IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v11y2018i10p2794-d176347.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Hydrothermal Carbonization of Peat Moss and Herbaceous Biomass (Miscanthus): A Potential Route for Bioenergy

Author

Listed:
  • Poritosh Roy

    (School of Engineering, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada)

  • Animesh Dutta

    (School of Engineering, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada)

  • Jim Gallant

    (REMASCO, 3811 Middle Side Road, Amherstburg, ON N9V 2Y9, Canada)

Abstract

Peat moss and miscanthus were hydrothermally carbonized (HTC) either individually or co-processed in a different ratio to produce hydrochar. The hydrochar and pelletized hydrochar were then characterized to determine if hydrochar can be used as an alternative to coal to produce bioenergy from existing coal-fired power plants in Ontario that have already been shut down. The properties of carbonized biomass (either hydrochar or pellets) reveal that fuel grade hydrochar can be produced from peat moss or from the blend of peat moss and miscanthus (agricultural biomass/energy crops). Hydrochar either produced from peat moss or from the blend of peat moss and miscanthus was observed to be hydrophobic and porous compared to raw peat moss or raw miscanthus. The combustion indices of carbonized biomass confirmed that it can be combusted or co-combusted to produce bioenergy and can avoid slagging, fouling, and agglomeration problems of the bioenergy industry. The results of this study revealed that HTC is a promising option for producing solid biofuel from undervalued biomass, especially from high moisture biomass. Co-processing of peat moss with rural biomass, a relatively novel idea which can be a potential solution to heat and power for the rural communities/agri-industry that are not connected with national grids and alleviate their waste management problems. In addition, the hydrochar can also be used to run some of the existing coal-fired power plants that have already been shut down in Ontario without interrupting investment and employment.

