Abstract
In this study, hydrothermal upgrading and dewatering of raw tropical peat derived from Pontianak, West Kalimantan-Indonesia was evaluated at temperatures ranging from 150 to 380 °C, a maximum final pressure of 25.1 MPa and a residence time of 30 min. The moisture content of the raw peat was approximately 90 wt.%. Raw peat was hydrothermally upgraded without the addition of water in the laboratory scale. The yield of the solid products was between 53.0 and 99.7 wt.% and the effective calorific value of hydrothermally dewatered peat was between 17,290 and 29,209 kJ/kg following hydrothermal upgrading. In addition, the oxygen content in the solid product was varied from 38.4 to 15.6 wt.% after upgrading, while the carbon content from 55.2 to 77.8 wt.%. The hydrothermally upgraded peat fuel product also had an equilibrium moisture content of 2.3 wt.% and a maximum equilibrium moisture content of 17.6 wt.%. Upgraded peat is characteristically resistant to moisture adsorption at high humidity, which makes it promising for fuel based combustion. The change in the carbon-functional groups and their properties, as determined by FTIR and 13C NMR, are discussed in terms of the hydrothermal upgrading and dewatering process.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 635-641 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Fuel |
Volume | 89 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Mar 1 2010 |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Chemical Engineering(all)
- Fuel Technology
- Energy Engineering and Power Technology
- Organic Chemistry