Shanghai Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Particle Pollution and Prevention (LAP3), Department of Environmental Science and Engineering , Fudan University , Shanghai 200433 , China.
Department of Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering , University of Colorado Boulder , Boulder , Colorado 80309 , United States.
Environ Sci Technol. 2018 Jul 3;52(13):7486-7495. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.7b04983. Epub 2018 Jun 13.
Hydrochar is a carbonaceous material derived from hydrothermal liquefaction, and it carries good potential as a new material for environmental applications. However, little is known about the dissolved organic matter (DOM) associated with hydrochar and the consequences of its release. The relationship between the production temperature and the characteristics of DOM released from hydrochar as well as the associated biotoxicity was investigated using a suite of advanced molecular and spectroscopic tools. With the increase in production temperature, the resulted hydrochar-based DOM contained a higher content of phenols and organic acids but less sugars and furans. Meanwhile, the molecular structure of DOM shifted to lower molecular weight with higher organic contents containing <6 O atoms per compound, aromatics, and N-containing substances. While low-temperature hydrochar-derived DOM showed minimal biotoxicity, increase in production temperature to 330 °C led to a great rise in toxicity. This might be attributed to the increased contents of phenols, organic acids, and organics containing <6 O atoms and 1 N atom per compound. These results suggest that hydrochar-derived DOM have more negative impacts on the environment than the organics associated with biochar production. Such understanding highlights the importance of controlling the hydrochar production process.
水热炭是一种源自水热液化的碳质材料，具有作为环境应用新材料的良好潜力。然而，对于与水热炭相关的溶解有机物（DOM）及其释放的后果，人们知之甚少。本研究采用一系列先进的分子和光谱技术，研究了水热炭制备温度与释放的 DOM 特征及其相关生物毒性之间的关系。随着制备温度的升高，得到的水热炭基 DOM 中酚类和有机酸的含量较高，但糖和呋喃的含量较低。同时，DOM 的分子结构向低分子量转变，含化合物<6 个氧原子、芳香族化合物和含氮物质的有机含量增加。虽然低温水热炭衍生 DOM 的生物毒性较小，但将制备温度提高到 330°C 会导致毒性大大增加。这可能归因于酚类、有机酸和含化合物<6 个氧原子和 1 个氮原子的有机物质含量的增加。这些结果表明，与生物炭生产相关的有机物相比，水热炭衍生的 DOM 对环境的负面影响更大。这种理解强调了控制水热炭制备过程的重要性。
