Use of Hydrochar Produced by Hydrothermal Carbonization of Lignocellulosic Biomass for Thermal Power Plants in Chile: A Techno-Economic and Environmental Study

Samuel Carrasco, Ernesto Pino-Cortés, Andrés Barra-Marín, Alejandro Fierro-Gallegos and Marcelo León
Additional contact information
Samuel Carrasco: Escuela de Ingeniería Química, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Valparaíso 2340000, Chile
Ernesto Pino-Cortés: Escuela de Ingeniería Química, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Valparaíso 2340000, Chile
Andrés Barra-Marín: Escuela de Ingeniería Química, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Valparaíso 2340000, Chile
Alejandro Fierro-Gallegos: Escuela de Ingeniería Química, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Valparaíso 2340000, Chile
Marcelo León: Escuela de Ingeniería Química, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Valparaíso 2340000, Chile

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 13, 1-17

Abstract: Hydrothermal carbonization makes it possible to transform lignocellulosic biomass into hydrochar, a carbon-rich material that can be used as fuel. Hydrochar has less calorific value than standard coal but generates less ashes during combustion. This study is a pre-feasibility analysis carried out to evaluate technically-economically and environmentally the use of hydrochar as fuel or co-fuel in thermal power plants in Chile. Until now there are no reports about it. The proposal of this work was to study the replacement of coal with a fuel that uses the same equipment and processes in power generation but with less air emission and with an economically profitable change. The results suggest that a plant with a supply of 104 t/h of bituminous coal could be replaced between 18 and 37 t/h of hydrochar, with a reduction of 8 and 27% in NO x and SO 2 emissions, a reduction in 7 to 24% in ashes and a marginal increase in CO 2 emission. The proposed use of hydrochar was economically profitable, with internal rates of return of up to 40% and with cash flows that reached USD 22 million.

Keywords: hydrothermal carbonization; hydrochar; solid fuels; power plants (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/13/8041/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/13/8041/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:13:p:8041-:d:853468

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().