Planta de Carbonización Hidrotermal de la Ciudad de México: Tecnologías alternativas para el manejo de residuos orgánicos en países en vías de desarrollo
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
Given the increasing generation of waste worldwide, and particularly in developing countries, it is crucial to implement technologies that enable agile management of the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW), not only with the aim of recovering nutrients and/or a potential fuel, but also to reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with inadequate, insufficient, or nonexistent waste handling practices. The Mexico City Hydrothermal Carbonization Plant (PCH CDMX) is a cutting-edge project whose mission is to provide Mexico City with a viable and high-value alternative for managing its OFMSW. Phase I of PCH CDMX has proven successful in disseminating not only the project itself, but also hydrothermal carbonization technology and its technical, energetic, social, and environmental potentials at both the national and international levels. One of the main challenges of the technology lies in developing the markets that will allow hydrochar to be placed in compatible sectors such as agriculture, soil restoration, industry, and others.
Downloads
Publication Facts
Reviewer profiles N/A
Author statements
Indexed in
-
—
- Editor & editorial board
- profiles
- Academic society
- N/A
- Publisher
- Universidad de Córdoba
To learn about these publication facts, click 
PF is maintained by the Public Knowledge Project
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Proposed policy for journals offering open access. Those authors who publish in this journal accept the following terms:
a) Authors will retain their copyrights, but guarantee the journal the right to the first publication of their work, which will be simultaneously subject to the Creative Commons Recognition License , which allows third parties to share the work provided that the author and initial publication in this journal is indicated.
b) Authors may subscribe other non-exclusive license agreements for the distribution of the work published (for example: place it in an institutional electronic archive, or publish it in a topical volume) provided that the initial publication in this journal is duly noted.
Authors are allowed and even encouraged to disseminate their work via the Internet (e.g., in institutional electronic files or on their website) before and during the submission process, as this can foster valuable exchanges and increase citations of the work published. (See The effect of open access).
References
AGIR-CDMX. (2024, June). Personal communication. Agencia de Gestión Integral de Residuos de La Ciudad de México - El Segundo Piso de La Transformación de Los Residuos.
CARBON MAPPER INC. (n.d.). Carbon Mapper. Retrieved December 4, 2025, from https://data.carbonmapper.org/#1.24/30.8/50.5
DGCS-UNAM. (2025). Biocarbón, alternativa para el manejo sostenible del suelo. https://www.dgcs.unam.mx/boletin/bdboletin/2025_247.html
ESPINOSA-HERNANDEZ, V., ESPINOSA-GONZALEZ, J., PEREZ-MORENO, J., SAN MARTIN, C., GUADARRAMA-SANTANA, A., DE JESUS-MENDOZA, A., MALDONADO, M. DEL C., & GUTIÉRREZ-FERNÁNDEZ, G. A. (2025a). Impact of hydrocarbon in root system of Phaseolus vulgaris using the Rhizotron of dual Chamber. Rhizosphere 6: Rooting for Earth, 110.
ESPINOSA-HERNANDEZ, V., ESPINOSA-GONZALEZ, J., PEREZ-MORENO, J., SAN MARTIN, C., GUADARRAMA-SANTANA, A., DE JESUS-MENDOZA, A., MALDONADO, M. DEL C., & GUTIÉRREZ-FERNÁNDEZ, G. A. (2025b). Nutritional evaluation of Hydrocarbon on White Maiz (Zea mays), using Rhizotron of dual chamber. Rhizosphere 6: Rooting for Earth, 219.
FARRU, G., SCHEUFELE, F. B., MOLOEZNIK PANIAGUA, D., KELLER, F., JEONG, C., & BASSO, D. (2024). Business and Market Analysis of Hydrothermal Carbonization Process: Roadmap toward Implementation. Agronomy, 14(3), 541. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy14030541
FERRONATO, N., & TORRETTA, V. (2019). Waste Mismanagement in Developing Countries: A Review of Global Issues. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(6), 1060. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16061060
GOBIERNO DE LA CIUDAD DE MÉXICO. (2023). Recorrido en la Planta de Carbonización Hidrotermal. YouTube. Retrieved December 4, 2025, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDpobDj1xF4
GOBIERNO DE MÉXICO. (2024). Plan México - Estrategia de Desarrollo Económico Equitativo y Sustentable para la Prosperidad Compartida (Primer borrador).
