Author(s)

Raghu Kc^1*, Indu Babu², Sara Alatalo³, Jarno Föhr¹, Tapio Ranta¹, Ismo Tiihonen⁴

¹Laboratory of Bioenergy, Lappeenranta University of Technology, Mikkeli, Finland.
²Laboratory of Green Chemistry, Lappeenranta, University of Technology, Mikkeli, Finland.
³Riihikatu 3, 11100, Riihimäki, Finland.
⁴Tiihonen Ismo Olavi Saahkarintie 176 77700 Rautalampi, Finland.

Thermal treatment of biomass has been attracting attention for a decade or so, especially torrefaction. However, for the past few years, wet pyrolysis, also known as hydrothermal carbonization (HTC), has been getting some attention. Hydrothermal carbonization is a thermal treatment of biomass in the presence of water in a temperature range of 180°C - 260°C. This method of treating biomass has some benefits which others do not, such as it can handle extremely wet biomass. However, treating biomass may not be enough for practical use. It may need to be transported and stored. Thus, this study explored the idea of pelletizing the HTC biomass. The mechanical strength of the HTC pellets was found to be 93%, whereas, higher heating value (HHV) (dry basis) was found to be 4% higher than the corresponding white pellets. The initial results with some limited parameters indicated that it would be possible to pelletize without binder. However, extensive research on energy balance and economic assessment would be necessary to achieve economic feasibility.

Sustainable, Bioenergy, Hydrothermal Carbonization, Hydrochar, Pelletization

Kc, R. , Babu, I. , Alatalo, S. , Föhr, J. , Ranta, T. and Tiihonen, I. (2017) Hydrothermal Carbonization of Deciduous Biomass (Alnus incana) and Pelletization Prospects. Journal of Sustainable Bioenergy Systems, 7, 138-148. doi: 10.4236/jsbs.2017.73010.