Co-Hydrothermal Liquefaction of algal and lignocellulosic biomass: Status and perspectives

Abstract

Hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) effectively converts biomass to biofuels, thereby limiting the endless reliance on petroleum products derived from fossil fuels. However, the conversion is based on individual feedstock in the HTL process. In order to, further boost the conversion, HTL can be done by blending various feedstock, mainly algal and lignocellulosic biomass. Bibliometric analysis was carried out, and it was observed that there have been very few studies on Co-Hydrothermal Liquefaction (Co-HTL). There still exist several crucial gaps in process optimization when co-reactants are used due to their synergistic effects. The reaction kinetics and mechanism, catalyst screening and by-products application require further studies. Therefore, R&D is necessary to optimize the process to completely utilize the complementarity of the feedstocks under study resulting in better quality of products which require minor/ no upgradation steps.

Keywords: Co-HTL; Kinetic approach; Optimization; Reaction mechanism.