NEWAPP is a research project focusing on hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) of wet biomass residues. By means of HTC, wet biomass is converted into carbonaceous solids at relatively high yields in water, with pressure and temperatures at the lower region of liquefaction process. The lack of need for energy-intensive drying before the process opens up new possibilities for waste streams like manures, sewage sludge, municipal solid waste or agricultural waste. These organic waste streams can be used as feedstock for HTC technology, producing hydrochar and carbonaceous liquids, high value products that can be used as fuel, activated carbons for water treatment, soil remediation, carbon sequestration schemes and other applications. In the year 2011, the EU-27 imported carbon products for a value of 22.666.570.073 €1. At the same time, EU generates yearly 80.000.000 tons of wet biowaste2 that can be effectively recycled to carbon materials by means of HTC. NEWAPP project paves the way to provide economically attractive and environmentally friendly alternatives for the utilization of wet biomass, while strengthening Europe’s competitiveness and reducing resource dependency. This project is co-funded by the European Commission through the «Research for SME associations» instrument of the 7th Framework program. You can find out more about the organizations involved under the «Partners» section.
The first stage in the project consists on a full screening of wet biomass streams and their sources at European level, and the elaboration of a market study for potential HTC carbon products. The objectives are the following:
- To define the chemical properties of wet biomass waste streams in order to assess which mixture of wet biomass is more suitable for the technology addressed and foresee the risks that might arise from their use.
- To find out the seasonal and regional availability of wet biomass, including any economic considerations of relevance for the overall performance of the systems.
- To define which of the different products that can result form HTC have higher market potential