Thermogravimetric analysis of pyrolysis kinetics of Shenmu bituminous coal

Abstract

This study investigated the pyrolysis kinetics of Shenmu bituminous coal, an abundant low-rank coal in China. The influence of heating rate and particle size on the pyrolysis characteristics of Shenmu bituminous coal was examined using thermogravimetric and derivative thermogravimetric measurements. Pyrolysis experiments were carried out using four particle size samples in a thermogravimetric analyzer under nitrogen conditions and operated at different heating rates (10, 20, and 30 K/min). Three kinetic methods, Flynn–Wall–Ozawa, Kissinger–Akahira–Sunose, and Coats–Redfern, were applied to the thermogravimetric analysis data to calculate the kinetic parameters of the coal, including activation energy, pre-exponential factor, and reaction order. The mean activation energies calculated from the KAS and FWO methods were 149.64 and 143.82 kJ/mol, respectively. The particle size exerted almost no effect on the coal’s kinetic parameters.