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Title: Microwave-assisted pyrolysis of Mississippi coal: A comparative study with conventional pyrolysis

Journal Article · · Fuel
ORCiD logo [1];  [2];  [2];  [2];  [3]
  1. National Energy Technology Lab. (NETL), Morgantown, WV (United States); AECOM, Morgantown, WV (United States)
  2. National Energy Technology Lab. (NETL), Morgantown, WV (United States)
  3. National Energy Technology Lab. (NETL), Morgantown, WV (United States); Florida State Univ., Tallahassee, FL (United States). Dept. of Chemistry
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Pyrolysis conditions greatly affect the structure-reactivity relationship of char during coal gasification. Here, this work investigated the effect of temperature and microwave heating on the structural properties of the chars generated during pyrolysis, as well as gaseous and tar products. Results showed that microwave pyrolysis of Mississippi coal produced more gaseous products and less tars compared to conventional pyrolysis. Higher CO/CO2 ratio (>1) was observed under microwave pyrolysis compared to conventional pyrolysis (CO/CO2 < 1), which may be explained by a greater extent of gasification between solid carbon and the CO2 formed during microwave pyrolysis. Additionally, in microwave pyrolysis, the oil tars generated exhibited lower concentrations of polar oxygenates, while the wax tars showed higher concentrations of non-polar alkanes, as observed from the intensity of CH vibrations in FTIR. The product compositions and FTIR analysis of the tars (oils and waxes) suggest that the microwave interacted preferentially with these polar species, which have relatively higher dielectric properties compared to alkanes. The structure–reactivity relationship of the chars produced was also investigated using a variety of characterization tools such as XRD, BET, SEM, EDS, and FTIR. Finally, the char reactivity towards combustion suggested that microwave-produced chars have a higher thermal stability, likely due to lower O/C ratios, and could be utilized in the metallurgical industry.

Research Organization:
National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), Pittsburgh, PA, Morgantown, WV (United States); National Energy Technology Lab. (NETL), Morgantown, WV (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Fossil Energy (FE); USDOE
Grant/Contract Number:
FE0004000
OSTI ID:
1455421
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1491100; OSTI ID: 1775762
Journal Information:
Fuel, Vol. 217, Issue C; ISSN 0016-2361
Publisher:
ElsevierCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

Figures / Tables (15)

Table 1(p. 4)table Table 1
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Figure 3(p. 14)figure Figure 3
Figure 4(p. 15)figure Figure 4
Figure 5(p. 17)figure Figure 5
Table 2(p. 18)table Table 2
Figure 6(p. 20)figure Figure 6
Table 3(p. 21)table Table 3
Figure 7(p. 22)figure Figure 7
Figure 8(p. 23)figure Figure 8
Table 4(p. 25)table Table 4
Figure 9(p. 26)figure Figure 9
Figure 10(p. 28)figure Figure 10
Table 5(p. 28)table Table 5

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01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
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Tar yield
Char properties
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Combustion reactivity