Daw Mill Research Articles

Oxy-fuel co-gasification of coal and biomass for negative CO2 emissions

A novel process has been investigated to enable CO2 to be isolated as a concentrated stream from the exhaust of a power station, without the use of separate, downstream capture technology. In this concept, a fluidised bed gasifier is operated with pure O2 and CO2, recycled from the combusted fuel gas stream, combining the advantages of gasification, fluidised bed operation and use of oxygen. With the combination of CO2 capture and biomass as the feedstock, net negative emissions can be achieved. This is the fifth in a series of papers which investigate the underlying science of the concept. It studies the influence of the use of different coals and mixtures containing coal/biomass on the process performance. A continuously fed, laboratory scale spouted bed reactor has been used for this study, and Daw Mill coal (DM), German lignite (GL), Polish coal (PC) and Olive bagasse (OB) were used as fuels. Carbon conversions for DM and PC were around 20–30% and dominated by release by pyrolysis. High conversions (60–80%) were observed for GL and the char showed an appreciable gasification reactivity. Co-processing of OB with GL proved to be a good way to further improve the overall process performance and complete conversion was achieved under some conditions. Processing biomass with lignite, with CO2 capture, is a technically viable way of producing energy from a waste material with a negative process carbon footprint.

Returning carbon to nature: coal, carbon capture, and storage

From the window of the room where I write I can see a plume of condensing water that hangs over the south of Nottinghamshire day-in day-out. On some days it seems to ascend to a huge height and its upper surfaces are white and billow outwards like summer thunderclouds. Underneath is Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station. Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station is one of the most efficient coalfired power stations in Britain. It has four 500 MW turbines which produce enough electricity for 2 million houses burning coal that was formed in the Carboniferous period (approximately 300 million years ago). Some of it used to come from the Daw Mill coal mine about 40 miles away. The mine is situated in the small Warwickshire coalfield between the English towns of Birmingham, Nuneaton and Banbury, but the coalfield was once a swamp in an embayment in the ancient landmass called by geologists St. Georges Land.

Trends in fireside corrosion damage to superheaters in air and oxy-firing of coal/biomass

This paper compares the laboratory-based fireside corrosion tests on superheater/reheater materials in simulated air-firing combustion conditions with oxy-firing combustion conditions (with hot gas recycling before flue gas de-sulphurisation). The gaseous combustion environment was calculated based on a specific co-firing ratio of CCP with Daw Mill coal. The fireside corrosion tests were carried out using the “deposit recoat” test method to simulate the damage anticipated in specific environments. A synthetic deposit (Na2SO4:K2SO4:Fe2O3=1.5:1.5:1mol.) which has commonly been used in fireside corrosion screening trials and is a mix that forms alkali-iron tri-sulphate (identified in many investigations as a cause of fireside corrosion) was used in these tests. The air-fired tests were carried out at temperatures of 600, 650 and 700°C and oxy-fired tests were carried out at temperatures of 600, 650, 700 and 750°C to represent the superheater/reheater metal temperatures anticipated in future power plants with and without synthetic deposits, with four candidate materials: T92, HR3C and 347HFG steels; nickel-based alloy 625 (alloy 625 was only tested with screening deposits). The progress of the samples during their exposures was measured using mass change methods. After the exposures, the samples were examined by SEM/EDX to characterise the damage. To quantify the metal damage, pre-exposure micrometre measurements were compared to the post-exposure image analyser measurements on sample cross-sections. The trends in corrosion damage in both air and oxy-firing conditions showed a “bell-shaped” curve, with the highest metal damage levels (peak) observed at 650°C for air-firing and 700°C for oxy-firing tests. However, at 600 and 650°C similar damage levels were observed in both environments. The shift in peak corrosion damage in oxy-firing condition is believed to be the presence of higher levels of SOx, which stabilised the alkali-iron tri-sulphate compounds. Generally, in both air and oxy-firing conditions the mean metal damage was reduced with increasing the amount of Cr in the alloys. However, at the highest temperatures in both air-firing (700°C) and oxy-firing conditions (750°C) the metal damage of nickel based superalloy 625 was higher than HR3C.

