Thermaquatica is commercializing a proprietary and patented technology for processing biomass (including agricultural wastes), coal, oil sands, and oil shales to high value platform chemicals and liquid fuels. The method, known as Oxidative Hydrothermal Dissolution (OHD) is simple, using only hot (subcritical) liquid water and oxygen to break down these macromolecular organic materials into their constituent aromatic and aliphatic compounds. The OHD process can also be used for environmental remediation of organic-containing sites, such as oil sands tailings and coal waste ponds.
This modular, environmentally–friendly process produces very little CO2, giving the technology a low carbon footprint. OHD requires no pre-treatment of the feed, or additional catalysts, enzymes or solvents (other than water). The OHD bioliquor can be used as a fulvate-type biostimulant and soil enhancer, and high-value, platform biochemicals can also be recovered as saleable products through an add-on option to the main conversion process. The product suite depends on the choice of feedstock and the process conditions.
Thermaquatica’s goal is to use OHD technology to produce chemicals similar or identical to petroleum-derived products, using low-cost alternative raw materials such as waste biomass or coal. The resulting products can be sold as fine chemicals, used in manufacturing of biodegradable plastics and polymers, and/or converted to liquid fuels.
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Thermaquatica has developed and patented a simple and inherently environmentally-friendly technology called Oxidative Hydrothermal Dissolution (OHD), for the conversion of any low value complex macromolecular feedstock into high value low molecular weight products. These products can be separated for use as bio-derived agricultural biostimulants, as well as fine or bulk chemicals and/or liquid fuels. OHD can be a major factor in the global drive to reduce the use of petroleum-based chemicals and fuels.
Multiple Applications for OHD
Using only water and oxygen under the right conditions, no exotic catalysts and no other solvents, the OHD process breaks down organic biomass, hard and soft coals and other organic solids into simpler compounds that can be further processed to be used as a fuel or purified and sold as fine chemicals or chemical intermediates for the production of other products including polymers. Thermaquatica’s technology can be scaled for deployment at local or at regional levels depending on the demands and production characteristics of the particular feedstock application. This flexibility makes it possible to process a variety of feedstocks as the primary raw material using OHD integrated optimally as required by local operating environments. The product suite depends on the feedstock and the process conditions. Coal
Coal is plentiful in many areas of the world. Depending on the local economies and regulatory environments, this resource is seen as a primary source of energy, or as an underused natural resource. OHD can effectively address this sector in an environmentally friendly way, converting coal into higher value, low molecular weight products while generating little to no CO2. Sulfur, nitrogen, and metals remain bound as solid minerals or are captured as aqueous salts or oxides that can be eliminated by typical water treatments.
Our current partners seek practical ways to extract value from coal that has come under environmental or economic pressure. A process for conversion of low-grade hydrocarbon material to higher-grade material, in particular as it applies to conversion of low rank coal to high value liquid products is of utmost importance. For example, in the Latrobe Valley of Australia, inferred deposits of lignite are estimated at over 500 million tons. Greenpower Energy Ltd is currently funding research to investigate OHD as a means to convert these large deposits of low value brown coal to liquid products that can be converted to transportation fuels or purified for sale as chemical intermediates. OHD holds great promise for development of new, high value products from this abundant but underutilized resource.
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