Experimental studies of hydrothermal liquefaction of kitchen waste with H+, OH- and Fe3+ additives for bio-oil upgrading

Optimization of hydrothermal liquefaction process for bio-oil products from kitchen residue under subcritical conditions

In this work, the process parameters of batch hydrothermal liquefaction of kitchen residue were optimized with the yield of bio-oil as reference, including reaction temperature, residence time and initial pressure. According to the experimental results, the bio-oil yield of kitchen residue was the highest (39.73%) under the reaction conditions of 6 MPa, 300 °C and 30 min. The elemental content and components of bio-oil were characterized by organic element analyzer and gas chromatography/mass spectrometer. The surface and structural properties of biochar were detected and analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectrometer, scanning electron microscope and surface area and porosity analyzer.

Hydrothermal treatment of food waste for bio-fertilizer production: Formation and regulation of humus substances in hydrochar

Food waste (FW) poses serious challenges to incineration and composting. Hydrothermal treatment (HTT) is a promising method to produce carbon-rich materials from biomass, including humus substances. In this study, FW containing cellulose, starches, and proteins was treated by HTT to study the formation and regulation of three kinds of humus (i.e., humin, humic acids [HAs], and fulvic acids [FAs]). Ultimate analysis and proximate analyses were conducted to explore the material composition, which was very similar to natural humus. Three kinds of humus were quantified. Optimal temperature (200 °C) and residence time (30 min) for production of HAs were determined based on HAs yield (14.60%). In addition, formation and regulation of humin, HAs and FAs was discussed. The amino acids, peptides, monosaccharides, and HMF obtained by hydrolysis of FW produced important precursors of humus. Moreover, the transfer of nutrient elements was revealed. Nearly 90% of K was dissolved in water. Recovery of N (60%) was relatively stable in hydrochar. Up to 67.61% of P deposited in hydrochar with 12 h.