Abstract
The lack of comprehensive data on the fuel properties of newly discovered coal deposits in Nigeria has hampered the prospective utilisation for power generation. Consequently, this study is aimed at characterising the physicochemical and thermokinetic properties of Shankodi-Jangwa (SKJ) coal recently discovered in Nassarawa state, Nigeria. The results indicate that SKJ comprises 40.50% fixed carbon, 43.34% volatile matter, and 2.36% sulphur with a higher heating value (HHV) of 27.37 MJ kg-1. Based on this HHV, SKJ was classified as high-volatile B bituminous coal. Thermal analysis of SKJ under oxidative thermogravimetry (TG) at multiple heating rates revealed that SKJ is highly reactive and thermally degradable below 1000°C. Kinetic analysis using the Flynn-Wall-Ozawa model for conversions α = 0.05-0.90 revealed the activation energy to range from Ea = 113-259 kJ mol-1, with the frequency factor ranging from A = 2.9 × 1013-1.5 × 1023 min-1 and a range in R2 = 0.8536-0.9997; the average values of these ranges are Ea = 184 kJ mol-1, A = 9.2 × 1023 min-1 and R2 = 0.9420, respectively. The study highlighted fuel property data vital for modelling and designing future SKJ coal power generation.
Highlights
Coal utilisation for electricity generation currently accounts for 40% of global power consumption
The results of this study have been compared with values for SKJ coal reported by Ryemshak and Jauro.[3]
The results demonstrate that SKJ coal contains sufficient constituent elements for thermochemical conversion
Summary
Coal utilisation for electricity generation currently accounts for 40% of global power consumption. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the global annual demand for coal currently exceeds 2.6% of global energy usage and will account for 14.5% of the global energy mix by 2035. This will be evident in developing countries with large coal reserves beset by socioeconomic and energy poverty.[1] Since energy is crucial to poverty alleviation, developing countries require access to cheap and sustained energy supply to spur socioeconomic growth and sustainable development. Current research on Nigerian coals is mainly focused on rheological,[3,5] petrographic,[6,7,8] mineralogical,[9,10] geological and geochemical[11,12,13] properties, some research groups have investigated coal conversion[14,15] and hydrocarbon potential.[16,17]
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