Activated Carbons from Hydrochars Prepared in Milk

Hydrothermal carbonization converts organics in aqueous suspension to a mixture of liquid components and carbon-rich solids (hydrochars), which in turn can be processed into activated carbons. We investigated whether milk could be used as a medium for hydrothermal carbonization, and found that hydrochars prepared from milk, with or without an added fibrous biomass, contained more carbon (particularly aliphatic carbon), less oxygen, and more mineral components than those prepared from fibrous biomass in water. Activated carbons produced from hydrochars generated in milk had lower specific surface areas and CO2 capacities than those from hydrochars formed in water; however, these differences disappeared upon normalizing to the combustible mass of the solid. Thus, in the context of N2 and CO2 uptake on activated carbons, the primary effect of using milk rather than water to form the hydrochar precursor was to contribute inorganic mass that adsorbed little CO2. Nevertheless, some of the activated carbons generated from hydrochars formed in milk had specific CO2 uptake capacities in the normal range for activated carbons prepared by activation in CO2 (here, up to 1.6 mmol g−1 CO2 at 15 kPa and 0 °C). Thus, hydrothermal carbonization could be used to convert waste milk to hydrochars and activated carbons.