Comparative Studies on Water- and Vapor-Based Hydrothermal Carbonization: Process Analysis

Kyoung S. Ro, Judy A. Libra and Andrés Alvarez-Murillo
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Kyoung S. Ro: USDA-ARS Coastal Plains Soil, Water & Plant Research Center, Florence, SC 29501, USA
Judy A. Libra: Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering and Bioeconomy, 14469 Potsdam, Germany
Andrés Alvarez-Murillo: Department of Applied Physics, School of Industrial Engineering, University of Extremadura, 06006 Badajoz, Spain

Energies, 2020, vol. 13, issue 21, 1-18

Abstract: Hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) reactor systems used to convert wet organic wastes into value-added hydrochar are generally classified in the literature as liquid water-based (HTC) or vapor-based (VTC). However, the distinction between the two is often ambiguous. In this paper, we present a methodological approach to analyze process conditions for hydrothermal systems. First, we theoretically developed models for predicting reactor pressure, volume fraction of liquid water and water distribution between phases as a function of temperature. The reactor pressure model predicted the measured pressure reasonably well. We also demonstrated the importance of predicting the condition at which the reactor system enters the subcooled compression liquid region to avoid the danger of explosion. To help understand water–feedstock interactions, we defined a new solid content parameter %S ( T ) based on the liquid water in physical contact with feedstock, which changes with temperature due to changes in the water distribution. Using these models, we then compared the process conditions of seven different HTC/VTC cases reported in the literature. This study illustrates that a large range of conditions need to be considered before applying the label VTC or HTC. These tools can help in designing experiments to compare systems and understand results in future HTC research.

Keywords: hydrothermal carbonization (HTC); vapothermal carbonization (VTC); reactor pressure; process conditions; phase distribution of water; solid contents; hydrochar (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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