Biofuels and Bio-based Production via Supercritical Water Gasification of Peach Scraps

The aim of the paper is to evaluate the bioenergy and bio-based material recovery from fruit scraps through an innovative process, e.g., supercritical water gasification, which presents several advantages in comparison to the traditional processes for energy and matter recovery. In particular, experimental tests of peach scraps were carried out using bench-scale plant plug flow reactor type, in which the selected liquid matter can be pumped until 300 bar and heated until 600 degrees C to achieve the supercritical water condition of the water. The main results showed that, in the range of the feed flow rate of 5-30 mL/min and at fixed operative conditions of T and P (T = 550 degrees C, and P = 250 bar), it is possible to obtain tar-free syngas with a higher heating value of 14-16 MJ/kg(dry basis). The influence of the residence time was studied for the gaseous and liquid phases. For each one of them, it was possible to highlight a specific trend. In the liquid phase, the main components were acetic acid, hydroquinone, and syringaldehyde that are intermediates for the chemical synthesis of interesting bio-based chemicals and biochemicals.