UniversaBio Fuel

Docker-Generated Kinetic Calibration

Kinetics Lab

A 3D kinetic calibration workspace for sewage-sludge HTL oil formation, aqueous products, char, gas, ash dissolution, nitrogen transfer, overcracking, and continuous-flow validation.

216

temperature, time, solids, and heat-up candidates generated in Docker

6

kinetic calibration runs selected

320 C, 60 min, 20 wt% solids, 8 C/min heat-up

top modeled fit condition, still requiring measured mass and elemental closure

47.66%

best modeled oil yield across the screening surface

Interactive Kinetic Surface

See when sludge organics move to oil, water, char, gas, ash dissolution, and overcracking

Biocrude yield45.08%
Oil carbon66.38%
Aqueous COD51.4 g/L
Overcrack index0
Support condition

350 C, 40 min, 10 wt% solids, 8 C/min heat-up

Oil formation window condition with 14.52% aqueous products, 22.73% char,5.44% gas, 51.4% ash dissolution, and 100% modeled mass closure.

Oil N
4.78%
Oil O
9.35%
HHV
31.35 MJ/kg
Energy recovery
78%

The CEJ kinetics source calibrated at 300 C and 350 C and validated at 370 C. This screen preserves that logic by forcing calibration anchors and a high-severity validation stress run.

The Docker selector picked 6 runs from 216 modeled candidates. Portfolio average oil yield is 40.73%, mass closure is 100%, and average overcrack index is 17.3. Pyomo-formulated six-run kinetic calibration package with 300 C, 350 C, 370 C, overcracking, ash-dissolution, and fast-continuous proxy gates; selected by deterministic category enumeration.

The top modeled condition is 320 C, 60 min, 20 wt% solids, 8 C/min heat-up. It is a kinetic fit target, not an operating recipe, until measured elemental balances and continuous-flow residence-time data match the same pathway.

RDKit marker molecules connect the kinetic lumps to lipid, protein, carbohydrate, oil-nitrogen, oxygenate, fuel-proxy, gas, and sulfur chemistry.

Ash dissolution and aqueous COD are modeled alongside oil yield because process water and dissolved minerals can become scale-up limits even when the oil-yield curve looks attractive.

Current kinetics decision

Fit kinetics before calling any HTL condition optimized

The new literature makes the next step clear: oil yield is not enough. The bench campaign needs time-resolved oil, aqueous, gas, char, ash, carbon, nitrogen, sulfur, and oxygen balances at 300 C, 350 C, and 370 C, then a fast heat-up continuous proxy. This page shows which runs should calibrate the lumped kinetic model before scale-up claims are promoted.

CEJ kinetic frame150-370 C

Four-lump sewage-sludge HTL kinetics with first-order ash dissolution and CHNSO balances at 8 C/min heat-up.

Pilot-model anchor31.4% vs 29%

Reported modeled versus experimental pilot biocrude yield, showing why predictive models still need measured validation.

Continuous reactor anchor34.39%

Continuous-reactor simulation yield anchor for tying reaction kinetics to residence time, geometry, heat transfer, and stress analysis.

Selected kinetic calibration package

Six runs to fit oil formation, overcracking, ash dissolution, and continuous behavior

300 C calibration anchor

300 C, 20 min, 20 wt% solids, 8 C/min heat-up

Oil 25.22%, aqueous 7.01%, char 25.61%, gas 1.92%, ash dissolution 15.5%, overcrack index 0.

350 C oil-formation anchor

350 C, 40 min, 10 wt% solids, 8 C/min heat-up

Oil 45.08%, aqueous 14.52%, char 22.73%, gas 5.44%, ash dissolution 51.4%, overcrack index 0.

370 C validation stress

370 C, 20 min, 20 wt% solids, 8 C/min heat-up

Oil 44.45%, aqueous 12.97%, char 24.95%, gas 5.07%, ash dissolution 37.7%, overcrack index 29.4.

overcracking boundary

370 C, 40 min, 10 wt% solids, 8 C/min heat-up

Oil 42.31%, aqueous 16.23%, char 22.02%, gas 7.67%, ash dissolution 61.2%, overcrack index 45.

ash dissolution hold

320 C, 90 min, 15 wt% solids, 8 C/min heat-up

Oil 47.04%, aqueous 15.5%, char 19.88%, gas 4.9%, ash dissolution 64.9%, overcrack index 29.4.

fast continuous proxy

350 C, 20 min, 20 wt% solids, 60 C/min heat-up

Oil 40.27%, aqueous 11.72%, char 25.44%, gas 3.78%, ash dissolution 30.3%, overcrack index 0.

