Energy recovery from grape marc biomass from Africa’s distilleries via hydrothermal carbonization

Abstract

Traditional biomass in the form of firewood remains a major contributor to the total energy supply in Africa. Access to clean and sustainable energy is still low in most parts of Africa. This has negatively impacted the environment as deforestration, land degradation, desertification have been experienced at alarming levels against a backdrop of climate change. The promotion of green energy is needed to counteract the negative impact of greenhouse pollution. In this study, the potential of grape marc, a lignocellulosic solid waste stream from wine making, is accessed as feedstock for hydrothermal carbonization for the production of a carbon neutral fuel. Probabilty modelling is adopted in this study to overcome challenges in data reliabilty and uncertainty.