Suggested Citation

  • Poritosh Roy & Animesh Dutta & Jim Gallant, 2018. "Hydrothermal Carbonization of Peat Moss and Herbaceous Biomass (Miscanthus): A Potential Route for Bioenergy," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-14, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:11:y:2018:i:10:p:2794-:d:176347
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/11/10/2794/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/11/10/2794/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ahn, Byoung Jun & Chang, Hee-sun & Lee, Soo Min & Choi, Don Ha & Cho, Seong Taek & Han, Gyu-seong & Yang, In, 2014. "Effect of binders on the durability of wood pellets fabricated from Larix kaemferi C. and Liriodendron tulipifera L. sawdust," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 18-23.
    2. Kambo, Harpreet Singh & Dutta, Animesh, 2015. "A comparative review of biochar and hydrochar in terms of production, physico-chemical properties and applications," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 359-378.
    3. Larsson, Sylvia H. & Rudolfsson, Magnus & Nordwaeger, Martin & Olofsson, Ingemar & Samuelsson, Robert, 2013. "Effects of moisture content, torrefaction temperature, and die temperature in pilot scale pelletizing of torrefied Norway spruce," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 827-832.
    4. Tang, Yongjun & Cong, Weilong & Xu, Jun & Zhang, Pengfei & Liu, Defu, 2015. "Ultrasonic vibration-assisted pelleting for cellulosic biofuels manufacturing: A study on in-pellet temperatures," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 296-302.
    5. Li, Hui & Liu, Xinhua & Legros, Robert & Bi, Xiaotao T. & Jim Lim, C. & Sokhansanj, Shahab, 2012. "Pelletization of torrefied sawdust and properties of torrefied pellets," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 680-685.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Adrian Knapczyk & Sławomir Francik & Marcin Jewiarz & Agnieszka Zawiślak & Renata Francik, 2020. "Thermal Treatment of Biomass: A Bibliometric Analysis—The Torrefaction Case," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(1), pages 1-31, December.
    2. Manfredi Picciotto Maniscalco & Maurizio Volpe & Antonio Messineo, 2020. "Hydrothermal Carbonization as a Valuable Tool for Energy and Environmental Applications: A Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-26, August.
    3. Yuchiao Lu & Hanmin Yang & Andrey V. Karasev & Chuan Wang & Pär G. Jönsson, 2022. "Applications of Hydrochar and Charcoal in the Iron and Steelmaking Industry—Part 1: Characterization of Carbonaceous Materials," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-27, August.
    4. Jongkeun Lee & Sungwan Cho & Daegi Kim & JunHee Ryu & Kwanyong Lee & Haegeun Chung & Ki Young Park, 2021. "Conversion of Slaughterhouse Wastes to Solid Fuel Using Hydrothermal Carbonization," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-10, March.
    5. Roy, Poritosh & Dutta, Animesh & Gallant, Jim, 2020. "Evaluation of the life cycle of hydrothermally carbonized biomass for energy and horticulture application," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 132(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Rudolfsson, Magnus & Larsson, Sylvia H. & Lestander, Torbjörn A., 2017. "New tool for improved control of sub-process interactions in rotating ring die pelletizing of torrefied biomass," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 190(C), pages 835-840.
    2. Sui, Haiqing & Chen, Jianfeng & Cheng, Wei & Zhu, Youjian & Zhang, Wennan & Hu, Junhao & Jiang, Hao & Shao, Jing'ai & Chen, Hanping, 2024. "Effect of oxidative torrefaction on fuel and pelletizing properties of agricultural biomass in comparison with non-oxidative torrefaction," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 226(C).
    3. Batidzirai, B. & Mignot, A.P.R. & Schakel, W.B. & Junginger, H.M. & Faaij, A.P.C., 2013. "Biomass torrefaction technology: Techno-economic status and future prospects," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 196-214.
    4. Christoforou, Elias A. & Fokaides, Paris A., 2016. "Life cycle assessment (LCA) of olive husk torrefaction," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 257-266.
    5. Ghiasi, Bahman & Kumar, Linoj & Furubayashi, Takaaki & Lim, C. Jim & Bi, Xiaotao & Kim, Chang Soo & Sokhansanj, Shahab, 2014. "Densified biocoal from woodchips: Is it better to do torrefaction before or after densification?," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 133-142.
    6. Mostafa, Mohamed E. & Hu, Song & Wang, Yi & Su, Sheng & Hu, Xun & Elsayed, Saad A. & Xiang, Jun, 2019. "The significance of pelletization operating conditions: An analysis of physical and mechanical characteristics as well as energy consumption of biomass pellets," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 332-348.
    7. Jan Hari Arti Khalsa & Diana Leistner & Nadja Weller & Leilani I. Darvell & Ben Dooley, 2016. "Torrefied Biomass Pellets—Comparing Grindability in Different Laboratory Mills," Energies, MDPI, vol. 9(10), pages 1-15, October.
    8. Rudolfsson, Magnus & Stelte, Wolfgang & Lestander, Torbjörn A., 2015. "Process optimization of combined biomass torrefaction and pelletization for fuel pellet production – A parametric study," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 140(C), pages 378-384.
    9. Rudolfsson, Magnus & Borén, Eleonora & Pommer, Linda & Nordin, Anders & Lestander, Torbjörn A., 2017. "Combined effects of torrefaction and pelletization parameters on the quality of pellets produced from torrefied biomass," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 191(C), pages 414-424.
    10. Andrzej Kuranc & Monika Stoma & Leszek Rydzak & Monika Pilipiuk, 2020. "Durability Assessment of Wooden Pellets in Relation with Vibrations Occurring in a Logistic Process of the Final Product," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-15, November.
    11. Rodolfo Picchio & Francesco Latterini & Rachele Venanzi & Walter Stefanoni & Alessandro Suardi & Damiano Tocci & Luigi Pari, 2020. "Pellet Production from Woody and Non-Woody Feedstocks: A Review on Biomass Quality Evaluation," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-20, June.
    12. Johanna Gaitán-Alvarez & Roger Moya & Allen Puente-Urbina & Ana Rodriguez-Zuñiga, 2017. "Physical and Compression Properties of Pellets Manufactured with the Biomass of Five Woody Tropical Species of Costa Rica Torrefied at Different Temperatures and Times," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-17, August.
    13. Giuseppe Maggiotto & Gianpiero Colangelo & Marco Milanese & Arturo de Risi, 2023. "Thermochemical Technologies for the Optimization of Olive Wood Biomass Energy Exploitation: A Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(19), pages 1-17, September.
    14. Chai, Li & Saffron, Christopher M., 2016. "Comparing pelletization and torrefaction depots: Optimization of depot capacity and biomass moisture to determine the minimum production cost," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 163(C), pages 387-395.
    15. Hamid Gilvari & Wiebren De Jong & Dingena L. Schott, 2020. "The Effect of Biomass Pellet Length, Test Conditions and Torrefaction on Mechanical Durability Characteristics According to ISO Standard 17831-1," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-16, June.
    16. Arkadiusz Dyjakon & Tomasz Noszczyk, 2019. "The Influence of Freezing Temperature Storage on the Mechanical Durability of Commercial Pellets from Biomass," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(13), pages 1-13, July.
    17. Zhang, Zhikun & Zhu, Zongyuan & Shen, Boxiong & Liu, Lina, 2019. "Insights into biochar and hydrochar production and applications: A review," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 171(C), pages 581-598.
    18. Mäkelä, Mikko & Yoshikawa, Kunio, 2016. "Simulating hydrothermal treatment of sludge within a pulp and paper mill," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 173(C), pages 177-183.
    19. Yao, Zhongliang & Ma, Xiaoqian & Xiao, Zhiyuan, 2020. "The effect of two pretreatment levels on the pyrolysis characteristics of water hyacinth," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 151(C), pages 514-527.
    20. Agar, David A. & Rudolfsson, Magnus & Lavergne, Simon & Melkior, Thierry & Da Silva Perez, Denilson & Dupont, Capucine & Campargue, Matthieu & Kalén, Gunnar & Larsson, Sylvia H., 2021. "Pelleting torrefied biomass at pilot-scale – Quality and implications for co-firing," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 178(C), pages 766-774.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:11:y:2018:i:10:p:2794-:d:176347. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.