A Competing-reactions Model for Low-temperature Pyrolysis of Loy Yang Coal

A mechanisms suggested by Shafizadeh was selected and modified, where coal initially decomposes into non-condensable gases (NCG), light hydrocarbons (C4-C8), heavy hydrocarbons (>C8), and char. The light hydrocarbons and heavy hydrocarbons undergo further decomposition to lighter gases. The activation energy and pre-exponential factors were determined and compared favourably with literature values obtained under similar experimental conditions. A competing-reactions model was used for the overall kinetic modelling of low-temperature pyrolysis of Loy Yang coal. The model predicted the experimental trend very well, suggesting the competing-reactions model is adequate to describe low-temperature pyrolysis of Loy Yang coal under these operating conditions.