GUTIÉRREZ-FERNÁNDEZ, G. A., ÁLVAREZ-ICAZA, L., CAMARENA, D., & SIEBE, C. (2023a). An Exploration into Large‑Scale Hydrochar Production and Application: Effects, Evolution and C Permanence. In F. Berruti, D. Chiaramonti, S. Fiore, M. García-Pérez, & O. Masek (Eds.), Bio-Char III: Production, Characterization and Applications. Engineering Conferences International.
GUTIÉRREZ-FERNÁNDEZ, G. A., ÁLVAREZ-ICAZA, L., CAMARENA, D., & SIEBE, C. (2023b). The Mexico City hydrothermal carboniz ation plant - An alternative for the management of the organic fraction of the municipal solid waste (OFMSW) in urban areas. In F. Berruti, D. Chiaramonti, S. Fiore, M. García-Pérez, & O. Masek (Eds.), Bio-Char III: Production, Characterization and Applications. Engineering Conferences International.
HUANG, J., FENG, Y., XIE, H., WU, P., WANG, M., WANG, B., ZHANG, Q., ZHANG, S., & LIU, Z. (2023). A bibliographic study reviewing the last decade of hydrochar in environmental application: history, status quo, and trending research paths. Biochar, 5(1), 12. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42773-023-00210-4
KAZA, S., YAO, L., BHADA-TATA, P., & VAN WOERDEN, F. (2018). At a Glance: A Global Picture of Solid Waste Management. In What a Waste 2.0: A Global Snapshot of Solid Waste Management to 2050. Urban Development Series (pp. 17–38). World Bank.
KUMARI, T., & RAGHUBANSHI, A. S. (2023). Waste management practices in the developing nations: challenges and opportunities. In P. Singh, P. Verma, R. Singh, A. Ahamad, & A. C. S. Batalhão (Eds.), Waste Management and Resource Recycling in the Developing World (pp. 773–797). Amsterdam: Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-323-90463-6.00017-8
MAALOUF, A., & AGAMUTHU, P. (2023). Waste management evolution in the last five decades in developing countries – A review. Waste Management & Research: The Journal for a Sustainable Circular Economy, 41(9), 1420–1434. https://doi.org/10.1177/0734242X231160099
PROFEPA. (2022). Día mundial del reciclaje - El consumo voraz de los recursos naturales es de tal magnitud que se necesitarían 1.7 planetas más para atender la demanda actual de recursos. Procuraduría Federal de Protección al Ambiente. Retrieved December 4, 2025, from https://www.gob.mx/profepa/articulos/dia-mundial-del-reciclaje-302147?idiom=es#:~:text=De los millones de toneladas,al mezclarlo pierde su valor.
SEDEMA-CDMX. (2021a). INVENTARIO DE RESIDUOS SÓLIDOS DE LA CIUDAD DE MEXICO 2020.
SEDEMA-CDMX. (2021b). PROGRAMA DE GESTIÓN INTEGRAL DE RESIDUOS PARA LA CIUDAD DE MÉXICO - PGIR 2021 - 2025.
SEDEMA-CDMX. (2022). INVENTARIO DE RESIDUOS SÓLIDOS DE LA CIUDAD DE MÉXICO 2021.
SEDEMA-CDMX. (2023). INVENTARIO DE RESIDUOS SÓLIDOS DE LA CIUDAD DE MEXICO 2022.
SEDEMA-CDMX. (2024). INVENTARIO DE RESIDUOS SÓLIDOS DE LA CIUDAD DE MÉXICO 2023.
SINGH, R. (2023). Indian waste sector’s contribution to GHG emissions. In A. Jain (Ed.), METHANE EMISSIONS FROM OPEN DUMPSITES IN INDIA - Estimation and mitigation strategies (pp. 1–86).
UNEP, & C&CAC. (2021). SOURCES OF METHANE. In Global Methane Assessment - Benefits and Costs of Mitigating Methane Emissions. https://www.unep.org/resources/report/global-methane-assessment-benefits-and-costs-mitigating-methane-emissions