Chemical structure of char in the transition from devolatilization to combustion

Coal devolatilization experiments are generally conducted separately from char oxidation experiments, and the relationship between the chars general in the two types of research is often ignored. However, char is one of the most important products of coal devolatilization and must be characterized as a function of temperature and heating rate in a manner similar to that for gaseous devolatilization products. The chemical structure of the parent coal directly affects devolatilization behavior. In this work, the chemical structure of chars from five coals of different rank are examined, and implications on char reactivity are discussed