High temperature swelling of coal/tetralin mixtures in a high pressure microdilatometer

Abstract

High pressure microdilatometer experiments were performed on a subbituminous (Wyodak) and a bituminous (Illinois no. 6) coal in helium and hydrogen atmospheres with and without added tetralin. Wyodak coal samples showed no swelling but contractions ranging between 24 and 40 vol% upon heating at 20 and 100 °C min − 1 under helium or hydrogen pressures between 150 and 1000 psig (~1.0–6.9 MPa). Under the same conditions, Illinois no. 6 coals displayed contractions (25–60 vol%) prior to swelling up to 117 vol%. Upon tetralin addition (at 35–190 wt% of the coal), Wyodak coal samples did not swell but showed an increasing contraction with increasing helium or hydrogen pressure due to a slight softening and fusion of the coal particles. In contrast, addition of tetralin at much lower concentrations (5–35 wt%) had a marked effect on the contraction and swelling behaviour of Illinois no. 6. A maximum swelling of 200 vol% was obtained at a tetralin addition of 30 wt%. The increased swelling results from more extensive softening and fusion of coal particles in the presence of tetralin. Both coals showed a decreasing char yield with increasing tetralin concentration. The substantially lower extent of interaction observed between Wyodak coal samples and tetralin compared to Illinois no. 6 coal can be attributed to the differences in pore structure and/or chemical constitution of the two coal samples. Examination of the resultant solids by optical microscopy revealed the microstructural changes produced by thermal treatment in dilatometer experiments.