Kinetic parameter ledger

Every rate constant is a hypothesis until measured against sludge-specific data

oil formation

Solid organics to biocrude

Ea
58 kJ/mol
k350
0.055
370/300
3.8x
Must fit
oil-yield rise at 300 C and 350 C before validating at 370 C
aqueous formation

Solid organics to aqueous organics

Ea
52 kJ/mol
k350
0.015
370/300
3.3x
Must fit
COD and nitrogen in process water as residence time increases
char formation

Solid organics to hydrochar

Ea
64 kJ/mol
k350
0.006
370/300
4.3x
Must fit
solid residue decline, fixed carbon, ash concentration, and char HHV
gas formation

Solid organics to gas

Ea
78 kJ/mol
k350
0.003
370/300
5.9x
Must fit
CO2, methane, and light gas increase at high severity
overcracking

Biocrude secondary cracking

Ea
105 kJ/mol
k350
0.003
370/300
11x
Must fit
loss of oil yield and rise of gas/aqueous products under long high-temperature holds
ash transfer

First-order ash dissolution

Ea
45 kJ/mol
k350
0.018
370/300
2.8x
Must fit
ash movement from solid residue to process water and equipment-fouling risk
upgrading kinetic bridge

Biocrude hydrotreating denitrogenation

Ea
84 kJ/mol
k350
0.02
370/300
6.8x
Must fit
stabilization, oxygen/sulfur/chlorine removal, and nitrogen-family disappearance during staged hydrotreating before fuel-quality claims

Kinetic surface averages

Temperature and time shift oil yield, oil carbon, gas, and overcracking together

280 C / 5 min
Oil
4.85%
Water
1.47%
Gas
1.16%
Overcrack
0
280 C / 10 min
Oil
9.24%
Water
2.8%
Gas
1.3%
Overcrack
0
280 C / 20 min
Oil
16.78%
Water
5.1%
Gas
1.55%
Overcrack
0
280 C / 40 min
Oil
27.95%
Water
8.56%
Gas
1.96%
Overcrack
0
280 C / 60 min
Oil
35.35%
Water
10.91%
Gas
2.28%
Overcrack
0
280 C / 90 min
Oil
41.97%
Water
13.15%
Gas
2.64%
Overcrack
15.8
300 C / 5 min
Oil
7.34%
Water
2.12%
Gas
1.28%
Overcrack
0
300 C / 10 min
Oil
13.61%
Water
3.95%
Gas
1.52%
Overcrack
0
300 C / 20 min
Oil
23.52%
Water
6.88%
Gas
1.93%
Overcrack
0
300 C / 40 min
Oil
35.91%
Water
10.7%
Gas
2.55%
Overcrack
0
300 C / 60 min
Oil
42.32%
Water
12.87%
Gas
2.99%
Overcrack
0
300 C / 90 min
Oil
46.34%
Water
14.62%
Gas
3.53%
Overcrack
21.2
320 C / 5 min
Oil
10.66%
Water
2.97%
Gas
1.47%
Overcrack
0
320 C / 10 min
Oil
19.03%
Water
5.34%
Gas
1.87%
Overcrack
0
320 C / 20 min
Oil
30.76%
Water
8.78%
Gas
2.5%
Overcrack
0
320 C / 40 min
Oil
42.15%
Water
12.53%
Gas
3.38%
Overcrack
0
320 C / 60 min
Oil
45.89%
Water
14.32%
Gas
4.04%
Overcrack
0
320 C / 90 min
Oil
46.42%
Water
15.74%
Gas
4.92%
Overcrack
29.5
340 C / 5 min
Oil
14.84%
Water
4%
Gas
1.76%
Overcrack
0
340 C / 10 min
Oil
25.2%
Water
6.91%
Gas
2.38%
Overcrack
0
340 C / 20 min
Oil
37.34%
Water
10.61%
Gas
3.29%
Overcrack
0
340 C / 40 min
Oil
45.13%
Water
14.01%
Gas
4.59%
Overcrack
0
340 C / 60 min
Oil
45.38%
Water
15.61%
Gas
5.64%
Overcrack
6.9
340 C / 90 min
Oil
42.61%
Water
17.28%
Gas
7.15%
Overcrack
42.9
350 C / 5 min
Oil
17.23%
Water
4.59%
Gas
1.96%
Overcrack
0
350 C / 10 min
Oil
28.37%
Water
7.73%
Gas
2.71%
Overcrack
0
350 C / 20 min
Oil
39.96%
Water
11.47%
Gas
3.81%
Overcrack
0
350 C / 40 min
Oil
45.15%
Water
14.72%
Gas
5.39%
Overcrack
0
350 C / 60 min
Oil
43.65%
Water
16.41%
Gas
6.75%
Overcrack
13.5
350 C / 90 min
Oil
39.37%
Water
18.44%
Gas
8.71%
Overcrack
52.3
370 C / 5 min
Oil
22.46%
Water
5.88%
Gas
2.48%
Overcrack
13.9
370 C / 10 min
Oil
34.31%
Water
9.41%
Gas
3.57%
Overcrack
20.4
370 C / 20 min
Oil
43.02%
Water
13.11%
Gas
5.15%
Overcrack
29.9
370 C / 40 min
Oil
42.25%
Water
16.42%
Gas
7.61%
Overcrack
44.6
370 C / 60 min
Oil
37.54%
Water
18.69%
Gas
9.79%
Overcrack
75.7
370 C / 90 min
Oil
30.46%
Water
21.69%
Gas
12.78%
Overcrack
100

