Mineral Matter Effects on the Rapid Pyrolysis and Hydropyrolysis of a Bituminous Coal

Previous r e sea rch a t M.I .T . on r a p i d c o a l p y r o l y s i s has d e a l t w i t h t h e k i n e t i c s of evo lu t ion of i n d i v i d u a l products a s a func t ion of tempera ture , pressu re , p a r t i c l e s i z e , r e a c t i v e gas, and c o a l type (1-5). S tud ie s e l sewhere have shown t h a t c o n s t i t u e n t s of c o a l mine ra l matter a f f e c t s i g n i f i c a n t l y o t h e r types of c o a l conversion r e a c t i o n s (6-14). S p e c i f i c a l l y , c l a y s found i n c o a l have been shown t o a f f e c t c o a l ca rbon iza t ion (61, and t o c a t a l y z e H2 t r a n s f e r t o c o a l and c o a l model compounds ( 7 , 8 ) . P y r i t e , an impor tan t mine ra l i n Easte rn U.S. coa ls , is a s t rong c a t a l y s t f o r c o a l hydro l ique fac t ion (7-11), wh i l e c a l c i t e promotes steam and CO g a s i f i c a t i o n of c o a l (12 ,13) . Even q u a r t z , though chemically i n e r t , a f f e c t s hydro l ique fac t ion by a c t i n g a s a d i l u e n t t o agglomeration (14). Despi te this importance of minera l conten t i n c o a l thermochemistry, l i t t l e work has been done on a d d i t i v e e f f e c t s on r a p i d c o a l pyrolysis. Therefore t h i s study was conducted t o determine s y s t e m a t i c a l l y how t h e important minera ls p re sen t i n c o a l i n f l u e n c e t h e y i e l d s of i n d i v i d u a l devolat i l i z a t i o n products. 2