Hydrothermal Treatment of Sawdust and Corn Cobs Biomass:

Effects of Process Conditions on Hydrochar Properties

Ria F. Rahmawati 1,a) Cyrilla Oktaviananda 2,b) Agus Prasetya 3,c) and Ahmad T. Yuliansyah 4,d)
a)

Corresponding author: ria_frahmawati@yahoo.com

b)

cyrillaoktaviananda.28@gmail.com

c)

aguspras@chemeng.ugm.ac.id
d)

Abstract.Hydrothermal

ahmad.ty@gmail.com

treatment is a thermochemical process that converts biomass into a coal-like materials called

hydrochar by applying elevated temperature to biomass in a suspension with water under saturated pressure for a certain time.
With this conversion process, easy to handle fuel with well-defined properties can be created from biomass residues, even with
high moisture content. In this research, the effects of temperature (200-300 oC), residence time (20-40 minutes), and biomass to
water ratio (1:20-3:20) at initial pressure of 1.0 MPa to hydrothermal treatment of biomass (in the form of sawdust and corn cobs)
were examined. All samples were then characterized in terms of yield, proximate analysis, calorific value, changes in functional
groups by FTIR, and analysis on liquid product by GC/MS. Approximately 4779% of the original material was recovered as
hydrochar. The gross calorific value ranged from 47575958 cal/g compared with 4467.1925180.103 cal/g in the raw material.
Fixed carbon ranged from 26.0343.64% wt compared with 24.8326.26% wt in the raw material.
Keywords:
Hydrothermal treatment, biomass, hydrochar, solid biofuel