Waste Resourcing

There is growing interest in Hydrothermal Carbonisation (HTC), a process that is capable of converting biomass (plant- and animal-based matter) into carbon-rich substances in the presence of water. This means that high moisture content feedstocks can be processed without the need for pre-drying, which can requires large amounts of energy. So think vegetable wastes, agricultural residues, animal litter and sewage into  value-added products  like catalysts, biofuels, soil enhancers, and environmental remediation products. A video of this process  can be found  here .  In 2011, HTC was also one of the treatment processes considered for the treatment of waste from modern,  lower-flush  toilets at Loughborough university, as part of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation's " Reinventing the Toilet Challenge ". Can this process be scaled up to industrial level, particularly in developing countries which need sustainable and affordable waste management strategies? T