Analysis of Heating Value of Hydro-Char Produced by Hydrothermal Carbonization of Cigarette Butts

Document Type : Original Research Paper

Authors

1 School of Environment, College of Environmental Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

2 Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, City University of New York, USA

Abstract

Hydrothermal carbonization is a thermal technique that offers numerous environmental benefits, particularly in managing solid waste streams by decomposing the raw materials of solid wastes and converting them into the renewable source of energy known as hydro-char. 
This study evaluates the heating value of hydro-char produced through the hydrothermal carbonization of cigarette butts, taking into account influential factors such as time, temperature, and pressure, as well as its benefits and economic implications, using a novel approach involving simulations aimed at reducing the number of required tests, saving time, and cutting costs.
The range of 150 to 350 oC for temperature and 30 to 240 minutes for reaction time were considered and resulted in a thermal value range of 15.94 to 23.12 MJ/Kg for hydro-char, which makes its heat value greater than lignite coal and within the range of bituminous coal. The findings also indicated that temperature and time have a direct impact on the heat value, with time being the more influential factor, although high temperatures can expedite the reaction rate and should not be disregarded. Finally, the economic analysis of the project was conducted using the NPV method, which demonstrated that the viability of this method depends on the cost of coal, making it a promising alternative for accessing new and cost-effective fuel resources while considering environmental benefits. 
Besides, this study highlights the potential of hydrothermal carbonization as a viable and advantageous method for producing fuel resources from biomass and organic waste, and provides quantitative and comparable evidence of the applicability and benefits of the proposed hydrothermal carbonization methodology in comparison to conventional methods.

Keywords

Main Subjects


Berge, N. D., Ro, K. S., Mao, J., Flora, J. R. V, Chappell, M. A., & Bae, S. (2011). Hydrothermal carbonization of municipal waste streams. Environmental Science & Technology, 45(13), 5696–5703.
Bezerra, M. A., Santelli, R. E., Oliveira, E. P., Villar, L. S., & Escaleira, L. A. (2008). Response surface methodology (RSM) as a tool for optimization in analytical chemistry. In Talanta (Vol. 76, Issue 5, pp. 965–977). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.talanta.2008.05.019
Fernandez, E. Posada, P. García-González, & J. Álvarez-Gallego. (2019). Assessment of hydrothermal carbonization as a pretreatment for anaerobic digestion of agroindustrial residues. Renewable Energy, 139, 1223-1230. 
Hwang, I.-H., Aoyama, H., Matsuto, T., Nakagishi, T., & Matsuo, T. (2012). Recovery of solid fuel from municipal solid waste by hydrothermal treatment using subcritical water. Waste Management, 32(3), 410–416.
Ippolito, J. A., Laird, D. A., & Busscher, W. J. (2012). Environmental benefits of biochar. Journal of Environmental Quality, 41(4), 967–972.
Köchermann, J., Görsch, K., Wirth, B., Mühlenberg, J., & Klemm, M. (2018). Hydrothermal carbonization: Temperature influence on hydro-char & aqueous phase composition during process water recirculation. Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, 6(4), 5481–5487.
Libra, J. A., Ro, K. S., Kammann, C., Funke, A., Berge, N. D., Neubauer, Y., Titirici, M.-M., Fühner, C., Bens, O., & Kern, J. (2011). Hydrothermal carbonization of biomass residuals: a comparative review of the chemistry, processes & applications of wet & dry pyrolysis. Biofuels, 2(1), 71–106.
Lin, Y., Ma, X., Peng, X., Hu, S., Yu, Z., & Fang, S. (2015). Effect of hydrothermal carbonization temperature on combustion behavior of hydro-char fuel from paper sludge. Applied Thermal Engineering, 91, 574–582.
Lu, X., Jordan, B., & Berge, N. D. (2012). Thermal conversion of municipal solid waste via hydrothermal carbonization : Comparison of carbonization products to products from current waste management techniques. Waste Management, 32(7), 1353–1365. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2012.02.012
Luo, M., Dodd, A., West, H., Neogi, A., & Brogan, K. D. (2017). Esterified cellulose pulp compositions & related methods. Google Patents.
Nizamuddin, S., Ahmed, H., Gri, G. J., Mubarak, N. M., Bhutto, W., Abro, R., Ali, S., & Si, B. (2017). An overview of e ff ect of process parameters on hydrothermal carbonization of biomass. 73(December 2015), 1289–1299. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2016.12.122
Novotny, T. E., Lum, K., Smith, E., Wang, V., & Barnes, R. (2009). Cigarettes butts & the case for an environmental policy on hazardous cigarette waste. International Journal of Environmental Research & Public Health, 6(5), 1691–1705.
Ong, B. H. Y., Walmsley, T. G., Atkins, M. J., & Walmsley, M. R. W. (2018). Hydrothermal liquefaction of Radiata Pine with Kraft black liquor for integrated biofuel production. Journal of Cleaner Production, 199, 737–750.
Parsa, M., Jalilzadeh, H., Pazoki, M., Ghasemzadeh, R., & Abduli, M. (2018). Hydrothermal liquefaction of Gracilaria gracilis & Cladophora glomerata macro-algae for biocrude production. Bioresource Technology, 250, 26–34.
Pazoki M., Ghasemzade R.,  & Ziaee P. (2017). Simulation of municipal landfill leachate movement in soil by HYDRUS-1D model, Advances in Environmental Technology 3 (3), 177-184
Rahbari, H., Akram, A., Pazoki, M., & Aghbashlo, M. (2019). Bio-Oil Production from Sargassum Macroalgae: A Green & Healthy Source of Energy. Jundishapur Journal of Health Sciences, In Press.
Rajaeifar, M. A., Tabatabaei, M., Ghanavati, H., Khoshnevisan, B., & Rafiee, S. (2015). Comparative life cycle assessment of different municipal solid waste management scenarios in Iran. Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews, 51, 886–898.
Román, S., Libra, J., Berge, N., Sabio, E., Ro, K., Li, L., Ledesma, B., Álvarez, A., & Bae, S. (2018). Hydrothermal carbonization: Modeling, final properties design & applications: A review. Energies, 11(1), 216.
Sharifi, H., Zabihzadeh, S. M., & Ghorbani, M. (2018). The application of response surface methodology on the synthesis of conductive polyaniline/cellulosic fiber nanocomposites. Carbohydrate Polymers, 194, 384–394.
Slaughter, E., Gersberg, R. M., Watanabe, K., Rudolph, J., Stransky, C., & Novotny, T. E. (2011). Toxicity of cigarette butts, & their chemical components, to marine & freshwater fish. Tobacco Control, 20(Suppl 1), i25--i29. https://doi.org/10.1136/tc.2010.040170
Technology, S. (n.d.). Application of Hydrothermal Reactions to Biomass Conversion.
 Ghasemzade R., & Pazoki M. (2017). Estimation & modeling of gas emissions in municipal landfill (Case study: Landfill of Jiroft City), Pollution 3 (4), 689-700.
Xu, X., Zeng, G., Haung D., Fan, J., Li, M., Ki, L., Bai, Z., & Zhang, W. (2021). Hydrothermal carbonization of cigarette butts for hydro-char production: Kinetics, products, & potential applications. Waste Management, 120, 449-457.