Title:
Assessing the Heat and Energy Balances of Hydrochar Production via Hydrothermal Carbonization of Olive Pomace
Author(s):
Missaoui, A., Bostyn, S., Belandria, V., Sarh, B., Gökalp, I.
Document(s):
Paper
Poster
Abstract:
Hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) is an efficient technology to convert the wet biomass (> 80%) into coal-like products called “hydrochar”. HTC experiments were performed at optimized process conditions (holding time = 30 min, T= 215 °C, OP/water weight ratio = 1/6) for the production of hydrochar from olive pomace (OP). The aim was to identify the most influential parameters for thermal energy and power consumption. HTC treatment increased by 26% the higher heating value of the hydrochar compared to untreated OP (22.5 MJ/kg) providing a promising alternative to fossil fuels, such as lignite. Based on mass and energy balances the OP/water weight ratio emerges as the most influential parameter with a positive effect. An increase from 1/6 to 1/5 decreased by 22% the total consumed energy and favored the energy balance of the HTC process. With 1/5, the energy balance obtained was equal to +2.2 MJ/kg of dried OP. Moreover, an environmentally sound approach was analyzed considering wastewater reuse in the process. The energy consumption was calculated assuming that the recovery of water was by evaporation. This energy represents more than 50% of the total consumed energy. The wastewater should be taken into consideration to establish an eco-friendly process. In addition, wastewater contains pollutants. A supercritical water treatment was carried out in order to reduce the organic agents. The results showed its capacity to reduce the organic compounds.
Keywords:
biofuel, biomass, energy balance, hydrothermal carbonisation, olive pomace
Topic:
Biomass Conversion Technologies for Liquid and Gaseous Fuels, Chemicals and Materials
Subtopic:
Production of thermally treated solid biofuels
Event:
25th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition
Session:
3CV.2.8
Pages:
1393 - 1398
ISBN:
978-88-89407-17-2
Paper DOI:
10.5071/25thEUBCE2017-3CV.2.8
Price:
FREE
