Two-step hydrothermal conversion of biomass waste to humic acid using hydrochar as intermediate

Abstract

Converting biomass materials to humic acid is a sustainable method for humic acid production and achieve biomass valorization. A two-step hydrothermal treatment method was adopted in this study to produce humic acid from corn stalks. In the first step of the process, hydrochar was prepared at different hydrothermal temperatures and pH values. Their chemical properties were then analyzed, and the hydrochar-derived humic acids were produced under alkaline hydrothermal conditions (denoted as HHA_alk). The hydrochar, prepared under high temperature (200 °C) and strong acidic (pH 0) conditions, achieved high HHA_alk yields (i.e., 67.9 wt% and 68.8 wt% calculated based on weight of hydrochar). The sources of HHA_alk formation were as follows: 1) production in the hydrochar preparation stage, and 2) increment under the alkaline hydrothermal treatment of hydrochar. The degree of hydrochar unsaturation was suggested as an indicator for evaluating the hydrochar humification potential under alkaline hydrothermal conditions. This study provides an important reference for the preparation of suitable hydrochar with high hydrothermal humification potential.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

Biowaste / Hydrochar / Humic acid / Hydrothermal parameter / Unsaturation

References

[1] Arbuzov S I , Maslov S G , Il’enok S S . (2015). Modes of occurrence of scandium in coals and peats: a review. Solid Fuel Chemistry, 49(3): 167–182

[2] Basar I A , Liu H , Carrere H , Trably E , Eskicioglu C . (2021). A review on key design and operational parameters to optimize and develop hydrothermal liquefaction of biomass for biorefinery applications. Green Chemistry, 23(4): 1404–1446

[3] Brown A B , Mckeogh B J , Tompsett G A , Lewis R , Deskins N A , Timko M T . (2017). Structural analysis of hydrothermal char and its models by density functional theory simulation of vibrational spectroscopy. Carbon, 125: 614–629

[4] Burges A , Hurst H M , Walkden S B , Dean F M , Hirst M . (1963). Nature of humic acids. Nature, 199(4894): 696–697

[5] Cai Y L , Liang B , Fang Z Q , Xie Y Y , Tsang E P . (2015). Effect of humic acid and metal ions on the debromination of BDE209 by nZVM prepared from steel pickling waste liquor. Frontiers of Environmental Science & Engineering, 9(5): 879–887

[6] Chen L , Li D , Huang Y , Zhu W , Ding Y , Guo C . (2020). Preparation of sludge-based hydrochar at different temperatures and adsorption of BPA. Water Science and Technology, 82(2): 255–265

[7] Chen W , Westerhoff P , Leenheer J A , Booksh K . (2003). Fluorescence excitation - Emission matrix regional integration to quantify spectra for dissolved organic matter. Environmental Science & Technology, 37(24): 5701–5710

[8] Cheng H , Ji R T , Yao S , Song Y , Sun Q , Bian Y R , Wang Z Q , Zhang L J , Jiang X , Han J G . (2021). Potential release of dissolved organic matter from agricultural residue-derived hydrochar: Insight from excitation emission matrix and parallel factor analysis. Science of the Total Environment, 781: 146712

[9] dos Santos J V , Fregolente L G , Moreira A B , Ferreira O P , Mounier S , Viguier B , Hajjoul H , Bisinoti M C . (2020). Humic-like acids from hydrochars: study of the metal complexation properties compared with humic acids from anthropogenic soils using PARAFAC and time-resolved fluorescence. Science of the Total Environment, 722: 137815

[10] Funke A , Ziegler F . (2010). Hydrothermal carbonization of biomass: a summary and discussion of chemical mechanisms for process engineering. Biofuels, Bioproducts & Biorefining, 4(2): 160–177

[11] Ghaziaskar A , Mcrae G A , Mackintosh A , Basu O D . (2019). Catalyzed hydrothermal carbonization with process liquid recycling. Energy & Fuels, 33(2): 1167–1174

[12] Hayes M H B, Swift R S (2020). Chapter One: Vindication of humic substances as a key component of organic matter in soil and water. In: Sparks D L, ed. Advances in Agronomy. New York: Academic Press, 1–37

