Heat of reaction measurements for hydrothermal carbonization of biomass

This paper presents a set of calorimetric measurements with the aim of better understanding the calorific nature of hydrothermal carbonization. Presented values so far show an inadequately high scatter to do so, preventing a well funded assessment of the energetic feasibility of this process.The heat released during hydrothermal carbonization at 240 °C measured with the applied differential calorimetry setup is −1.06 MJ/kgglucose,daf with a standard deviation of 14%, −1.07 MJ/kgcellulose,daf with a standard deviation of 9%, and −0.76 MJ/kgwood,daf with a standard deviation of 32%. These results are in good agreement with the theoretically derived maximum heat release. Despite the comparably high experimental standard deviation of these results, their accuracy is considerably higher than previously published results.

► Assessment of the energy balance of hydrothermal carbonization of biomass.
► A review of published values of the heat of reaction shows their insufficiency.
► Measurements with a differential calorimeter are presented.
► New values show that heat of reaction has a minor influence on the energy balance.