Characteristics and kinetic analysis of co-combustion of brown coal and anthracite

The combustion characteristics of brown coal, anthracite and their blends were investigated by thermogravimetric analysis. The combustion characteristic parameters, including temperature corresponding to ignition, burnout, maximum fractional conversion and mean conversion for the whole process, were analyzed, and the comprehensive combustion characteristic index was calculated as well. A double parallel reactions random pore model (DRPM) was applied to thermal data obtained by non-isothermal thermogravimetric analysis from room temperature to 1173 K at different heating rates in air to calculate the kinetic parameters of anthracite coal–brown coal blends with different ratios. The DRPM provides a good prediction of the fractional conversion curves for co-combustion with coefficient over 0.988. The agreement between experimental and calculated data indicates the accuracy of the DRPM. The activation energy of blends was calculated by DRPM model in the present work as well, and the activation energy of blends decreases with increasing the ratio of brown coal, which show that with increasing the ratio of brown coal in the blends, the combustion reactivity get improved.