Hydrothermal carbonisation of effluent sludge

Research was carried out to investigate hydrothermal carbonisation (HTC) treatment of different effluent sludges from the pulp and paper industry in a Parr-reactor. Sludge samples were evaluated from a thermomechanical paper (TMP) mill and a kraft market pulp mill (NSWBK). The issues studied included HTC treatment time; addition of acid and alkali; dewatering properties of the resulting slurry; and non-process element (NPE) concentration in the original sludge, the filtrate and the filter cake. It was found that HTC improved the fuel quality. Alkali metals were depleted in TMP and NSWBK sludge and in both cases, the sludge was easier to dewater. The yield was better for TMP than NSWBK sludge and the yield losses had a negative impact on the NSWBK sludge. TMP sludge was already a viable boiler fuel and the treatment improved the fuel qualities even more. The HTC treatment of the NSWBK sludge resulted in lower chlorine and potassium, with lower fuel-nitrogen resulting in lower nitrous oxide. Although HTC treatment improved the low heating value of the sludge, this was counteracted by yield loss. Compared with untreated NSWBK, the overall energy impact was negative. HTC treatment offered mixed opportunities from the viewpoint of the recovery cycle