Co-Hydrothermal gasification of Chlorella vulgaris and hydrochar: The effects of waste-to-solid biofuel production and blending concentration on biogas generation
Greta Sztancs, Lilla Juhász, Balázs Nagy, Áron Németh, Asmaa Selim, Anita André, András József Tóth, Péter Mizsey, Dániel Fózer
Abstract
This study investigates enhanced biogas production via co-Hydrothermal gasification (co–HTG) of wet Chlorella vulgaris biomass and hydrochar (HC). Hydrothermal carbonization was applied to valorize struvite containing waste microalgae stream into solid bio-fuel with improved combustion properties. The effects of HC quality and mixing ratio are investigated on biogas yield, composition and carbon conversion ratio. The results show that the application of blending components promotes H2, CH4 formation and selectivity in hydrothermal gasification. The total co-HTG gas yield is increased from 19.13 to 46.95 mol kg-1 at 650 °C and 300 bar by applying 5 wt% HC blending concentration and reduced level of volatile matter content (24.61 wt%). The obtained high hydrogen, methane yields and carbon conversion ratio (19.49, 2.98 mol kg-1, 82.31%, respectively) indicate effective hydrothermal upgrading potentials in case of wet and waste biomass feedstocks.