Evaluation of Processing Parameters in the Hydrothermal Carbonisation of African Fan Palm Nut

Evaluation of Processing Parameters in the Hydrothermal Carbonisation of African Fan Palm Nut | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Evaluation of Processing Parameters in the Hydrothermal Carbonisation of African Fan Palm Nut Calistus Princewill Odeh, Augustine Uzodinma Madumere, John Chikaelo Okeke, and 2 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9012832/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This study explores the conversion of African fan palm nut an underutilized agricultural waste into valuable hydrochar using hydrothermal carbonization (HTC). The main aim was to optimize the HTC process conditions and assess the physicochemical characteristics of the produced hydrochar for potential use as an adsorbent. HTC experiments were carried out in a temperature-controlled batch reactor under inert conditions. Process optimization was performed using Response Surface Methodology (RSM) with a Central Composite Design (CCD), considering reaction temperature (180–220°C), residence time (30–90 min), and biomass-to-water ratio (1:8–1:12). The optimal conditions were determined to be 220°C, a residence time of 70.22 min, and a biomass-to-water ratio of 1:10.06. At these conditions, hydrochar and bio-oil yields of 24.72% and 28.60%, respectively, were achieved, alongside a maximum specific surface area of 729.56 m² g⁻¹. The resulting hydrochar exhibited desirable properties, including high carbon content (80.00%), low ash content (0.78%), and well-developed surface characteristics, confirming its suitability for adsorption-based applications. Overall, the results highlight African fan palm nut as a promising and sustainable feedstock for hydrochar production via HTC. This study supports the valorization of biomass waste and contributes to the development of environmentally sustainable materials in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Further studies should focus on application-specific performance, process scalability, and comprehensive environmental sustainability assessments. Hydrothermal carbonisation (HTC) Hydrochar production African fan palm nut Biomass valorization Sustainable biomass conversion Porous carbon materials Full Text Supplementary Files GraphRepHydrothermalcarb.jpg Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9012832","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":610516506,"identity":"1792e5be-913e-461b-89c8-664bfe8ff2d0","order_by":0,"name":"Calistus Princewill Odeh","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Nnamdi Azikiwe University Faculty of Engineering","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Calistus","middleName":"Princewill","lastName":"Odeh","suffix":""},{"id":610516507,"identity":"d4770444-4bba-44cb-bee8-8b3c975df7d1","order_by":1,"name":"Augustine Uzodinma Madumere","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Nnamdi Azikiwe University Faculty of Engineering","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Augustine","middleName":"Uzodinma","lastName":"Madumere","suffix":""},{"id":610516508,"identity":"563e84ee-6586-4497-9adf-d2b0cfda2b59","order_by":2,"name":"John Chikaelo Okeke","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA8klEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACxgYwTmDgB3IOMBgkAKkEIrVINhCrBaotgcHgAJhNhBbm9gOMD2dUpMkZ38g9ePBHQRoDP3uOAXPBLzw29CQwG244k2NsdiMv4YCEQQ6DZM8bA+aZfXi0zGBgk3zYVpG47UaOwQEDgwoGAyCDmbeHkJZ/FfWbZwC1JAC12BOlZWNDToKBBFDLAaDDQAxmnh/4/JLYbDjjWJrhjDNvDA42GKTxSJx5VnCYtwG3FsP2wwcf9tQky/O35xh//PEnWY6/PXnjY54/eLQ0MKIayAMiDjC24dYij0Mcjy2jYBSMglEw4gAAaolTnR6DiV0AAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0009-0005-4879-1053","institution":"Nnamdi Azikiwe University Faculty of Engineering","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"John","middleName":"Chikaelo","lastName":"Okeke","suffix":""},{"id":610516509,"identity":"ecce68b5-e6cd-4764-a158-094b4dca23cc","order_by":3,"name":"Henry Chukwuemeka Olisakwe","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Nnamdi Azikiwe University Faculty of Engineering","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Henry","middleName":"Chukwuemeka","lastName":"Olisakwe","suffix":""},{"id":610516510,"identity":"8dda3681-054c-4d93-9ffe-0e3d6111005a","order_by":4,"name":"Orobosa Kingsley Osazuwa","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Nnamdi Azikiwe University Faculty of Engineering","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Orobosa","middleName":"Kingsley","lastName":"Osazuwa","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-03-02 17:56:37","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9012832/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9012832/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":105653883,"identity":"ce15a505-4ce9-4678-b5f3-64454c05ca2e","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-29 03:25:08","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1991098,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"HydrothermalCarb.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9012832/v1_covered_4bf1391f-ce94-4f84-add5-f2e29d70c8ab.pdf"},{"id":105401708,"identity":"09eea217-df57-461f-9843-d3028f4c63f1","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-25 15:28:31","extension":"jpg","order_by":4,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":31034,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"GraphRepHydrothermalcarb.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9012832/v1/c460c2df02af2d9083818a9a.jpg"}],"financialInterests":"","formattedTitle":"Evaluation of Processing Parameters in the Hydrothermal Carbonisation of African Fan Palm Nut","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Hydrothermal carbonisation (HTC), Hydrochar production, African fan palm nut, Biomass valorization, Sustainable biomass conversion, Porous carbon materials","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9012832/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9012832/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThis study explores the conversion of African fan palm nut an underutilized agricultural waste into valuable hydrochar using hydrothermal carbonization (HTC). The main aim was to optimize the HTC process conditions and assess the physicochemical characteristics of the produced hydrochar for potential use as an adsorbent. HTC experiments were carried out in a temperature-controlled batch reactor under inert conditions. Process optimization was performed using Response Surface Methodology (RSM) with a Central Composite Design (CCD), considering reaction temperature (180\u0026ndash;220\u0026deg;C), residence time (30\u0026ndash;90 min), and biomass-to-water ratio (1:8\u0026ndash;1:12). The optimal conditions were determined to be 220\u0026deg;C, a residence time of 70.22 min, and a biomass-to-water ratio of 1:10.06. At these conditions, hydrochar and bio-oil yields of 24.72% and 28.60%, respectively, were achieved, alongside a maximum specific surface area of 729.56 m\u0026sup2; g⁻\u0026sup1;. The resulting hydrochar exhibited desirable properties, including high carbon content (80.00%), low ash content (0.78%), and well-developed surface characteristics, confirming its suitability for adsorption-based applications. Overall, the results highlight African fan palm nut as a promising and sustainable feedstock for hydrochar production via HTC. This study supports the valorization of biomass waste and contributes to the development of environmentally sustainable materials in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Further studies should focus on application-specific performance, process scalability, and comprehensive environmental sustainability assessments.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Evaluation of Processing Parameters in the Hydrothermal Carbonisation of African Fan Palm Nut","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-03-25 15:25:37","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9012832/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"4b1bc442-1322-49f7-be1b-b5a058de4fdb","owner":[],"postedDate":"March 25th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-03-29T03:24:48+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-03-25 15:25:37","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-9012832","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-9012832","identity":"rs-9012832","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}