Production and Techno-Economic Evaluation of Biocrude Oil and Biochar through Hydrothermal Liquefaction Process

食物垃圾、城市固体废物、工业、商业和事业单位垃圾以及农业垃圾对人类健康和环境构成风险，因此需要进行特别管理。目前，这些废物最便宜、最常用的管理技术是填埋或焚烧。然而，垃圾填埋场会释放甲烷和其他温室气体。此外，它还有可能污染周围的土壤和地下水。水热液化技术可以将含碳废气转化为环保的生物质油，但存在生产成本高、出水产物识别困难等问题。迫切需要开发一种经济上可行的生物原油生产工艺，并分析产品中的成分，以增加未充分利用的废物的价值。拟议研究的目标是：(1)利用水热液化从食物垃圾、城市固体废物和工业、商业和机构废物中生产燃料和化学产品；(2)开发一种环保的分离工艺，以便将石油从固体中分离出来；(3)优化用于商业应用的生物原油催化提质的工艺参数；(4)进行材料和产品表征研究；以及(5)进行技术经济分析，以解决工艺安全和环境问题。加拿大萨斯卡通的NuLife GreenTech是这项拟议研究的行业合作伙伴。这项研究开发的技术将在NuLife GreenTech生产生物质原油和生物炭的设施中实施。拟建的带有自动反应系统的热液液化设施将允许萨斯喀彻温大学的阿贾伊·K·达莱教授及其包括NuLife GreenTech在内的合作伙伴对各种加拿大生物来源废物进行水热液化，这是内部将废物转化为生物燃料和精细化学品的实验和理论方面必不可少的。

Food wastes, municipal solid waste, as well as Industrial, Commercial & Institutional wastes and agricultural wastes pose a risk to human health and the environment such that they merit special management. Currently, the cheapest and commonly used management technologies for these wastes are landfilling or combustion. However, landfill releases methane and other greenhouse gases. Moreover, it has potential to pollute surrounding soil and groundwater. Hydrothermal liquefaction technology could convert carbonaceous waste streams into biocrude oil that is environmentally green but pose several challenges including high production cost and effluent product identification. There is compelling need to develop an economically viable production process of biocrude oil and analyze the component in the product in order to add value to underutilized waste. The objectives of the proposed study are to: (1) produce fuel and chemical products from food wastes, municipal solid wastes and Industrial, Commercial & Institutional wastes by using hydrothermal liquefaction; (2) develop an eco-friendly separation process in order to separate oil from the solids; (3) optimize the process parameters for catalytic upgrading of the biocrude oil for commercial applications; (4) perform material and product characterization studies; and (5) perform techno-economic analysis for accessing process safety and environmental issues. NULIFE GreenTech in Saskatoon, Canada is the industry partner for this proposed research. The technology developed from this study will be implemented at NULIFE GreenTech's production facility for manufacturing biocrude oil and biochar. The intended hydrothermal liquefaction facility with automated reaction system will allow Prof. Ajay K. Dalai at the University of Saskatchewan and his collaborators including NULIFE GreenTech to conduct hydrothermal liquefaction of diverse Canadian biogenic wastes that is indispensably needed in-house for the experimental and theoretical aspects of waste conversion to biofuels and fine chemicals.