ABSTRACT
In recent years, waste-to-energy/-resource conversion has received considerable attention in response to substantial increase in the utilization of natural resources and the amount of solid wastes generated caused by rapid population growth. Activated carbons with high microporosity are used extensively for adsorption of small-sized pollutants or molecules. Biomass refers to carbon-based materials including living or recently lived organisms and their wastes. It is considered one of the most important energy sources due to its high potential to meet the world's energy demand, as it is abundant, renewable, and widespread across the globe. The production of biomass-derived materials starting from waste biomass is a highly attractive prospect in the removal of environmental pollutants. Biomass was traditionally deployed as-is for adsorption processes. Hydrothermal carbonization has gained importance in recent years for energy and materials processing because of the intrinsic advantages such as benign environment, versatile chemistry, enhanced reaction rate, and economics.
