PYROLYSIS AND HYDROPYROLYSIS OF COAL - COMPARISON OF PRODUCT DISTRIBUTIONS FROM A WIRE-MESH AND A HOT-ROD REACTOR

Pyrolysis total volatile yields obtained (in helium and hydrogen) using a wire-mesh reactor at pressures up to 160 bar and heating rates between 1 K s-1 and 1000 K s-1 are compared with hydropyrolysis total volatile (and tar) yields at pressures up to 100 bar and a heating rate of 5 K s-1 to 590-degrees-C obtained in a hot-rod (fixed-bed) reactor. Comparisons of product distributions from the two reactors are used to highlight some of the difficulties encountered in collecting and interpreting hydropyrolysis data as a function of reactor geometry, hold time, heating rate and hydrogen pressure. A common sample of Linby (low rank British bituminous) coal was used in all experiments.