Intrinsic kinetics and external diffusion of catalytic steam gasification of fine coal char particles under pressurized and fluidized conditions

Abstract

Catalytic steam gasification of fine coal char particles was carried out using a self-made laboratory reactor to determine the intrinsic kinetics and external diffusion under varying pressures (0.1–0.5 MPa) and superficial gas flow velocities (GFVs) of 13.8–68.8 cm∙s–1. In order to estimate the in-situ gas release rate at a low GFV, the transported effect of effluent gas on the temporal gasification rate pattern was simulated by the Fluent computation and verified experimentally. The external mass transfer coefficients (kmam) and the effectiveness factors were determined at lower GFVs, based on the intrinsic gasification rate obtained at a high GFV of 55.0 cm∙s–1. The kmam was found to be almost invariable in a wider carbon conversion of 0.2–0.7. The variations of kmam at a median carbon conversion with GFV, temperature and pressure were found to follow a modified Chilton-Colburn correlation: $$Sh = 0.311{\operatorname{Re} {2.83}}S{c^{\frac{1}{3}}}{(\frac{P}{{{P_0}}})^{ - 2.07}}$$ (0.04<Re<0.19), where P is total pressure and P0 is atmospheric pressure. An intrinsic kinetics/external diffusion integrating model could well describe the gasification rate as a function of GFV, temperature and pressure over a whole gasification process.