Hydrothermal Carbonisation as Treatment for Effective Moisture Removal from Digestate—Mechanical Dewatering, Flashing-Off, and Condensates’ Processing
Halina Pawlak-Kruczek,
Agnieszka Urbanowska,
Lukasz Niedzwiecki,
Michał Czerep,
Marcin Baranowski,
Christian Aragon-Briceño,
Małgorzata Kabsch-Korbutowicz,
Amit Arora,
Przemysław Seruga,
Mateusz Wnukowski,
Jakub Mularski,
Eddy Bramer,
Gerrit Brem,
Artur Pożarlik
Affiliations
Halina Pawlak-Kruczek
Department of Energy Conversion Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical and Power Engineering, Wrocław University of Science and Technology, Wyb. Wyspiańskiego 27, 50-370 Wrocław, Poland
Agnieszka Urbanowska
Department of Environment Protection Engineering, Faculty of Environmental Engineering, Wrocław University of Science and Technology, Wyb. Wyspiańskiego 27, 50-370 Wrocław, Poland
Lukasz Niedzwiecki
Department of Energy Conversion Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical and Power Engineering, Wrocław University of Science and Technology, Wyb. Wyspiańskiego 27, 50-370 Wrocław, Poland
Michał Czerep
Department of Energy Conversion Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical and Power Engineering, Wrocław University of Science and Technology, Wyb. Wyspiańskiego 27, 50-370 Wrocław, Poland
Marcin Baranowski
Department of Energy Conversion Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical and Power Engineering, Wrocław University of Science and Technology, Wyb. Wyspiańskiego 27, 50-370 Wrocław, Poland
Christian Aragon-Briceño
Department of Thermal and Fluid Engineering, University of Twente, Drienerlolaan 5, 7522 NB Enschede, The Netherlands
Małgorzata Kabsch-Korbutowicz
Department of Environment Protection Engineering, Faculty of Environmental Engineering, Wrocław University of Science and Technology, Wyb. Wyspiańskiego 27, 50-370 Wrocław, Poland
Amit Arora
Department of Chemical Engineering, Shaheed Bhagat Singh State University, Ferozepur 152004, India
Department of Energy Conversion Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical and Power Engineering, Wrocław University of Science and Technology, Wyb. Wyspiańskiego 27, 50-370 Wrocław, Poland
Jakub Mularski
Department of Energy Conversion Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical and Power Engineering, Wrocław University of Science and Technology, Wyb. Wyspiańskiego 27, 50-370 Wrocław, Poland
Eddy Bramer
Department of Thermal and Fluid Engineering, University of Twente, Drienerlolaan 5, 7522 NB Enschede, The Netherlands
Gerrit Brem
Department of Thermal and Fluid Engineering, University of Twente, Drienerlolaan 5, 7522 NB Enschede, The Netherlands
Artur Pożarlik
Department of Thermal and Fluid Engineering, University of Twente, Drienerlolaan 5, 7522 NB Enschede, The Netherlands
One of the processes that can serve to valorise low-quality biomass and organic waste is hydrothermal carbonization (HTC). It is a thermochemical process that transpires in the presence of water and uses heat to convert wet feedstocks into hydrochar (the solid product of hydrothermal carbonization). In the present experimental study, an improvement consisting of an increased hydrophobic character of HTC-treated biomass is demonstrated through the presentation of enhanced mechanical dewatering at different pressures due to HTC valorisation. As part of this work’s scope, flashing-off of low-quality steam is additionally explored, allowing for the recovery of the physical enthalpy of hot hydrochar slurry. The flashing-off vapours, apart from steam, contain condensable hydrocarbons. Accordingly, a membrane system that purifies such effluent and the subsequent recovery of chemical energy from the retentate are taken into account. Moreover, the biomethane potential is calculated for the condensates, presenting the possibility for the chemical energy recovery of the condensates.
