Peat beneficiation and its effects on dewatering and gasification characteristics

Wet carbonization of Minnesota peat at temperatures and residence times in the ranges of 400/sup 0/ to 600/sup 0/F and 0 to 80 minutes, respectively, increased the heating value of the solids from 8500 Btu/lb (dry basis) for the raw peat to between 9500 and 11,600 Btu/lb (dry basis). In the same range of operating conditions, mechanical dewaterability improves from about 80% moisture for the raw peat to between 41% and 27% moisture for the wet-carbonized peat. Wet carbonization of peat decreases the reactivity of peat char when compared with the char from raw peat. However, the reactivity of char from wet-carbonized peat is still significantly higher than that of char from bituminous coal.