Hydrothermal carbonisation (HTC) of biomass is a thermo-chemical process for the conversion of solid biomass matter at elevated temperature and pressure in the presence of water. The resulting product is a coal-water-slurry. The coal fraction can easily be separated and differs significantly in its chemical and physical properties from the starting material.
I was hired to find bio-mass for the HTC process. As it turned out I found the solution in the Mushroom industry. Their soil was a huge problem for them because of the disposal regulations. As with many of these ecological solutions the influence in the marked changes the narrative. As the mushroom soil became valuable the economics didn’t work anymore.
Exactly the same happened later with a much larger project involving chicken excrement. The Dutch government subsidised a 20 million idea to turn chicken excrement into energy. The farmers were first excited to get rid of the chicken excrement but later on they wanted a piece of the pie. That changed the overall economics resulting in an operational loss for the company.
