Catalytic co-hydrothermal carbonization of food waste digestate and yard waste for energy application and nutrient recovery

He M 1 , Zhu X 1 , Dutta S 1 , Khanal SK 2 , Lee KT 3 , Masek O 4 Show all authors , Tsang DCW 5

Affiliations 

  • 1 Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China; Research Centre for Resources Engineering towards Carbon Neutrality, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China
  • 2 Department of Molecular Biosciences and Bioengineering, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI, USA
  • 3 School of Chemical Engineering, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Engineering Campus, Seri Ampangan, Nibong Tebal 14300, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia
  • 4 UK Biochar Research Centre, School of Geosciences, University of Edinburgh, Alexander Crum Brown Road, Crew Building, EH9 3FF, Edinburgh, UK
  • 5 Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China; Research Centre for Resources Engineering towards Carbon Neutrality, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China. Electronic address: [email protected]
Bioresour Technol, 2022 Jan;344(Pt B):126395.
PMID: 34822987 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2021.126395

Abstract

Hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) provides a promising alternative to valorize food waste digestate (FWD) and avoid disposal issues. Although hydrochar derived from FWD alone had a low calorific content (HHV of 13.9 MJ kg-1), catalytic co-HTC of FWD with wet lignocellulosic biomass (e.g., wet yard waste; YW) and 0.5 M HCl exhibited overall superior attributes in terms of energy recovery (22.7 MJ kg-1), stable and comprehensive combustion behaviour, potential nutrient recovery from process water (2-fold higher N retention and 129-fold higher P extraction), and a high C utilization efficiency (only 2.4% C loss). In contrast, co-HTC with citric acid provided ∼3-fold higher autogenous pressure, resulting in a superior energy content of 25.0 MJ kg-1, but the high C loss (∼74%) compromised the overall environmental benefits. The results of this study established a foundation to fully utilize FWD and YW hydrochar for bioenergy application and resource recovery from the process water.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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