Gasification study of Meulaboh coal under limited synthetic air and carbon dioxide environments

Abstract

Gasification characteristics of Meulaboh coal have been investigated using chemical, petrographical, and thermogravimetry–mass spectrometry (TG-MS) approaches. The coal is classified as sub-bituminous C and dominated by huminite maceral (77% vol.). Based on proximate analysis, the coal comprises 12.56% moisture, 17.36% ash, 38.92% volatile matter, and 31.16% fixed carbon (adb). The coal is low in rank and dominated by reactive maceral. Thus, it is suitable for gasification study. TG-MS measurement revealed that the main pyrolysis product consists of H2O, CO2, and CH4, which generated significantly in slow and fast pyrolysis stages (180-294°C and 194-529°C, respectively). Gasification was performed using limited synthetic air and CO2 environments. TG and DTG thermograms show that gasification using CO2 resulted a higher mass loss rate than that using limited synthetic air. Moreover, gasification in a limited air atmosphere produced higher contents of H2O and CO2, while gasification in a CO2 atmosphere produced primarily CO.