Co-combustion of cereal co-product (CCP) with a UK coal (Daw Mill): Combustion gas composition and deposition

This paper presents an investigation into combustion gas composition and deposit formation obtained by co-firing mixtures of cereal co-product (CCP) with a UK coal (Daw Mill) in a 100kWth pilot-scale pulverised fuel (PF) combustion test rig operating at a feed rate of ∼7.5–11.2kg/h. The biomass additions to the coal were at 0, 20, 40, 60, 80 and 100wt.%. A high resolution multi-component Fourier Transform Infra-Red (FTIR) gas analyser was used to monitor the combustion gas stream for CO2, O2, H2O, SO2, CO, NO, NO2, N2O and HCl. It was observed that increasing the share of CCP in the fuel mixtures resulted in a reduction of SOx and HCl, due to the lower sulphur and chlorine contents of the biomass. Deposit formation in co-firing conditions was also studied on air-cooled probes (with surface temperatures of ∼500, 600 and 700°C) to simulate the superheater/reheater surface conditions in a conventional pulverised fuel boiler. The deposition flux on the upsteam, sidestream and downstream of the probes were measured. The deposition flux on the upstream surfaces showed a decrease with an increasing biomass content in the fuel. Environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM) with energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were used to characterise the deposits. Chlorine was found in all three probes when the CCP was fired without any coal addition, suggesting formation of alkali chlorides through condensation on cooler surfaces (also confirmed by XRD analysis). The study highlights the complex relationship between the fuel mixtures and compositions of the combustion gas streams, as well as deposition fluxes and deposit compositions.

An automated ash fusion test for characterisation of the behaviour of ashes from biomass and coal at elevated temperatures

The benefits of blending biomass with coal for power generation include less CO2 emissions and a reduced dependency on non-renewable fossil fuels. However, there is a need to understand the role of biomass during direct combustion and co-firing, particularly in terms of the effect of biomass use on ash slagging and fouling. A new image analysis based technique has been developed to characterise the behaviour of ashes from biomass, coal and coal/biomass blends using a single heating test at elevated temperatures. It is a reproducible test that combines the conventional ash fusion test, dilatometry and sinter strength test by means of image analysis. An oven is used to heat the cylindrical ash pellets from room temperature to 1520°C, while the in-built camera captures still images of the samples throughout the temperature range. An automated image analysis code has been developed to provide behaviour profiles for each ash sample (across the temperature range) by quantifying dimensional changes upon heating. The error for the determined ash characteristic temperatures is approximately 15°C, which is approximately 50% lower than for a conventional ash fusion test. Cylindrical ash samples from 9 biomasses (corn stover, DDG, DDGS, miscanthus, olive residue, wheat shorts, wheat, rapeseed, sunflower seed) and a standard UK coal (Daw Mill) were tested using this method and each was found to produce unique profiles.

Deposit formation and emissions from co-firing miscanthus with Daw Mill coal: Pilot plant experiments

An investigation has been carried out into the deposits generated on cooled probes and the gas compositions produced from co-firing miscanthus mixed with Daw Mill coal. The biomass additions to the coal were at 0, 20, 40, 60, 80, 100wt.% in a 100kWth pilot-scale pulverised fuel (PF) combustion test rig operated with a feed rate of ∼7–15kg/h. Online monitoring of the combustion gas stream was carried out for CO2, O2, H2O, SO2, CO, NO, NO2, N2O, HCl and HF using a high resolution multi-component Fourier Transform Infra-Red (FTIR) gas analyser. The deposits were collected from the upstream, side and downstream surfaces of three air-cooled probes that were exposed in the flue gas path and operated at surface temperatures of 500, 600 and 700°C (to simulate heat exchanger tubes). The compositions of these deposits were determined using a range of analytical techniques including Environmental Scanning Electron Microscopy (ESEM) with Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX) and X-ray Diffraction (XRD). The composition of the combustion gas streams and deposits changed as a function of the fuel mixtures used in the combustion process. The increasing miscanthus share in combination with the Daw Mill coal resulted in a reduction of SOx, NOx and HCl levels. The deposition on the upstream surfaces of the probes decreased with increasing biomass percentage, but increased on the downstream surfaces. The concentration of K and S in the deposits increased with increasing miscanthus share in the fuel up to 80wt.%, particularly on the coolest probe (∼500°C surface temperature). In addition, Cl was detected in the deposit on the two lower temperature probes only when 100% miscanthus was used in the combustion process. Thermodynamic modelling of the combustion/deposition process carried out in parallel also suggested formation of KCl only at the highest levels of biomass co-firing for miscanthus/Daw Mill coal, with K2SO4 being predicted at lower co-firing levels for these specific fuels.

