@phdthesis{Titirici2013,
  author    = {Titirici, Maria-Magdalena},
  title     = {Hydrothermal carbonisation},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-66885},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam},
  year      = {2013},
  abstract  = {The world's appetite for energy is producing growing quantities of CO2, a pollutant that contributes to the warming of the planet and which currently cannot be removed or stored in any significant way. Other natural reserves are also being devoured at alarming rates and current assessments suggest that we will need to identify alternative sources in the near future. With the aid of materials chemistry it should be possible to create a world in which energy use needs not be limited and where usable energy can be produced and stored wherever it is needed, where we can minimize and remediate emissions as new consumer products are created, whilst healing the planet and preventing further disruptive and harmful depletion of valuable mineral assets. In achieving these aims, the creation of new and very importantly greener industries and new sustainable pathways are crucial. In all of the aforementioned applications, new materials based on carbon, ideally produced via inexpensive, low energy consumption methods, using renewable resources as precursors, with flexible morphologies, pore structures and functionalities, are increasingly viewed as ideal candidates to fulfill these goals. The resulting materials should be a feasible solution for the efficient storage of energy and gases. At the end of life, such materials ideally must act to improve soil quality and to act as potential CO2 storage sinks. This is exactly the subject of this habilitation thesis: an alternative technology to produce carbon materials from biomass in water using low carbonisation temperatures and self-generated pressures. This technology is called hydrothermal carbonisation. It has been developed during the past five years by a group of young and talented researchers working under the supervision of Dr. Titirici at the Max-Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces and it is now a well-recognised methodology to produce carbon materials with important application in our daily lives. These applications include electrodes for portable electronic devices, filters for water purification, catalysts for the production of important chemicals as well as drug delivery systems and sensors.},
  language  = {en}
}