Significance of char active surface area for appraising the reactivity of low- and high-temperature chars

Abstract

Contemporary char reactivity studies have focussed primarily on coal chars prepared under severe (high-temperature) conditions. In this study, the reactivity of chars prepared under mild (low-temperature) conditions has been addressed. A thermogravimetric analysis system (TGA) was used to determine the reactivity of chars in oxidizing atmosphere using isothermal or non-isothermal techniques. Coal chars were prepared in a TGA or in a slow heating rate organic devolatilization reactor (SHRODR) at a temperature range between 500 ° and 950 °C. The chars prepared by mild pyrolysis of coal at 500 °C are shown to be highly reactive. Comparison of reactivities of low- and high-temperature chars shows that the low-temperature chars exhibit higher reactivity than either the parent coals or the high-temperature chars. Correlation between isothermal reactivity results (e.g. time) and non-isothermal reactivity data (e.g. temperature) has been obtained. Hydrogen contents of chars correlate well with the reactivity of the chars. The study confirms the importance of oxygen chemisorption capacity as a significant reactivity parameter for both low- and high-temperature chars. A new approach has been used for calculating the oxygen chemisorption capacity of chars by accounting for the carbon surface sites occupied by hydrogen (and, therefore, these sites were unavailable for oxygen chemisorption). The occupied sites are readily freed during reactivity measurements and thus were available for participation in carbon-oxygen reactions.