The Zero Emission Carbon Concept (ZECA): Extents of Reaction with Different Coals in Steam/Hydrogen, Tar Formation and Residual Char Reactivity

A high pressure wire mesh reactor has been modified to investigate the reactions underlying the zero emission carbon concept (ZECA) process. This is a novel power generation concept that involves producing hydrogen from coal. An earlier paper has described the concept, the wire mesh reactor used for laboratory scale tests, and results of tests with H2 and He. In this paper, results of tests with a range of coals are described, together with tar emission and char reactivity measurements. The tests with a range of coals (from lignite through to bituminous have shown that the performances of the different fuels do vary widely, but not as a direct function of their rank. With lignites, high conversions were achieved in a H2/steam mixture. Lower conversions were apparent with the other coals. However, reaction conditions were not optimized to achieve the highest conversion level. Pittsburgh No. 8 coal (high volatile bituminous) was also found to be reactive, whereas Wyodak (sub-bituminous) and Daw Mill (bituminous) coals had a similar reactivity to each other, but lower than the other fuels tested. The amount of primary tar was measured, by collection in a cooled trap, immediately above the wire mesh. This is material formed during the release of the volatiles with only a limited time for further reaction. Slightly higher quantities of tar were measured during tests with H2 than with He. Residual char reactivities declined with increasing temperature and hold time at peak temperature, although steam did appear to have an activation effect at low formation hold times.

Zero-Emission Carbon Concept (ZECA): Equipment Commissioning and Extents of the Reaction with Hydrogen and Steam

A high-pressure wire-mesh reactor has been modified to investigate the reactions underlying the zero-emission carbon concept (ZECA) process. This is a novel power generation concept that involves producing hydrogen from coal. The first step involves reacting coal in a steam−hydrogen mixture to form primarily CH4. The product gas is then steam-reformed and shifted to maximize the H2 content. CO2 is removed by the carbonation of CaO, to give a nearly pure stream of H2. The CaCO3 is calcined in a separate reactor to release the CO2 stream for storage. This paper outlines initial results from experiments simulating the carbon−hydrogen and carbon−steam reactions taking place in the gasifier. Experiments were carried out under inert gas (pyrolysis) and under reactive gas atmospheres. Extents of the reaction were calculated by subtracting the weight loss during pyrolysis from conversions in a reactive atmosphere under otherwise the same experimental conditions. Therefore, data presented in this way show the impact on the level of conversion caused by the presence of H2. It has not been possible to directly measure the amount of CH4 formed with this type of reactor. Initial results have shown that under 7 MPa of pure hydrogen, at temperatures between 750 and 1050 °C, and with a 10 s hold time, between 15 and 25% (w/w, daf) of Daw Mill coal (U.K.) reacted with H2. Rates of the reaction were rapid during the pyrolytic stage, the first few seconds of the test, but then rapidly declined to low values. Preliminary tests have been performed to assess the impact of the reaction with steam under the ZECA conditions. The data indicate extents of the reaction that are greater than those achieved in H2 alone, so that, when the two reactants are present together, moderate to high overall conversions were achieved with the bituminous coal.

The fate of fuel-nitrogen during gasification of biomass in a pressurised fluidised bed gasifier

The distribution of fuel-nitrogen in gases, tar and char from gasification of biomass in a pressurised fluidised bed gasifier was investigated. Four species of biomass: birch, Salix, Miscanthus and Reed canary grass were gasified at 0.4 MPa and 900 °C. Oxygen-enriched nitrogen was used as fluidising agent. As a reference, gasification of Daw Mill coal was also carried out under the same experimental conditions. The experimental results illustrate that both the nature of the original fuels and the chemical structure of the nitrogen in the fuel have influence on the distribution of fuel-nitrogen in gases (NH 3, HCN, NO), tar and char under the employed experimental conditions. The present work also shows that the types of nitrogen heterocyclic compounds (NHCs) in the tar from different kinds of biomass are the same and the major compound is pyridine. However, the distribution of the various NHCs in the tar from the four species of biomass varies: the higher the content of fuel-nitrogen, the higher the concentration of two-ring NHCs in the tar. An effective method for extracting NHCs from the acidic absorption of the product gas was introduced in the present work. The method makes use of solid phase extraction (SPE) by a silica-based C 18 tube to extract the NHCs which subsequently were analysed by gas chromatography (GC) with flame ionisation detection (FID). The recovery and reproducibility of the SPE technique for NHCs is discussed.

