Steam Gasification of Coal and Petroleum Coke in a Thermobalance and a Fluidized Bed Reactor

Lignite of low rank coal and petroleum coke of high sulfur content can be high potential energy sources for coal gasification process because of their plentiful supply. The steam gasification of lignite, anthracite, and pet coke has been carried out in both an atmospheric thermobalance reactor and a lab-scale fludized bed reactor (0.02 m i.d. 0.6 m height). The effects of gasification temperature () and partial pressure of steam (0.15~0.95 atm) on the gasification rate and on the heating value of product gas have been investigated. The modified volumetric reaction model was applied to the experimental data to describe the behavior of carbon conversion, and to evaluate kinetic parameters of char gasification. The results shows that higher temperature bring more hydrogen in the product syngas, and thus increased gas heating value. The feed rate of steam is needed to be optimized because an excess steam input would lower the gasification temperature which results in a degradation of fuel quality. The rank of calorific value of the product gas was anthracite > lignite > pet coke. Their obtained calorific value at with 95% steam feed were 10.0 > 6.9 > 5.7 . This study indicates that lignite and pet coke has a potential in fuel gas production.