[13] Hu Z T , Huo W , Chen Y , Zhang Q , Hu M , Zheng W , Shao Y , Pan Z , Li X , Zhao J . (2022). Humic substances derived from biomass waste during aerobic composting and hydrothermal treatment: a review. Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology, 10: 878686

[14] Jana C K , Das N , Chattopadhyay G N . (2016). Improved extraction of humic acids from vermicomposted organic waste by a column-based continuous elution method. Separation Science and Technology, 51(17): 2780–2789

[15] Jaruwat D, Udomsap P, Chollacoop N, Fuji M, Eiad-Ua A (2018). Effects of hydrothermal temperature and time of hydrochar from Cattail leaves. In: Proceedings of 2nd International Conference on Science and Technology of Emerging Materials (STEMa), Pattaya, Thailand, 2018. Pattaya: STEMa2018, 020016

[16] Jayalath S , Wu H , Larsen S C , Grassian V H . (2018). Surface adsorption of Suwannee River humic acid on TiO₂ nanoparticles: a study of pH and particle size. Langmuir, 34(9): 3136–3145

[17] Jia J D , Wang R K , Chen H W , Liu H T , Xue Q , Yin Q Q , Zhao Z H . (2022). Interaction mechanism between cellulose and hemicellulose during the hydrothermal carbonization of lignocellulosic biomass. Energy Science & Engineering, 10(7): 2076–2087

[18] Khan M A , Alqadami A A , Wabaidur S M , Siddiqui M R , Jeon B H , Alshareef S A , Alothman Z A , Hamedelniel A E . (2020). Oil industry waste based non-magnetic and magnetic hydrochar to sequester potentially toxic post-transition metal ions from water. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 400: 123247

[19] Khan N , Mohan S , Dinesha P . (2021). Regimes of hydrochar yield from hydrothermal degradation of various lignocellulosic biomass: a review. Journal of Cleaner Production, 288: 125629

[20] Lukyanov N V , Syroezhko A M , Slavoshevskaya N V , Strakhov V M . (2015). Humic acids from Belorussian lignite of Brinev and Zhitkovichi deposits. Coke and Chemistry, 58(12): 476–481

[21] Oumabady S , Sebastian S P , Kamaludeen S P B , Ramasamy M , Kalaiselvi P , Parameswari E . (2020). Preparation and characterization of optimized hydrochar from paper board mill sludge. Scientific Reports, 10(1): 773

[22] Poerschmann J , Weiner B , Wedwitschka H , Baskyr I , Koehler R , Kopinke F D . (2014). Characterization of biocoals and dissolved organic matter phases obtained upon hydrothermal carbonization of Brewer’s spent grain. Bioresource Technology, 164: 162–169

[23] Purevsuren B , Ankhtuya A , Bazarova J G , Bazarov B G , Zherebtsov S I , Votolin K S . (2021). Investigation on humic acids of the Shivee-Ovoo and Ulaan-Ovoo coal in Mongolia. Chemistry for Sustainable Development, 29(5): 599–603

[24] Savel’eva A V , Yudina N V , Mal’tseva E V , Berezina E M , Otmakhov V I . (2015). Effect of mechanical activation on the composition of mineral components in humic acids isolated from carbons. Russian Journal of Applied Chemistry, 88(8): 1311–1315

[25] Shao Y, Bao M, Huo W, Ye R, Ajmal M, Lu W (2023a). From biomass to humic acid: Is there an accelerated way to go? Chemical Engineering Journal, 452: 139172

[26] Shao Y , Bao M , Huo W , Ye R , Liu Y , Lu W . (2022). Production of artificial humic acid from biomass residues by a non-catalytic hydrothermal process. Journal of Cleaner Production, 335: 130302

[27] Shao Y, Huo W, Ye R, Liu Y, Ajmal M, Lu W (2023b). Hydrothermal humification of lignocellulosic components: Who is doing what? Chemical Engineering Journal, 457: 141180

