Potential Use of Plant Biomass from Treatment Wetland Systems for Producing Biofuels through a Biocrude Green-Biorefining Platform

Marco Antonio Rodriguez-Dominguez, Patrick Biller, Pedro N. Carvalho, Hans Brix and Carlos Alberto Arias
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Marco Antonio Rodriguez-Dominguez: Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Ole Worms Allé 1, Building 1135, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark
Patrick Biller: Department of Biological and Chemical Engineering—Process and Materials Engineering, Aarhus University, Hangøvej 2, 8200 Aarhus, Denmark
Pedro N. Carvalho: Aarhus University Centre for Water Technology WATEC, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 120, Building 1521, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark
Hans Brix: Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Ole Worms Allé 1, Building 1135, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark
Carlos Alberto Arias: Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Ole Worms Allé 1, Building 1135, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 23, 1-17

Abstract: The potential of using the biomass of four wetland plant species ( Iris pseudacorus , Juncus effusus , Phragmites australis and Typha latifolia ) grown in treatment wetland systems and under natural conditions were tested to produce high-value materials using hydro-thermal liquefaction (HTL). The results show that the wetland plants biomass is suitable for biocrude and biochar production regardless of the origin. The hydrothermal liquefaction products’ (biocrude, biochar, aqueous and gaseous phase) yields vary according with the specific biomass composition of the species. Furthermore, the results show that the biomass composition can be affected by the growing condition (treatment wetland or natural unpolluted conditions) of the plants. None of the single components seems to have a determinant effect on the biocrude yields, which reached around 30% for all the analyzed plants. On the contrary, the biochar yields seem to be affected by the composition of the biomass, obtaining different yields for the different plant species, with biochar yields values from around 12% to 22%, being that Phragmites australis is the one with the highest average yield. The obtained aqueous phase from the different plant species produces homogeneous compounds for each plant species and each growing environment. The study shows that biomass from treatment wetlands is suitable for biocrude production. The environmental value of this biomass lies on the fact that it is considered a residual product with no aggregated value. The treatment wetland biomass is a potential sustainable source for biofuel production since these plants do not need extra land or nutrients for growing, and the biomass does not compete with other uses, offering new sources for enhancing the bioeconomy concepts.

Keywords: treatment wetlands; biocrude; hydrothermal liquefaction; biomass; biorefinery; biofuels; wastewater treatment; biochar; aqueous phase (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: 2021
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