis of biocrude and aqueous-phase coproducts. Mechanistic pathways developed in the study suggested that benzoic acids, phenols, benzaldehydes, phenolic aldehydes, α-dicarbonyls, and α-hydroxycarbonyls were responsible for the precipitation of organics through various reactions depending on operating conditions. Meanwhile, the formation of inorganic compounds appeared to be consistently represented by reactions including dehydration, hydrolysis, endergonic reduction, and structure rearrangement of native minerals in the digestates. This study provides basic knowledge needed to create and assess potential elemental speciation pathways. In addition, the results of the study facilitate the specification of process conditions to optimize targeted utilization routes of hydrochar for more economically-feasible and sustainable HTL processing. 

Valorization of agricultural and food waste digestates is crucial for sustainable waste management to reduce environmental impacts and improve the economics of commercial farms. Hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) of anaerobic digestates was evaluated to recover resources by converting them into carbon-dense biocrude oil and a nutrient-rich HTL aqueous phase (HTL-AP) coproduct. The effects of HTL temperature (280–360 °C), reaction time (10–50 min), feedstock pH (2.5–8.5), digestate salt content (1–5 wt%), and digestate cellulose-to-lignin ratio (0.2–1.8) on energy and nutrient recovery were systematically investigated in a set of well-designed experiments following a half-fractional central composite protocol. Response surface analysis combined with HTL product characterization and comparative literature study produced a comprehensive reaction pathway for HTL of anaerobic digestates. Moreover, this analysis revealed the importance of acidic feedstocks (pH 3.00–5.53), high reaction temperatures (337–360 °C), and reaction times <45 or 45–50 min for digestates with Cel/Lig >1 or <1, for maximizing the energy recovered in biocrude (high carbon yield and low heteroatom content) and the amounts of P, NH 3 –N, and Mg distributed in the HTL-AP. Acidic conditions catalyzed biocrude production, inhibited the Maillard reaction (lowering the nitrogen content in biocrude), and partitioned nutrients into the HTL-AP. Higher reaction temperatures coupled with longer reaction times activated hydro-denitrogenation and deoxygenation reactions to improve biocrude quality. This work provides not only validated methods to achieve targeted resource recovery for specific feedstock compositions using HTL, but also a comprehensive mechanistic understanding of the HTL of biomass waste for controlling target product characteristics.