Value recovery from food waste (FW) by hydrothermal carbonisation (HTC) process

Guanhua ChenSupervisors:

Prof. M SohailDr. OOD Afolabi Prof. CLP Thomas

Doctoral Seminar

Terms for this study

Biomass- organic matter from agricultural by-products and residues, woody waste or human waste for energy generation;

Food supply chain- describe the main stages and actors involving from producing food in the field to consuming food on our tables;

Food loss- refers to a decrease of food that was originally intended for human consumption, mainly taking place at production, postharvest and processing stages in the food supply chain;

Food waste- refers to a decrease of food that was originally intended for human consumption, mainly occurring at the end of the food chain (retail and final consumption);

Hydrothermal carbonisation (HTC)- a thermochemical process where biomass is treated under hot compressed water with applying elevated temperatures (180-250°C) to produce hydrochar.

Demand for water, food and energy is increasing.

Competition between food and energy sector

Is there any possible that food waste can be recovered as an energy resource?

Challenges

Findings in literature reviewBiomass – a promising renewable resource to produce energy…

Biomass Sources

Agricultural crops

Forestry residues

Industrial residues

Animal residues

Municipal solid waste

Sewage

Throughout the world, food losses and waste total 1.3 billion tons per year.278kg

90,767,556,000kg

123kg4,550,532,600kg

71kg14,808,044,000kg

56kg8,224,602,680kg

44kg61,107640,000kg

51kg67,693,940,000kg

95kg4,887,389,095kg

157kg19,874,630,000kg

361kg8,948,576,300kg

278kg90,767,556,000kg

165kg7,680,592,425kg

145kg8,772.749.110kg

106kg7,123,306,000kg

154kg12,708,334,562kg

Food waste per person, per year

National food waste per year

Findings in literature review

(Sources: FAO, 2013; WRAP, 2012; BCFN,2012 )

Food loss and waste Economic loss

30% of the world’s agricultural land is wasted

Water wasted in growing crops = all the world’s household water needs

8% of global greenhouse gas emissionsZambezi river Volga river

Findings in literature review

Food loss Food waste

Agricultural production

Institutional consumption

Distribution and Marketing

Post-harvest handling

Processing

Household consumption

Where food is lost or wasted and How it happens?

• Limitations on agricultural techniques• Climate and environmental factors • Compliance with regulations and standards

• Technical limits and limits on processing and production processes

• Limits on the distribution system• Deterioration of products and packaging • Marketing and sales strategies

• Excess purchases • Excess portions prepared • Errors in food storage

Findings in literature review

What can we do?

• Waste of raw materials, ingredients and product arising is reduced measured in overall reduction in waste.

Prevention

Optimisation• Redistribution to people• Sent to animal feed

Recycling• Waste sent to anaerobic digestion• Waste composted

Recovery• Treatment of waste with energy recovery

Disposal• Waste treatment without energy recovery • Waste sent to landfill• Waste ingredient/product going to sewer

Food material hierarchy

Findings in literature review

Thermochemical conversion technologies

Pyrolysis(450-600°C)

Biochar; Bio-oil

Gasification(600-1000°C)

Syngas

Hydrothermal process

Hydrothermal carbonisation

(180-250°C)

Hydrochar

Hydrothermal liquefaction

(300-350°C)

Biocrude

Hydrothermal gasification

(>500°C)

Hydrogen

DryWet

Findings in literature review

HTC is a thermochemical process where biomass is treated in hot compressed water at relatively mild temperature regimes (180-250°C) and autogenous pressure to produce hydrochar.

Hydrothermal Carbonisation (HTC)

Biomass

Hydrochar

Liquid

Gas

HTC

Process conditions:TemperatureResidence timeFeedstockPressure

BiofuelAdsorbentEnergy storageCatalyst

Application:

(Sources: Libra et al., 2011; Funke et al., 2009)

Findings in literature review

Knowledge gap

• Most studies involving the use of HTC on sewage sludge, lignin and cellulose. Adopting HTC on food waste with the final stages of the FSC are largely unknown.

• Knowledge gaps on the characteristics of both hydrochar and liquid fraction products produced after the HTC process of Chinese FW under different reaction parameters

• Limited studies on creating a simplified simulation model of HTC process using experimental results and optimal existing process conditions based on model results

Research Questions1.Does food waste have potential to generated value-added products by HTC

process?

2.What are the effects of operation conditions on product (hydrochar and liquid)characteristics generated by HTC of food waste?

3.What is the best reaction temperature and time for improved energy recoveryfor maximum hydrochar yield and energy content?