00/02313 CO 2 and steam-gasification in a high-pressure wire-mesh reactor: the reactivity of Daw Mill coal and combustion reactivity of its chars

00/02313 CO 2 and steam-gasification in a high-pressure wire-mesh reactor: the reactivity of Daw Mill coal and combustion reactivity of its chars

00/02086 In situ measurements of the thermal conductivity of ash deposits

An experimental study on co-gasification of woody biomass and coal in oxygen-containing atmosphere was carried out in a pressurized fluidized bed reactor. The wood used was birch from a Swedish paper mill, while the coals used were Daw Mill coal of UK origin and a bituminous coal from Poland. The operation temperatures were 900 and 700°C, and the pressure was 0.4 MPa. The ratio of coal to wood was varied in the investigation. The study was focused on possible synergetic effects in the thermochemical treatment of the fuels. The char formed was examined. The tar produced in the process was analyzed. The nitrogen compounds emitted were detected. A noticeable phenomenon was that the mixtures of the fuels and their char formed in situ demonstrated an unexpected high reaction rate of gasification under the studied conditions. The yield of char diminished and consequently the production of gas increased. Further, both the formations of tar and nitrogen compounds also seemed affected synergetically in the co-gasification experiments of the fuels. The yields of tar and of ammonia were lower than expected.

00/00134 CO 2 and steam-gasification in a high-pressure wire-mesh reactor: the reactivity of Daw Mill coal and combustion reactivity of its chars

00/00134 CO 2 and steam-gasification in a high-pressure wire-mesh reactor: the reactivity of Daw Mill coal and combustion reactivity of its chars

Promoted reactivity of char in co-gasification of biomass and coal: synergies in the thermochemical process

An experimental study on co-gasification of woody biomass and coal in oxygen-containing atmosphere was carried out in a pressurized fluidized bed reactor. The wood used was birch from a Swedish paper mill, while the coals used were Daw Mill coal of UK origin and a bituminous coal from Poland. The operation temperatures were 900 and 700°C, and the pressure was 0.4 MPa. The ratio of coal to wood was varied in the investigation. The study was focused on possible synergetic effects in the thermochemical treatment of the fuels. The char formed was examined. The tar produced in the process was analyzed. The nitrogen compounds emitted were detected. A noticeable phenomenon was that the mixtures of the fuels and their char formed in situ demonstrated an unexpected high reaction rate of gasification under the studied conditions. The yield of char diminished and consequently the production of gas increased. Further, both the formations of tar and nitrogen compounds also seemed affected synergetically in the co-gasification experiments of the fuels. The yields of tar and of ammonia were lower than expected.

CO 2 and steam-gasification in a high-pressure wire-mesh reactor: the reactivity of Daw Mill coal and combustion reactivity of its chars

Interrelationships between extents of coal gasification, char gasification and combustion reactivities have been examined as a function of CO 2 and steam pressure and holding time. Experiments have been carried out in a high-pressure wire-mesh reactor equipped with a steam injection facility. Evidence has been presented linking minima in weight loss vs. reactive gas pressure curves with deactivation as a result of secondary char deposition. At longer times, extents of gasification were about 2–3 times higher in steam compared to CO 2. With increasing reactivity of the ambient gas, the minimum in the weight loss vs. pressure curve appears only at the shortest reaction times. At higher pressures, reactivities between zero and 10 s were lower than those between 10 and 20 s. These data are novel and support the suggestion that a relatively unreactive layer of re-polymerised tar tends to slow down the gasification of the main body of the char in the initial stages – until it is itself consumed. Combustion reactivities of pyrolysis and gasification chars decrease with increasing pressure. When exposed to a temperature of 1000°C, combustion reactivities of chars were found drop rapidly within about 10 s to relatively low and stable values. The end values were independent of pressure and composition of the reactive gas. The results are relevant to the design of pilot and commercial scale reactors. On the basis of limited available evidence, it appears that secondary char deposition caused by tar re-polymerisation plays an increasingly significant effect with increasing particle size.

