Effect of ash of raw and beneficiated coal as well as operating variables on gasification process

Coal is a major source of energy. It accounts for 23% of primary energy production and 39% of electricity generated in the world. India is blessed with a lot of coal around 277 Bt which is a cheap and abundant resource but the associated mineral matter creates problem during combustion by generating air and soil pollutants. The problem may largely be reduced by adopting an alternative route i.e. gasification of coal which produces syngas comprising carbon monoxide and hydrogen, may be used for generating power, making steel, chemicals, liquid fuels, fertilizers etc. In this paper, gasification kinetic studies have been made using high ash raw as well as beneficiated coal having different ash percentages by changing operating variables viz. flow rate of gasifying agent, time and temperature. On the basis of experimental results, a regression model has been developed to predict the gasification performance.