Comparison of kinetic models for isothermal CO2 gasification of coal char-biomass char blended char

Abstract

This study investigated the isothermal gasification reactivity of biomass char (BC) and coal char (CC) blended at mass ratios of 1:3, 1:1, and 3:1 via isothermal thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) at 900, 950, and 1000°C under CO2. With an increase in BC blending ratio, there were an increase in gasification rate and a shortening of gasification time. This could be attributed to the high specific surface area of BC and the high uniformity of carbon structures in CC when compared to those in BC. Three representative gas-solid kinetic models, namely, the volumetric model (VM), grain model (GM), and random pore model (RPM), were applied to describe the reaction behavior of the char. Among them, the RPM model was considered the best model to describe the reactivity of the char gasification reaction. The activation energy of BC and CC isothermal gasification as determined using the RPM model was found to be 126.7 kJ/mol and 210.2 kJ/mol, respectively. The activation energy was minimum (123.1 kJ/mol) for the BC blending ratio of 75%. Synergistic effect manifested at all mass ratios of the blended char, which increased with the gasification temperature.