| Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 760377 | Energy Conversion and Management | 2016 | 12 Pages |
•MW heating of coal was carried out with uniformly distributed carbon surfaces.•The effects of carbon loading, MW power and N2 flow rate were investigated.•Heating profile, pyrolysis products are influenced by the process variables.•Highest coal-tar obtained when final temperature sustained for longer duration.•Coal-tar is mainly composed of aromatics and saturated aliphatics hydrocarbons.
In this study, coal solids were subjected to Microwave (MW) pyrolysis conditions. Coconut Activated Carbon (CAC) solids used as a MW absorber was distributed uniformly over coal solids to reduce hotspots. Three process parameters; CAC loading, MW power and N2 flow rate were studies on pyrolysis heating performance. The highest coal-tar yield of 18.59 wt% was obtained with 600 W, 75 wt% CAC loading and 4 Liter per Minute (LPM) of N2 flow rate. This improved coal-tar yield is mainly of the fact that higher MW power and CAC loading produced sustained pyrolysis conditions for longer duration for the complete conversion of pyrolysis solids. The coal-tar was composed mainly of aromatics (naphthalenes, benzenes and xylene) and saturated aliphatics (alkanes and alkenes) hydrocarbons. The gas produced from pyrolysis of coal is mainly of H2 40.23–65.22 vol%.
Graphical abstractFigure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide
