Hydrothermal Treatment of Coal Discards and Sewage Sludge for the Production of Advanced Materials

The disposal of coal discards (CD) and sewage sludge (SS) is a substantial problem to waste management in coal beneficiation and wastewater treatment plants (WWT). This work investigates essential aspects for contributing to the reduction of environmental effects, with a particular emphasis on the hydrothermal carbonization technology for the synergetic treatment of CD and SS to produce value-added carbonaceous materials. When compared to the individual treatment of CD and SS, the Co-hydrothermal carbonization method improved the physicochemical attributes of the produced hydrochars (HC). The produced HCs could be suitable for a wide range of potential applications i.e., soil amendment, WWT, production of activated carbon.