An Assessment of Different Integration Strategies of Hydrothermal Carbonisation and Anaerobic Digestion of Water Hyacinth

Abstract

Water hyacinth (WH) is an invasive aquatic macrophyte that dominates freshwater bodies across the world. However, due to its rapid growth rate and wide-spread global presence, WH could offer great potential as a biomass feedstock, including for bioenergy generation. This study compares different integration strategies of hydrothermal carbonisation (HTC) and anaerobic digestion (AD) using WH, across a range of temperatures. These include (i) hydrochar combustion and process water digestion, (ii) hydrochar digestion, (iii) slurry digestion. HTC reactions were conducted at 150 °C, 200 °C, and 250 °C. Separation of hydrochars for combustion and process waters for digestion offers the most energetically-feasible valorisation route. However, hydrochars produced from WH display slagging and fouling tendencies; limiting their use in large-scale combustion. AD of WH slurry produced at 150 °C appears to be energetically-feasible and has the potential to also be a viable integration strategy between HTC and AD, using WH.