Room: King Willem Alexander
Date: Friday, 22 May 2026
Time: 10:15 - 11:15 CEST
Session code DP.1
Frontiers in converting green molecules to advanced fuels: thermochemical pathways and hybrid systems
Low Temperature Catalytic Supercritical Water Gasification of Food Waste Digestate to Hydrogen
Short Introductive summary
Supercritical water gasification (SCWG) offers faster reaction rates and better mass transfer at higher temperatures than for aqueous phase reforming (APR). However, SCWG also faces issues with catalyst durability and selectivity at 380-450°C. This study demonstrates a low-temperature catalytic SCWG process using a platinum-on-carbon (Pt/C) catalyst to convert digestate from food waste fermentation into hydrogen-rich gas. Conducted in a TRL-4 continuous-flow system with integrated salt and sulfur removal, the process achieved full conversion of organics, producing gas with over 60% hydrogen. The Pt/C catalyst showed high stability and selectivity, outperforming conventional Ru-based systems, and proved less sensitive to feed concentration. This work represents a scalable, single-step approach for efficient hydrogen production from wet biogenic waste.
Presenter
David BAUDOUIN
PSI - Paul Scherrer Institut, Bioenergy and Catalysis Dpt., SWITZERLAND
Presenter's biography
David Baudouin is a senior scientist in the Laboratory for Sustainable Energy Carriers & Processes at PSI, Switzerland. His research focuses on the development of materials and catalysts for hydrothermal gasification (HTG) and liquefaction (HTL) along with the optimization of hydrothermal processes.
Biographies and Short introductive summaries are supplied directly by presenters and are published here unedited
Co-authors:
T. Kondratowicz, PSI - Paul Scherrer Institut, Villigen PSI, SWITZERLAND
F. Vogel, Paul Scherrer Institute , University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland, Villigen PSI, SWITZERLAND
D. Baudouin, PSI - Paul Scherrer Institut, Villigen PSI, SWITZERLAND
Session reference: DP.1.1