Role of volatile secondary char on the combustion behavior of cellulose-based hydrochars

Hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) can transform a wide range of biomass into renewable biofuels. Hydrochar, the solid fuel resulting from HTC, has a similar energy density to low-rank coals. Despite an extensive body of literature detailing the thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) of hydrochar under slow pyrolysis and oxidation, there remains a limited understanding of hydrochar's behavior in realistic combustion settings. In this work, we integrate combustion experiments and TGA to understand the combustion characteristics of a model hydrochar fuel. Cellulose-based hydrochars produced at different temperatures along with solvent-extracted chars are tested in a Hencken burner across varying temperatures and oxygen concentrations in the oxidizer gas. Simultaneous CH* chemiluminescence, particle image velocimetry, and two-color pyrometry are used to measure ignition delay time and identify homogeneous/heterogeneous ignition mechanisms and combustion phases. Incorporating TGA with combustion results shows that the ignition mode and combustion processes are strong functions of surrounding gas temperature and oxygen mole fraction. The level of carbonization of the hydrochar dictates the ignition delay time and combustion modes. Further, the presence of a tar-like secondary char on the as-carbonized hydrochars leads to more rapid ignition due to high volatility.