{"title":"Thermochemical characterisation of hydrochar from agricultural waste and its efficiency as a supplement with solid fuel","authors":"Sadish Oumabady , Satish K. Bhardwaj , Sangeetha Piriya Ramasamy , Shamsudeen U. Dandare , Ruben Sakrabani , Rory Doherty , Sree Nanukuttan , Deepak Kumaresan","doi":"10.1016/j.biombioe.2024.107299","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Circular approaches to revalorise waste biomass from agriculture and food production sectors are crucial for developing a sustainable bioenergy strategy. For instance, while the demand for edible mushroom cultivation has increased globally, the production generates a substantial amount of waste biomass, known as Spent Mushroom Substrate (MS). Thermochemical biomass conversion technologies such as hydrothermal carbonisation offers a robust strategy to produce “hydrochar” from the wet biomass and can be used downstream for various environmental applications. In this study, we assess the feasibility of MS-derived hydrochar for energy application, specifically as a blend with coal. The key parameters for the hydrochar production such as temperature, time and moisture content were optimised (205 °C, 3.65 h, and 73.18 %, respectively) using a statistical tool “Response Surface Methodology (RSM)” to obtain a carbon material with higher yield and calorific value. The hydrochar from MS exhibited an acidic pH (4.42), increased fixed carbon content (23.7 %), reduced sulphur content (0.26 %), coarser porous surface, enhanced oxygenated functional groups (hydroxyl, carboxyl and ketonic) and the formation of minerals like Sodium Carbonate (NaCO<sub>3</sub>), whewellite (CaC<sub>2</sub>O<sub>4</sub>·H<sub>2</sub>O) and gypsum (CaSO<sub>4</sub>). Combustion behaviour of hydrochar was also assessed using calorimetry and thermogravimetry, specifically to test different coal and hydrochar blends on the feasibility of using hydrochar as a supplement to conventional solid fuels. Our results suggest that a blend of 20 % hydrochar with 80 % coal as an ideal blending ratio (with a calorific value of 27.65 MJ kg<sup>−1</sup>) highlighting the use of hydrochar as supplement with conventional fuel like coal.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":253,"journal":{"name":"Biomass & Bioenergy","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":5.8000,"publicationDate":"2024-07-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0961953424002526/pdfft?md5=77007b52a760108d2d40c4e2e3f2fb19&pid=1-s2.0-S0961953424002526-main.pdf","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Biomass & Bioenergy","FirstCategoryId":"5","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0961953424002526","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Circular approaches to revalorise waste biomass from agriculture and food production sectors are crucial for developing a sustainable bioenergy strategy. For instance, while the demand for edible mushroom cultivation has increased globally, the production generates a substantial amount of waste biomass, known as Spent Mushroom Substrate (MS). Thermochemical biomass conversion technologies such as hydrothermal carbonisation offers a robust strategy to produce “hydrochar” from the wet biomass and can be used downstream for various environmental applications. In this study, we assess the feasibility of MS-derived hydrochar for energy application, specifically as a blend with coal. The key parameters for the hydrochar production such as temperature, time and moisture content were optimised (205 °C, 3.65 h, and 73.18 %, respectively) using a statistical tool “Response Surface Methodology (RSM)” to obtain a carbon material with higher yield and calorific value. The hydrochar from MS exhibited an acidic pH (4.42), increased fixed carbon content (23.7 %), reduced sulphur content (0.26 %), coarser porous surface, enhanced oxygenated functional groups (hydroxyl, carboxyl and ketonic) and the formation of minerals like Sodium Carbonate (NaCO3), whewellite (CaC2O4·H2O) and gypsum (CaSO4). Combustion behaviour of hydrochar was also assessed using calorimetry and thermogravimetry, specifically to test different coal and hydrochar blends on the feasibility of using hydrochar as a supplement to conventional solid fuels. Our results suggest that a blend of 20 % hydrochar with 80 % coal as an ideal blending ratio (with a calorific value of 27.65 MJ kg−1) highlighting the use of hydrochar as supplement with conventional fuel like coal.
期刊介绍:
Biomass & Bioenergy is an international journal publishing original research papers and short communications, review articles and case studies on biological resources, chemical and biological processes, and biomass products for new renewable sources of energy and materials.
The scope of the journal extends to the environmental, management and economic aspects of biomass and bioenergy.
Key areas covered by the journal:
• Biomass: sources, energy crop production processes, genetic improvements, composition. Please note that research on these biomass subjects must be linked directly to bioenergy generation.
• Biological Residues: residues/rests from agricultural production, forestry and plantations (palm, sugar etc), processing industries, and municipal sources (MSW). Papers on the use of biomass residues through innovative processes/technological novelty and/or consideration of feedstock/system sustainability (or unsustainability) are welcomed. However waste treatment processes and pollution control or mitigation which are only tangentially related to bioenergy are not in the scope of the journal, as they are more suited to publications in the environmental arena. Papers that describe conventional waste streams (ie well described in existing literature) that do not empirically address ''new'' added value from the process are not suitable for submission to the journal.
• Bioenergy Processes: fermentations, thermochemical conversions, liquid and gaseous fuels, and petrochemical substitutes
• Bioenergy Utilization: direct combustion, gasification, electricity production, chemical processes, and by-product remediation
• Biomass and the Environment: carbon cycle, the net energy efficiency of bioenergy systems, assessment of sustainability, and biodiversity issues.