Non-isothermal TGA study on the combustion reaction kinetics and mechanism of low-rank coal char

Abstract

In this paper, the combustion reaction kinetics of pyrolysis char of low-rank coal is studied by thermal analysis technology. For the combustion process of the char at different heating rates, the reaction kinetic parameters were calculated by three common mode-free methods (FWO method, KAS method and Starink method); the reaction model was determined by Malek method and Popescu method. Research shows that activation energy <i>E</i> _<i>α</i> of char combustion calculated by the three methods was 110.66-70.31 kJ mol^-1, 104.35-59.60 kJ mol^-1 and 104.34-59.99 kJ mol^-1, respectively, and the activation energy decreased with increasing conversion rates. There is a compensation effect between the activation energy and pre-exponential factor of char combustion. Results of the kinetic analysis by Malek method and Popescu method both indicated that the Avrami-Erofeev equation (<i>n</i> = 3/2) (<i>f</i>(<i>α</i>) = 3/2(1 - <i>α</i>)[-ln(1 - <i>α</i>)]^1/3) controlled by nucleation and nuclei growth models is the most probable reaction model of char combustion.