4.What are the effects of fruit and vegetable waste (FVW) moisture content (solidloading) on hydrochar formation?

5.What are the reaction kinetics of food waste by hydrothermal carbonisation?

Is there any possible that value-added products could be generated from HTC processing of food waste for energy application?

AimObjectives

1. Identify the extent, impacts and management of food waste.

2. Investigate reaction mechanisms of HTC on biomass and review effects of themost common operation parameters on processing products.

3. Investigate the effect of reaction temperature and time on product (hydrochar)characteristics to optimise the operating conditions for food waste HTC.

4. Investigate the effect of FVW moisture content on the hydrochar formation byoptimising the reaction temperature and time for greater solid yield.

5. Conduct detailed characterisation of products recovered from the HTC of FW toexplore potential applications.

6. Determine the kinetics and parameters to ascertain the reaction order relating toHTC of food waste and use these data to develop a model to link the formation ofthe solids (hydrochar) particles with the reaction rate kinetics.

To investigate the possibility of recovering value-added products in the form of solid fuel from HTC of FW for potential energy applications.

Methodology

Objective1: Food waste issue- literature review

Objective2: Mechanisms and operation conditions of HTC- literature review

Objective3: Effects of reaction temperature and time- Experiments

Objective4: Effects of moisture content- Experiments

Objective5: Products characterisation- Experiments & Statistical analysis

Objective6: Analysis- Statistical analysis & Simulation

Objective3&4&5Lab experiments-based on experiments in Water Lab

• Raw material- mainlyobtained from the canteen

Methodology

• Product characterisation

HTC Reactor

Parameter RegimesTemperature 180-240°CTime 30, 60 minsPressure Autogenous

Gantt Chart

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 121st year

1.1 Literature review1.2 Research aim and objectives1.3 Training on lab skills1.4 Preliminary expeimental design1.5 1st year report

2nd year2.1 More specific literature review2.2 1st food waste collection2.3 Preliminary experiments in labA) Data collection and analysisB) Conference paper2.4 2nd food waste collection2.5 Optimal experiments in labA) Data collection and analysisB) Conference paperC) Publish early research result2.6 Validation experiments in labA) Data collection and analysisB) Simulation model2.6 2nd year report

3rd year3.1 Journal paper3.2 Writing thesis

2018 2019 2020

ReferenceAfolabi, O.O.D., Sohail (Khan), M. and Thomas. C.L.P., (2017). Characterization of solid fuel chars recovered from microwave hydrothermal carbonization of human biowaste. Energy, 134, pp. 74-89.

Afolabi, O.O.D., Sohail (Khan), M. and Thomas. C.L.P. (2015). Microwave Hyrdothermal Carbonization of Human Biowaste, Waste and Biomass Valorization, 6(2), pp.147-157.

Buchner, B. et al. (2012). Food waste: causes, impacts and proposals, Barilla Center for Food and Nutrition, pp. 53–61.

FAO (2011). Global food losses and food waste - Extent, causes and prevention., SAVE FOOD: An initiative on Food Loss and Waste Reduction.

FAO (2013). Food wastage footprint. Impacts on natural resources. Summary Report, Food wastage footprint Impacts on natural resources.

Funke, A. and Ziegler, F. 2009. Hydrothermal carbonization of biomass: A summary and discussion of chemical mecha- nisms for process engineering, Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining, 6(3), pp. 246–256.

Libra, J. A. et al. (2011). Hydrothermal carbonization of biomass residuals: a comparative review of the chemistry, processes and applications of wet and dry pyrolysis, Biofuels, 2(1), pp. 71–106.

Lundqvist, J., Fraiture, C. De and Molden, D. (2008). Saving Water: From Field to Fork Curbing Losses and Wastage in the Food Chain, SIWI Policy Brief, (May), pp. 5–29.

Nizamuddin, S. et al. (2017). An overview of effect of process parameters on hydrothermal carbonization of biomass’, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 73(December 2016), pp. 1289–1299.

Román, S. et al. (2018). Hydrothermal Carbonization: Modeling, Final Properties Design and Applications: A Review, Energies, 11(1), p. 216.

Tekin, K., Karagöz, S. and Bektaş, S. (2014). A review of hydrothermal biomass processing, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 40, pp. 673–687.

WRAP (2012). Household Food and Drink Waste in the United Kingdom 2012, The Waste and Resources Action Programme.

Pham, T. P. T. et al. (2015). Food waste-to-energy conversion technologies: Current status and future directions, Waste Management. Elsevier Ltd, 38(1), pp. 399-408.

Thank you!