An Experimental Study on the Devolatilization Kinetics of Ashless coal in Fixed and Entrained Conditions

In order to investigate devolatilization characteristics for ashless coal with relatively low ash content and high heating value, an experiment was performed in different bed configurations of TGA and DTF(Drop Tube Furnace) at atmospheric pressure condition. The heating rate was 10 degrees C/min up to 950 degrees C in TGA, while the temperatures of DTF varied from 500 to 1300 degrees C in step of 200 degrees C. A weight loss and particle temperature were obtained to determine devolatilization kinetics. The kinetic parameters including an activation energy and pre-exponential factor for ashless coal were obtained using Coats-Redfern method in TGA and single step method in DTF. Furthermore, the devolatilization kinetics of the ashless coal were compared with the results of different kinds of conventional coal such as sub-bituminous and bituminous. The results show that the activation energy of devolatilazation for ashless coal is lower than those of others in fixed and entrained conditions.