(82e) Production of Value Added Co-Products from the Hydrothermal Liquefaction of Unhydrolyzed Solids

Catalytically assisted hydrothermal treatment of corn stover was performed in a flow through reactor at 170-190 ℃ to separate lignin and hemicellulose from the biomass. The sugars obtained from such pretreatment process can be used for bio-ethanol production. The liquid hydrolysate obtained under optimized operating conditions, consists of partially solubilized lignin components and hemicellulose hydrolysate as co-products. This aqueous liquor was mixed with unhydrolyzed solids (UHS) obtained from the pre-treatment and enzymatic hydrolysis of corn stover and hydrothermally treated at 300^oC and 1600 psi for 1 hour. Following the HTL reaction, the char obtained from separation of biocrude and bio-oil was thermally treated at 400^oC for 2 hours and its specific surface area was measured using BET analyzer. Thermally treated char was used as electrode material for supercapacitors and its capacitance was measured using cyclic voltammetry at the scan rates of 5 mV/s – 100 mV/s. The biocrude obtained was further analyzed for lactic acid and phenols using HPLC and GCMS respectively Results obtained for the pre-treatment for corn-stover, HTL reaction, and characterization will be presented.