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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Florence, South Carolina » Coastal Plain Soil, Water and Plant Conservation Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #411545
Research Project: Innovative Manure Treatment Technologies and Enhanced Soil Health for Agricultural Systems of the Southeastern Coastal Plain

Location: Coastal Plain Soil, Water and Plant Conservation Research

Title: Research needs and achievements in HTC technology

Author
item DANG, CHAU - Leibniz Institute
item CAPPAI, GIOVANNA - University Of Cagliari
item JEONG, CHANGYOON - Louisiana State University
item CHUNG, JAE - Zurich University Of Applied Sciences
item MARCHELLI, FILIPPO - University Of Trento, Italy
item KULLI, BEATRICE - Zurich University Of Applied Sciences
item Ro, Kyoung
item ROMAN, SILVIA - Universidad De Extremadura

Submitted to: Agronomy
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/22/2024
Publication Date: 1/24/2024
Citation: Dang, C.H., Cappai, G., Jeong, C., Chung, J.W., Marchelli, F., Kulli, B., Ro, K.S., Roman, S. 2024. Research needs and achievements in HTC technology. Agronomy. 14(2):247. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy14020247.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy14020247

Interpretive Summary: Hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) is an emerging technology for producing value-added products from various waste streams. It is a cost-effective and energy-efficient technology especially for wet-waste management and producing value-added solid and liquid products. There are however several issues that still need to be addressed with further research for proper implementation of the technology in the field. Firstly, the strengths and weaknesses of HTC in comparison to traditional pyrolysis process making biochar must be clearly understood by scientists and end users, so that they can properly choose one process or both (complementary) to produce products with desired properties. Secondly, more information on diverse process modeling approaches and scales is critical for enhancing the robustness and universality of HTC technology. Thirdly, the effect of hydrochar on soil application needs to be better understood in terms of nutrients release and plant update, carbon sequestration, and greenhouse gas emissions. Lastly, proper management of the process byproducts, especially processing water must be addressed to improve the carbon and hydric footprint of the process. This paper aims to tackle the above-mentioned issues through an updated review and discussion of research gaps requiring further investigations.

Technical Abstract: Hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) is a cost-effective and energy-efficient technology for wet-waste management and value-added product recovery. There are however several issues that still need to be addressed with further research for successful implementation of the technology. Firstly, the strengths and weaknesses of HTC in comparison to traditional pyrolysis process making biochar must be clearly understood by scientists and end users, so that they can properly choose one process or both (complementary) to produce products with desired properties. Secondly, more information on diverse process modeling approaches and scales is critical for enhancing the robustness and universality of HTC technology. Thirdly, the effect of hydrochar on soil application needs to be better understood in terms of nutrients release and plant update, carbon sequestration, and greenhouse gas emissions. Lastly, proper management of the process byproducts, especially processing water must be addressed to improve the carbon and hydric footprint of the process. This paper aims to elucidate the above-mentioned issues through an updated review and discussion of research gaps requiring further investigations.