Co-pyrolysis and co-gasification of coal and biomass in bench-scale fixed-bed and fluidised bed reactors

Tar and total volatile yields from the co-pyrolysis and co-gasification of coal and biomass samples were described (850°C and 1000°C; up to 25 bar). Two reactors were used: a fixed-bed reactor providing intimate contact between neighbouring fuel particles and a fluidised-bed reactor designed to provide near total segregation of sample particles. In pyrolysis experiments, neither intimate contact between fuel particles, nor their relative segregation appears to lead to synergistic effects. Small differences in tar yields were observed in the fixed-bed reactor when using a combination of Daw Mill coal and silver birch wood. Similar behaviour was observed under CO 2-gasification. However this weak trend appears to be sample dependent, for a second sample set, total volatile yields were about 5% higher than would be expected in the absence of synergistic effects. The differences were systematic and larger than levels of experimental repeatability, but too small to provide information that might explain them. Isothermal combustion reactivities of Daw Mill coal and silver birch wood (mixture) chars prepared at 1000°C, in the fixed-bed reactor, were almost twice as high as those of coal char alone, despite the total gasification of the wood at this temperature. Mineral matter residue from the wood appears to have played a catalytic effect during combustion. When chars were separated with solvent, the effect could not be observed. The analogous effect observed with a second pair of samples was smaller, suggesting that the composition of ashes from different samples play a role. Apart from the catalytic effect of biomass ashes formed at high temperatures, observed synergistic effects were not of a magnitude that might influence process design. No evidence of synergy was found with the fluidised-bed reactor, thereby demonstrating the lack of contact between coal and biomass particles in the system.

98/03744 Cogasification of birch wood and Daw Mill coal in pressurized fluidized bed reactor

The thermochemical processes such as gasification and co-gasification of biomass and coal are promising route for producing hydrogen-rich syngas. However, the process is characterized with complex reactions that pose a tremendous challenge in terms of controlling the process variables. This challenge can be overcome using appropriate machine learning algorithm to model the nonlinear complex relationship between the predictors and the targeted response. Hence, this study aimed to employ various machine learning algorithms such as regression models, support vector machine regression (SVM), gaussian processing regression (GPR), and artificial neural networks (ANN) for modeling hydrogen-rich syngas production by gasification and co-gasification of biomass and coal. A total of 12 machine learning algorithms which comprises the regression models, SVM, GPR, and ANN were configured, trained using 124 datasets. The performances of the algorithms were evaluated using the coefficient of determination (R2), root mean square error (RMSE), mean square error (MSE), and mean absolute error (MAE). In all cases, the ANN algorithms offer superior performances and displayed robust predictions of the hydrogen-rich syngas from the co-gasification processes. The R2 of both the Levenberg-Marquardt- and Bayesian Regularization-trained ANN obtained from the prediction of the hydrogen-rich syngas was found to be within 0.857–0.998 with low prediction errors. The sensitivity analysis to determine the effect of the process parameters on the model output revealed that all the parameters showed a varying level of influence. In most of the processes, the gasification temperature was found to have the most significant influence on the model output.

98/03749 Determination of the gasification kinetics of plastics with the aid of an isothermally operating circulating reactor

Tar and total volatile yields from the co-pyrolysis and co-gasification of coal and biomass samples were described (850°C and 1000°C; up to 25 bar). Two reactors were used: a fixed-bed reactor providing intimate contact between neighbouring fuel particles and a fluidised-bed reactor designed to provide near total segregation of sample particles. In pyrolysis experiments, neither intimate contact between fuel particles, nor their relative segregation appears to lead to synergistic effects. Small differences in tar yields were observed in the fixed-bed reactor when using a combination of Daw Mill coal and silver birch wood. Similar behaviour was observed under CO2-gasification. However this weak trend appears to be sample dependent, for a second sample set, total volatile yields were about 5% higher than would be expected in the absence of synergistic effects. The differences were systematic and larger than levels of experimental repeatability, but too small to provide information that might explain them. Isothermal combustion reactivities of Daw Mill coal and silver birch wood (mixture) chars prepared at 1000°C, in the fixed-bed reactor, were almost twice as high as those of coal char alone, despite the total gasification of the wood at this temperature. Mineral matter residue from the wood appears to have played a catalytic effect during combustion. When chars were separated with solvent, the effect could not be observed. The analogous effect observed with a second pair of samples was smaller, suggesting that the composition of ashes from different samples play a role. Apart from the catalytic effect of biomass ashes formed at high temperatures, observed synergistic effects were not of a magnitude that might influence process design. No evidence of synergy was found with the fluidised-bed reactor, thereby demonstrating the lack of contact between coal and biomass particles in the system.

