Chemical, structural and energy properties of hydrochars from microwave-assisted hydrothermal carbonization of glucose

Hydrothermal carbonization has been used as a green and effective technique for the preparation of hydrochars from simple carbohydrates, such as glucose. The chemical and structural properties of hydrochars prepared from glucose have been studied. However, the energy properties of hydrochars prepared from microwave-assisted hydrothermal carbonization of glucose have not been studied. Thus, in this study, microwave-assisted hydrothermal carbonization of glucose, and the energy properties of the prepared hydrochars are reported. The preparation involved heating glucose in de-ionized water at 200 degrees C for 5-60 min in a microwave oven. The prepared hydrochars were characterized using scanning electron microscope, nitrogen sorption measurement, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, elemental (CHN) analyzer, and nuclear magnetic resonance, and their energy properties studied. The result indicated that, in comparison with previous studies using the classical hydrothermal carbonization process, this approach reduced the processing time greatly from hours to 45 min, while the increase in higher heating value of the hydrochar when compared to that of the starting material was higher in this study than some value previously reported.