Exploring pyrolysis characteristics of bituminous coal: a combined modelling and experimental investigation with TG-IR

Abstract

This research investigates the pyrolysis characteristics of Barapukurian bituminous coal from Bangladesh. The aim is to address the escalating energy demand and mitigate reliance on rapidly depleting natural gas reserves. A thermogravimetry analyser (TGA) combined with infrared spectroscopy (IR) was employed to carry out the study. Kinetic parameters are derived from a two-stage kinetic model, followed by the validation against experimental data. The release of functional groups and the evolution of gas species were identified from IR. Results demonstrate the sensitivity of coal devolatilisation to operating conditions such as sample mass, particle size, and heating rate. The weight loss profile and its first-order derivatives reveal the multi-stage nature of the pyrolysis process, with most of the mass loss occurring during the rapid pyrolysis stage. The average activation energy determined from the kinetic model is 145.7 kJ/mol. The IR spectrum obtained from the study can be categorised into five main groups: OH, group stretching, CH group stretching, oxygen-containing stretching, C=C stretching, and absorption of inorganic metals.