Applications of thermal stepwise reactions on the co-gasification of coal and tobacco stems

The objective of this study was to better understand the gasification mechanisms between tobacco stems and coal in a carbon dioxide atmosphere. Shenhua bituminous coal with Chinese tobacco stems were studied using the SDT–MS–FTIR technique, to elicit information from the thermal decomposition curves coupled with the evolved gases analysis. Subsequently, the activation energy of each reaction was calculated. The experimental results show that: (1) there were synergistic effects of mixtures of tobacco stems and coal, while decreasing the gasification temperature of fixed carbon in coal and increasing the reaction rate; (2) the proportion of tobacco stems and coal has an important influence on the gasification reaction; (3) the alkali and alkali earth metals in the tobacco stems play an important role in the cogasification of coal and tobacco stems.