Fuel properties and combustion performance of hydrochars prepared by hydrothermal carbonization of different recycling paper mill wastes

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dc.contributor.author Assis, Englatina I.N.C.
dc.contributor.author Chirwa, Evans M.N.
dc.date.accessioned 2023-03-08T08:10:20Z
dc.date.available 2023-03-08T08:10:20Z
dc.date.issued 2023-03
dc.description.abstract The incineration of high-moisture solid residues generated at the recycling paper mills represents an energetically unfavourable method of resource utilization. Alternatively, hydrothermal pre-treatment is considered. In this study, low-value paper sludges from three different recycling streams were hydrothermally carbonized at 205, 225, and 245°C for 3 h. The raw feedstocks and derived hydrochars were analyzed for energy properties, chemical characteristics, surface morphology, functional groups, and combustion performance employing energy densification and mass yield quantification, scanning electron microscopy, elemental analyzer, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, and thermogravimetry. The increase in reaction temperature was reported to cause a decrease in mass yield and an increase in energy densification and calorific values corresponding to 5.98%–49.35% and 10.10%–58.51% for raw fibre rejects and final sludge-derived hydrochar, respectively. Hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) had a non-significant influence on the energy densification of primary clarifier sludge-derived hydrochar. Higher reaction temperatures favoured the rate of dehydration and decarboxylation, leading to hydrochars with lower H/C and O/C ratios, thereby enhancing the overall fuel properties. The low-nitrogen and low-sulphur fuels obtained validated the effectiveness of HTC treatment to produce high-quality cleaner solid fuel. The burnout temperature was mostly reduced with an increase in HTC temperature. At HTC-205 and 225°C, the ignition temperature and the combustion performance increased as a result of the HTC reaction mechanisms. HTC effectively recovered hydrochar with increased carbon content, improved energy densification, and good combustion adequacy. Hydrochar derived from recycling mills may play a role in the energy sector as a substitute for coal or in co-combustion at coal-fired power plants. en_US
dc.description.department Chemical Engineering en_US
dc.description.librarian hj2023 en_US
dc.description.sponsorship National Research Foundation; Rand Water Chair in Water Utilisation and Sedibeng Water Chair in Water Utilisation Engineering. en_US
dc.description.uri http://wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/cjce en_US
dc.identifier.citation Assis, E.I.N.C. & Chirwa, E.M.N., 'Fuel properties and combustion performance of hydrochars prepared by hydrothermal carbonization of different recycling paper mill wastes', Canadian Journal of Chemical Engineering 2023, 101(3), 1123-1137. https://doi.org/10.1002/cjce.24708. en_US
dc.identifier.issn 0008-4034 (print)
dc.identifier.issn 1939-019X (online)
dc.identifier.other 10.1002/cjce.24708
dc.identifier.uri https://repository.up.ac.za/handle/2263/90027
dc.language.iso en en_US
dc.publisher Wiley en_US
dc.rights © 2022 The Authors. The Canadian Journal of Chemical Engineering published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License. en_US
dc.subject Combustion en_US
dc.subject Hydrochar en_US
dc.subject Hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) en_US
dc.subject Ignition temperature en_US
dc.subject Paper sludge en_US
dc.title Fuel properties and combustion performance of hydrochars prepared by hydrothermal carbonization of different recycling paper mill wastes en_US
dc.type Article en_US


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