98/00489 CWS co-firing on two cyclone-fired electric utility boilers

This paper presents an investigation into combustion gas composition and deposit formation obtained by co-firing mixtures of cereal co-product (CCP) with a UK coal (Daw Mill) in a 100 kWth pilot-scale pulverised fuel (PF) combustion test rig operating at a feed rate of ∼7.5–11.2 kg/h. The biomass additions to the coal were at 0, 20, 40, 60, 80 and 100 wt.%. A high resolution multi-component Fourier Transform Infra-Red (FTIR) gas analyser was used to monitor the combustion gas stream for CO2, O2, H2O, SO2, CO, NO, NO2, N2O and HCl. It was observed that increasing the share of CCP in the fuel mixtures resulted in a reduction of SOx and HCl, due to the lower sulphur and chlorine contents of the biomass. Deposit formation in co-firing conditions was also studied on air-cooled probes (with surface temperatures of ∼500, 600 and 700 °C) to simulate the superheater/reheater surface conditions in a conventional pulverised fuel boiler. The deposition flux on the upsteam, sidestream and downstream of the probes were measured. The deposition flux on the upstream surfaces showed a decrease with an increasing biomass content in the fuel. Environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM) with energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were used to characterise the deposits. Chlorine was found in all three probes when the CCP was fired without any coal addition, suggesting formation of alkali chlorides through condensation on cooler surfaces (also confirmed by XRD analysis). The study highlights the complex relationship between the fuel mixtures and compositions of the combustion gas streams, as well as deposition fluxes and deposit compositions.

98/00490 Determination of the operational parameters of steam generation in coal-fired power stations

This paper presents an investigation into combustion gas composition and deposit formation obtained by co-firing mixtures of cereal co-product (CCP) with a UK coal (Daw Mill) in a 100 kWth pilot-scale pulverised fuel (PF) combustion test rig operating at a feed rate of ∼7.5–11.2 kg/h. The biomass additions to the coal were at 0, 20, 40, 60, 80 and 100 wt.%. A high resolution multi-component Fourier Transform Infra-Red (FTIR) gas analyser was used to monitor the combustion gas stream for CO2, O2, H2O, SO2, CO, NO, NO2, N2O and HCl. It was observed that increasing the share of CCP in the fuel mixtures resulted in a reduction of SOx and HCl, due to the lower sulphur and chlorine contents of the biomass. Deposit formation in co-firing conditions was also studied on air-cooled probes (with surface temperatures of ∼500, 600 and 700 °C) to simulate the superheater/reheater surface conditions in a conventional pulverised fuel boiler. The deposition flux on the upsteam, sidestream and downstream of the probes were measured. The deposition flux on the upstream surfaces showed a decrease with an increasing biomass content in the fuel. Environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM) with energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were used to characterise the deposits. Chlorine was found in all three probes when the CCP was fired without any coal addition, suggesting formation of alkali chlorides through condensation on cooler surfaces (also confirmed by XRD analysis). The study highlights the complex relationship between the fuel mixtures and compositions of the combustion gas streams, as well as deposition fluxes and deposit compositions.

Pyrolysis and Gasification in a Bench-Scale High-Pressure Fluidized-Bed Reactor

A bench-scale high-pressure fluidized-bed reactor designed for pyrolysis, gasification, and combustion experiments (up to 1000 °C, 40 bar) has been constructed and commissioned. The system is intended to generate fuel reactivity data rapidly and cheaply, under realistic experimental conditions; it is relatively simple to construct and capable of operation by a single researcher. The reactor body (Incoloy Alloy 800HT, 34 mm i.d., 504 mm long) serves as the resistance heater and is designed to withstand the reaction pressure, obviating use of a “cold” pressure casing. The reactor is lined with a loosely fitting quartz tube to limit corrosion and catalytic effects. Sample (up to 2000 mg) is held between two air actuated valves and injected batchwise (“single-slug”) through a water-cooled probe. The design of the reactor allows determination of tar/oil and char yields. Exhaust gases are passed through a dryer before entering the analytical stage. The present report focuses on equipment design and preliminary data from pyrolysis and gasification experiments with Daw Mill coal (UK) at up to 1000 °C and 30 bar. Extents of gasification were calculated by subtraction of total volatile yields in CO2 from mass loss during pyrolysis in helium, performed under otherwise identical conditions. Combustion reactivities of chars were determined in an atmospheric pressure TGA instrument. A number of design adjustments have been described, enabling total volatile yields from the FB reactor to match those from a high-pressure wire-mesh reactor. As expected, tar yields from the fluidized-bed reactor were significantly lower than those from the wire-mesh instrument, due to longer residence times of volatiles in the bed of solids and the reactor freeboard.