Kinetics of catalyzed steam gasification of low-rank coals to produce hydrogen. Final report for the period ending March 31, 1986

Technical Report · Sun Jun 01 04:00:00 EDT 1986

OSTI ID:5516455

Galegher, S J; Timpe, R C; Willson, W G; Farnum, S A

The principal goal of coal char-steam gasification research at the University of North Dakota Energy Research Center (UNDERC) is to establish the feasibility of low-rank coal gasification for hydrogen production. The program has focused on determining reaction conditions for maximum product gas hydrogen content and on evaluating process kinetics with and without catalyst addition. The high inherent reactivity of lignites and subbituminous coals, compared to coals of higher rank, make them the probable choice for use in steam gasification. An extensive matrix of char-steam gasification tests was performed in a laboratory-scale thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA) at temperatures of 700/sup 0/, 750/sup 0/, and 800/sup 0/C. Four low-rank coals and one bituminous coal were included in the TGA test matrix. Catalysts screened in the study included K/sub 2/CO/sub 3/, Na/sub 2/CO/sub 3/, trona, nahcolite, sunflower hull ash, and lignite ash. Results showed uncatalyzed North Dakota and Texas lignites to be slightly more reactive than a Wyoming subbituminous coal, and 8 to 10 times more reactive than an Illinois bituminous coal. Several catalysts that substantially improved low-rank coal steam gasification rates included pure and mineral (trona and nahcolite) alkali carbonates. The reactivity observed when using trona and nahcolite to catalyze the steam gasification was the highest, at nearly 3.5 times that without catalysts. The use of these inexpensive, naturally-occurring alkalis as gasification catalysts may result in elimination of the need for catalyst recovery in the hydrogen-from-coal process, thereby simplifying operation and improving process economics. The study included evaluations of temperature and catalyst loading effects, coal and catalyst screening, and determinations of the apparent activation energies of the steam gasification reaction. 11 refs., 23 figs., 9 tabs.

• Research Organization: North Dakota Univ., Grand Forks (USA). Energy and Mineral Research Center
• DOE Contract Number: FC21-83FE60181
• OSTI ID: 5516455
• Report Number(s): DOE/FE/60181-2084; ON: DE86014268
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
010404* -- Coal
Lignite
& Peat-- Gasification
08 HYDROGEN
080107 -- Hydrogen-- Production-- Coal Gasification
ACTIVATION ENERGY
ALKALI METAL COMPOUNDS
ARRHENIUS EQUATION
ASHES
BITUMINOUS COAL
BLACK COAL
BROWN COAL
CARBON 13
CARBON COMPOUNDS
CARBON ISOTOPES
CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS
CARBONATE MINERALS
CARBONATES
CATALYSTS
CATALYTIC EFFECTS
CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
CHEMICAL REACTION KINETICS
COAL
COAL GASIFICATION
COHERENT SCATTERING
DATA
DEVOLATILIZATION
DIFFRACTION
ENERGY
ENERGY SOURCES
EQUATIONS
EVEN-ODD NUCLEI
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
FEASIBILITY STUDIES
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
GASIFICATION
GRAVIMETRIC ANALYSIS
HYDROGEN PRODUCTION
INFORMATION
ISOTOPES
KINETICS
LIGHT NUCLEI
LIGNITE
MAGNETIC RESONANCE
MATERIALS
MINERALS
NAHCOLITE
NUCLEAR MAGNETIC RESONANCE
NUCLEI
NUMERICAL DATA
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
QUANTITATIVE CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
REACTION KINETICS
RECOMMENDATIONS
RESIDUES
RESONANCE
SCATTERING
SODIUM CARBONATES
SODIUM COMPOUNDS
STABLE ISOTOPES
SUBBITUMINOUS COAL
TEMPERATURE DEPENDENCE
THERMAL ANALYSIS
THERMAL GRAVIMETRIC ANALYSIS
THERMOCHEMICAL PROCESSES
TRONA
X-RAY DIFFRACTION