[28] Shao Y , Lu W , Meng Y , Zhou D , Zhou Y , Shen D , Long Y . (2021). The formation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural and hydrochar during the valorization of biomass using a microwave hydrothermal method. Science of the Total Environment, 755: 142499

[29] Shao Y , Tan H , Shen D , Zhou Y , Jin Z , Zhou D , Lu W , Long Y . (2020a). Synthesis of improved hydrochar by microwave hydrothermal carbonization of green waste. Fuel, 266: 117146

[30] Shao Y , Tsang D C W , Shen D , Zhou Y , Jin Z , Zhou D , Lu W , Long Y . (2020b). Acidic seawater improved 5-hydroxymethylfurfural yield from sugarcane bagasse under microwave hydrothermal liquefaction. Environmental Research, 184: 109340

[31] Shi N , Liu Q , He X , Wang G , Chen N , Peng J , Ma L . (2019). Molecular structure and formation mechanism of hydrochar from hydrothermal carbonization of carbohydrates. Energy & Fuels, 33(10): 9904–9915

[32] Soares da Silva L , Constantino I C , Bento L R , Tadini A M , Bisinoti M C , Boscolo M , Ferreira O P , Mounier S , Piccolo A , Spaccini R . . (2020). Humic extracts from hydrochar and Amazonian anthrosol: molecular features and metal binding properties using EEM-PARAFAC and 2D FTIR correlation analyses. Chemosphere, 256: 127110

[33] Soltanian S , Aghbashlo M , Almasi F , Hosseinzadeh-Bandbafha H , Nizami A S , Ok Y S , Lam S S , Tabatabaei M . (2020). A critical review of the effects of pretreatment methods on the exergetic aspects of lignocellulosic biofuels. Energy Conversion and Management, 212: 112792

[34] Tadini A M , Nicolodelli G , Hajjoul H , Milori D B P , Mounier S . (2022). Humic fractions from Amazon soils: lifetime study and humification process by fluorescence spectroscopy. Applied Geochemistry, 147: 105486

[35] Wang X L , Zhao J W , Yang Q , Sun J , Peng C , Chen F , Xu Q X , Wang S N , Wang D B , Li X M . . (2017). Evaluating the potential impact of hydrochar on the production of short-chain fatty acid from sludge anaerobic digestion. Bioresource Technology, 246: 234–241

[36] Xiong Y H . (2023). Characterization and variation of dissolved organic matter in composting: a critical review. Frontiers of Environmental Science & Engineering, 17(5): 63

[37] Yang F , Zhang S , Cheng K , Antonietti M . (2019). A hydrothermal process to turn waste biomass into artificial fulvic and humic acids for soil remediation. Science of the Total Environment, 686: 1140–1151

[38] Yang Y N , Li H . (2016). Recovering humic substances from the dewatering effluent of thermally treated sludge and its performance as an organic fertilizer. Frontiers of Environmental Science & Engineering, 10(3): 578–584

[39] Zara M , Ahmad Z , Akhtar J , Shahzad K , Sheikh N , Munir S . (2017). Extraction and characterization of humic acid from Pakistani lignite coals. Energy Sources Part A, Recovery Utilization and Environmental Effects, 39(11): 1159–1166

[40] Zherebtsov S I , Votolin K S , Malyshenko N V , Smotrina O V , Dugarjav J , Ismagilov Z R . (2019). Optimal parameters for the production of humic acids from brown coals with specific structural-group composition. Solid Fuel Chemistry, 53(5): 253–261

[41] Zhu G K , Yang L , Gao Y , Xu J Y , Chen H J , Zhu Y Z , Wang Y F , Liao C H , Lu C , Zhu C . (2019). Characterization and pelletization of cotton stalk hydrochar from HTC and combustion kinetics of hydrochar pellets by TGA. Fuel, 244: 479–491

Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the Key R&D Program of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region (China) (No. 2020BFG02001). The authors are thankful to Hong Kong Environment Conversion Fund (China) (No. 46/2020).

Electronic Supplementary Material

Supplementary material is available in the online version of this article at https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-023-1719-8 and is accessible for authorized users.

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

2023 Higher Education Press