PhD Thesis: Development of a  Waste-Free Technology for Processing Biowaste into High Value-Added Products

• Developing (engineering) a two-step process to convert biowastes with  high amounts to extractable value-added compounds in a first step and obtaining hydrochars suitable as adsorbents in the second step.
• Experimenting a high-throughput scale to optimize the amount of extractable value compounds, e.g. 5-HMF, formed from different biowastes mixtures and to evaluate the extraction.
• Experimenting the influence of algae on process water reduction and its subsequent influence on algae
• Performing lab-scale experiments of different biomass mixtures concerning cellulose/lignin ratios to obtain hydrochars with high stable porosity on different length scales, i.e. micro-, meso- and macropores.
• Characterization of hydrochars from carbonization as well as wet torrefaction and hydrolysis (as reference materials) with respect to chemical composition, porosity (by adsorption studies, electron microscopy, iodine and methylene blue tests), structure (by solid-state NMR, IR spectroscopy).
• Optimization of porosity on different length scales of the obtained biochars e.g. subsequent steaming.
• Testing and experimenting with the application of the hydrochar produced.

Cooperation: