Recent advancements in activated carbon production involve molten salt activation using a eutectic mixture of ZnCl-NaCl-KCl. This study explores the production of activated carbon from fruit waste, specifically walnut shells, using a 60:20:20 mol % eutectic mixture. Optimal conditions were identified through response surface methodology, with 400 °C and a salt-to-biomass ratio of 10 g/g, yielding a surface area of 276 m/g.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWith wooden balls, a visualization of the hydrothermal carbonization to show the progress of the conversion to char is presented. In the present study, the balls represent the particles of biomass to investigate the differences in conversion outside and inside of biomass particles, during hydrothermal carbonization. A special focus is on hydrochar and pyrochar formation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDue to elevated protein content, the food-industry bio-wastes are promising feedstock to produce hierarchical (micro-mesoporous) carbonaceous materials with the intended use as electrodes in the energy storage solutions. However, the high initial water content, makes their direct activation through high-temperature processes costineffective due to significant heat requirements. In this study, the influence of pretreatment with hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) on wet food-industry bio-wastes, further pyrolysed, was investigated.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe growing importance of bio-based products, combined with the desire to decrease the production of wastes, boosts the necessity to use wastes as raw materials for bio-based products. A waste material with a large potential is spent sugar beets, which are mainly used as animal feeds or fertilizers. After hydrothermal treatment, the produced chars exhibited an H/C ratio of 1.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis study aims to investigate how the morphology of cellulose influences the hydrolysis and carbonization during hydrothermal treatment at temperatures between 180 and 240 °C. The morphology of cellulose, especially different crystallinities and degrees of polymerization, is represented by microcrystalline cellulose and α-cellulose. Kinetic analysis is considered a tool to allow the determination of the mechanisms of the two types of cellulose during the hydrothermal process.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe increase in volume in bio-waste is inseparable from the production of biomass derived commodities. To reduce the use of conventional resources, the valorization of waste streams is gaining importance, and the valorisation of poultry litter fits perfectly into such scheme. This study shows a possible valorization of wet torrefied (300 °C) poultry litter (WTPL) through activation and its further use as a fertilizer, and as a wastewater micro-pollutant absorbent.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis study selected three representative protein-rich biomass-brewer's spent grain (BSG), pasture grass (PG), and cyanobacteria (; AP) for protein extraction with different extraction methods (alkaline treatment, aqueous extraction, and subcritical water extraction). The yield, purity, molecular weight, oil-water interfacial tension, and thermal stability of the obtained proteins derived from different biomass and extraction methods were comprehensively characterized and compared. In the view of protein yield and purity, alkaline treatment was found optimal for BSG (21.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHydrothermal carbonization (HTC) solids were produced in a 250-ml batch reactor from three different digestates at varying temperatures (170, 190, 210, 230, and 250 °C) and 2 and 5 h reaction time. Three potential feedstocks of biogas plants were tested: organic household waste, cow manure, and energy crops. The proximate composition, elemental composition, heating values, and thermal stability of the HTC solids were characterized.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBioresour Technol
December 2019
This study has two targets: Studying the extraction of the initial protein content from brewer's spent grain and the impact of protein's extraction on the chemical-physical properties of produced hydrochars. The protein was extracted from brewer's spent grains using the pH-shifting method. The extracted protein was quantified and characterized by their amino acid profile.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRecovered phosphate from sewage sludge is becoming a key product in the fertilizer market. This study investigates the fate of phosphate during the hydrothermal carbonization of digested sewage sludge to support the development of an economic and sustainable solution for dealing with sewage sludge for phosphate recovery. The solid products from the hydrothermal carbonization of digested sewage sludge in a batch reactor (180, 220, and 260 °C; 1, 2, and 4 h; digested sewage sludge-to-water ratios of 0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHip arthroplasty is a common surgical intervention in our hospital practice, involving high perioperative risk related to patients age and multiple concomitant diseases. Hemodynamic complications described vary from slight hypotension during surgery to heart failure and sudden death, particularly if the operation involves a cemented femoral component. Because of the type of patients undergoing such operations (elderly patients, with osteoporosis and scarce cardiopulmonary reserve), the unclear origin of complications and the lack of consensus on what constitutes adequate monitoring during surgery, hip arthroplasty is problematic for the specialists involved.
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