Molecular anchors

Representative chemistry behind the kinetic lumps

carbohydrate aqueous/char proxy

Glucose C6H12O6

Weight
73.8
MW
180.156
N atoms
0
Hetero
6
lipid-to-oil kinetic proxy

Oleic acid C18H34O2

Weight
60.5
MW
282.468
N atoms
0
Hetero
2
protein nitrogen proxy

Glycine C2H5NO2

Weight
50.5
MW
75.067
N atoms
1
Hetero
3
persistent oil nitrogen marker

Indole C8H7N

Weight
42.8
MW
117.151
N atoms
1
Hetero
1
hydrodenitrogenation marker

Pyridine C5H5N

Weight
38.7
MW
79.102
N atoms
1
Hetero
1
aqueous COD marker

Acetic acid C2H4O2

Weight
35.8
MW
60.052
N atoms
0
Hetero
2
sulfur gas/upgrading marker

Hydrogen sulfide H2S

Weight
34.7
MW
34.083
N atoms
0
Hetero
1
decarboxylation gas marker

Carbon dioxide CO2

Weight
34.6
MW
44.009
N atoms
0
Hetero
2
finished fuel proxy

Dodecane C12H26

Weight
34.5
MW
170.34
N atoms
0
Hetero
0
aromatic oxygenate marker

Phenol C6H6O

Weight
32.9
MW
94.113
N atoms
0
Hetero
1
aqueous nitrogen marker

Ammonia H3N

Weight
32.7
MW
17.031
N atoms
1
Hetero
1
gas overcracking marker

Methane CH4

Weight
19.2
MW
16.043
N atoms
0
Hetero
0
kinetics-cej-2025

Kinetic modelling and elemental balances applied to sewage-sludge HTL

Open-access CEJ source for four-lump HTL kinetics, first-order ash dissolution, CHNSO balances, 300/350 C calibration, and 370 C validation.

Open source
kinetics-mdpi-review-2025

Reaction mechanism and kinetics of hydrothermal liquefaction

2025 review supporting mechanism/kinetics framing and the need to understand product-distribution pathways.

Open source
kinetics-pfr-2025

Continuous multiphase plug-flow reactor optimization for sewage-sludge HTL

Continuous PFR source tying kinetic modeling to mass, energy, momentum, and scale-up behavior.

Open source
kinetics-aspen-2024

Kinetic process model for sewage-sludge HTL in Aspen Plus

Pilot-validated process-model source reporting 31.4 wt% modeled biocrude versus 29 wt% pilot yield under varying residence times and temperatures.

Open source
kinetics-hydrotreating-2024

Hydrotreatment kinetic model for sewage-sludge HTL biocrude

Energy & Fuels source for downstream kinetic modeling with distributed lumps and first-order reactions for sewage-sludge biocrude hydrotreatment.

Open source
kinetics-mild-hdt-2026

Mild hydrotreatment as a stabilization step for nitrogen-rich sewage-sludge biocrude

Open-access pilot trickle-bed source showing useful stabilization boundaries near 240 C, strong chlorine/sulfur/oxygen relief, and persistent nitrogen conversion limits.

Open source
kinetics-slurry-hydrotreating-2024

Continuous slurry hydrotreating of sewage-sludge HTL biocrude

Pilot-scale upgrading source showing continuous slurry operation can remove sulfur/oxygen and much nitrogen, while long-run operability remains a gate.

Open source
kinetics-continuous-cfd-2025

Continuous-reactor sludge HTL simulation with kinetics, CFD, and stress analysis

Continuous-reactor simulation source for coupling kinetic conversion with reactor geometry, flow, heat transfer, and mechanical stress.

Open source
kinetics-pilot-micropollutants-2021

Pilot-scale sewage-sludge HTL energy and micropollutant fate

Pilot-scale source showing why process-water matrices and contaminant fate need measured validation alongside kinetic product yields.

Open source

kinetic outputs are calibration priorities, not commercial operating conditions, until oil, aqueous, gas, char, ash, nitrogen, and continuous-flow data close the same mass and elemental balances