Feasibility analysis of plastic and biomass hydrochar for blast furnace injection

Hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) technology upgrades combustible waste (CW) to high-quality fuel known as hydrochar. However, there is a research gap regarding the application limit of hydrochar instead of fossil fuels in blast furnaces. In this study, the physical, chemical, and metallurgical properties of hydrochar were thoroughly analyzed. The results showed that gross calorific value, grindability, ignition temperature, explosivity, combustion and gasification all improved by HTC process compared with the waste feedstocks. Moreover, the HTC process can effectively remove harmful elements (K, Na, Cl, and S) from feedstocks into liquid and gas phase without adding other reagents, reducing harmful effects in the blast furnace. Removal rates by HTC were >80% for alkali metals and >73.9% for Cl (reaching 98.18% for polyvinyl chloride hydrochar). The environmental benefit calculation shows that the CO2 emission reduction of replacing bituminous coal with 40% HTC-treated maize straw can reach 94.7 kg/tHM. The annual CO2 reduction can reach 1.7 × 107 kg and the annual coal reduction is 1.5 × 107 kg of a blast furnace. The results showed that hydrochar is a clean energy source compared with fossil fuel alternatives and meets the blast furnace injection requirements.