42 Producing Fuels and Fine Chemicals from Biomass Using Nanomaterials
than corresponding petrochemical processes. Even though relatively in their infancy,
HTC materials have already found numerous applications including soil enrichment,
catalysis, water purication, energy storage, and CO
2
sequestration. In the following
paragraphs, examples where HTC-based materials have proved to be not only sus-
tainable, but to possess extraordinary properties that in some cases surpass those of
current “golden standards” will be summarized.
2.2.6.5.1 Agricultural Applications
Much attention is currently focused on obtaining charcoal from slow pyrolysis pro-
cesses with the nal aim of adding it to soils as a carbon sink and as a means of
improving soil productivity ...