Co-combustion characteristics and kinetic study of anthracite coal and palm kernel shell char

The non-isothermal thermogravimetric analysis was conducted to evaluate the combustion characteristics of Yangquan anthracite coal (YQ), palm kernel shell char (PC) and their blends with different mass ratios. The physical and chemical characteristics of YQ and PC were also studied systematically. The investigation shows that, compared to YQ, PC was more reactive due to the higher content of the alkali metal oxides, lower ordering degree and more developed porous structures. The combustion reactivity of YQ can be improved effectively by mixing with PC, and a synergetic effect between YQ and PC can be observed. The experimental results of the thermal degradation experiments were represented with both the random pore model (RPM) and the volume model (VM), and the activation energies and pre-exponential factors were further determined. The performance of the RPM model is slightly better than that of the VM model. The activation energies of all samples are in the range of 90.2–121.8 kJ/mol, where the lowest value of 90.2 kJ/mol is for the sample of PC at 60% mass ratio.