Hydrothermally carbonized plant materials: Patterns of volatile organic compounds detected by gas chromatography

Combination of hydrothermal carbonization and wet oxidation of various biomasses

“…Moreover, identification of the individual PW composition remains a challenge. For example, phenolic molecules and hydroquinones have been identified as liquid phase HTC products from biomass [1,4,[39][40][41]. Studies towards the mechanism of the oxidation of phenol have revealed multifold and complex reaction pathways that lead to formation of intermediate reactive hydroquinones, relatively stable intermediate carboxylic acids and tars [19,42,43].…”

Production, characterization, and biogas application of magnetic hydrochar from cellulose

“…Based on the start-up period, the following order of inhibition severity was found: MHC P HC > control > zeolite. Potential organic inhibitors in hydrochars (Becker et al, 2013), as well as an initial inhibition of AD by hydrochar , have been reported earlier. These may be the probable causes for higher inhibition shown by MHC and HC.…”

“…Comparing the liquids' TOC values indicates that volatile organic compounds (VOCs) derived from MHC and HC were not fully degraded. This is not a surprise, as hydrochars are known to contain a huge range of different hard to degrade VOCs (Becker et al, 2013) and anaerobic degradation of HTC wastewater was reported to reduce a maximum of 50% of TOC (Wirth and Mumme, 2013).…”

Hydrothermal Carbonization of Biomass for Energy and Crop Production

“…Moreover, condensing fragments within the biomass matrix are able to 'block' remaining biomacromolecules [39], preventing water access and subsequent hydrolysis, a phenomenon that makes the remaining hydrochar hydrophobic [35]. Condensation precursors are reported to be toxic substances for soil usage [16], requiring an extended reaction time to ensure degradation of these reactive intermediates [31]. Thus, optimum HTC reaction conditions must be based on the end use of HTC products.…”

“…This HTC use also encourages a net negative greenhouse effect. However, eliminating toxic substances from the hydrochar is essential prior to using it for soil amendment [31]. The concentration of toxic substances decreases with longer HTC reaction time and higher reaction temperature [32].…”