Pyrolysis and gasification of coal at high temperatures. Annual progress report No. 1, September 15, 1987--September 15, 1988
Particles from two parent coals (Illinois {number_sign}6 and lignite) were pyrolyzed in a nitrogen atmosphere using a captive sample microreactor capable of achieving heating rates as high as 1000{degrees}C/s. Direct measurements on digitized image of char particle cross-sections and a stereological model were used to characterize the macropore structure of chars. Macroporosites, pore size distributions and surface areas were accurately measured allowing us to quantify the effects of pyrolysis heating rates and coal particle size. We have paid particular attention to the development of image analysis software that has allowed us to analyze for the first time the shape or bounary tortuosity of the macropores. Tortuous pore boundaries result in higher values for the true macropore surface areas and should enhance the reactivity of the char samples. Another contribution of the current research program is the development of probabilisitic gasification models that work on computational grids obtained from digitized images of actual cross-sections of char particles. These digital images are accurate discrete approximations of a slice of the actual reacting solid. The incorporation of sophisticated image processing technique is perhaps the most attractive feature of the new simulation approach. Preliminary results indicate that the probabilistic models can accurately account for the opening of closed porosity and fragmentation phenomena occurring during gasification at high temperatures.
- Research Organization:
- Rice Univ., Houston, TX (United States). Dept. of Chemical Engineering
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- FG22-87PC79930
- OSTI ID:
- 10123715
- Report Number(s):
- DOE/PC/79930-T15; ON: DE93007681
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: [1988]
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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