Room: Yangtze 1
Date: Friday, 22 May 2026
Time: 09:00 - 10:00 CEST
Session code 5DO.3
Hydrothermal carbonisation
The Role of Carbohydrates and Lipids In Hydrothermal Carbonisation
Short Introductive summary
This paper presents the hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) of a wide variety of wet resources such as microalgae, sewage sludge and food wastes. HTC was applied to these resources to produce a bio-coal (hydrochar) that can be dried more effectively, has a superior heating value and is suitable for gasification. Gasifiers have constraints on the quality of the feedstock. There are constraints on ash content, heating value, fixed carbon and volatile matter content. The properties of the resources are compared to the properties of the hydrochar, in particular the fixed carbon content. The results show insights in the conversion and the calculation of product yields. Carbohydrate content is an important parameter in the carbonisation process. A large proportion is hydrolysed and dissolved in the aqueous phase together with the proteins. High lipid content resources, low hydrocarbon content, also favours hydrochar yield, by associating the insoluble lipids and the solids. High yields from lipid rich resources show however a very low fixed carbon content in the hydrochar, making these hydrochars unsuitable for gasification. This work shows how the biochemical composition of the resources
Presenter
Geert HAARLEMMER
CEA-LITEN, DTCH Dpt., FRANCE
Presenter's biography
Chemical engineering degree from Eindhoven University of Technology and a PhD degree from the University of Manchester (UMIST). Professional experience includes 15 years in the petroleum industry and 17 years in biomass conversion projects at CEA.
Biographies and Short introductive summaries are supplied directly by presenters and are published here unedited
Co-authors:
S. Valin, CEA-LCEA-LITENITEN, Grenoble, FRANCE
A. Roubaud, CEA-LITCEA-LITENEN, Grenoble, FRANCE
M. Grateau, CEA-LITCEA-LITENEN, Grenoble, FRANCE
Session reference: 5DO.3.2