Experimental investigation of char generated from co-pyrolysis of coal and Appalachian hardwoods

Numerous authors have debated whether or not the addition of biomass material to coal generates a synergistic, non-linear effect upon the resulting pyrolysis products. The data obtained during the current study suggests that varying the biomass content in the initial feed stock shows linearity with respect to the proximate and ultimate (elemental) analysis results of the produced chars; however, non-linearities can be seen in the tar and char yields, and in the functional group structure of the chars, as revealed by FT-IR analysis of the solid char samples.