Application of thermogravimetric Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (TG-FTIR) to the analysis of oxygen functional groups in coal
- CANMET Energy Technology Centre-Ottawa, Ottawa, ON (Canada)
This paper attempts to relate oxygen-containing gases H{sub 2}O, CO{sub 2}, and CO evolved during pyrolysis of the Argonne premium coals to oxygen-containing functional groups as a function of rank. Our approach to functional group analysis of oxygen-containing species in coal has been to use a pyrolysis technique, thermogravimetric Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (TG-FTIR), involving thermogravimetric analysis with the measurement of the gaseous decomposition products via IR detection. Under suitable heating conditions, TG-FTIR pyrolysis of a coal sample in a stream of inert gas has been shown to expel quantitatively all of the organic oxygen in the form of H{sub 2}O, CO{sub 2}, and CO, and consequently, this technique can be effectively applied for determining the total oxygen content. Focusing on the Argonne premium coals, which cover a wide range in rank between lignite (Ro = 0.25) and low-volatile bituminous (Ro = 1.68), TG-FTIR provided complex pyrolysis profiles of oxygen-containing gases, which yield information on the sources of the different peaks observed in coal as a function of rank from a chemical-structure standpoint. Deconvolution of the complex profiles was performed to assign peaks to the different sources of oxygen-containing gases. Model polymers containing various oxygen functional groups in aliphatic and/or aromatic molecular environments were also pyrolyzed by TG-FTIR in an attempt to assign peaks in the gas evolution profiles of the Argonne premium coals. Although complex evolution profiles were observed for the three oxygen-containing gas species H{sub 2}O, CO{sub 2}, and CO in the Argonne premium coals, the strength of the TG-FTIR technique in revealing both similarities and differences in profiles depending upon the coal rank was evident. 19 refs., 6 figs., 9 tabs.
- OSTI ID:
- 20813308
- Journal Information:
- Energy and Fuels, Vol. 20, Issue 5; Other Information: lgiroux@nrcan.gc.ca; ISSN 0887-0624
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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