Study of Electrochemical Catalytic Coal Gasification: Gasification Characteristics and Char Structure Evolution

Electrochemical catalytic coal gasification experiments with Fuxin (FX) coal under a CO2 atmosphere were conducted to evaluate the effects of power and temperature on coal gasification and char structure evolution during electrochemical catalytic gasification (ECG). When the power was 400 W, with temperature increasing from 800 to 1000 degrees C, the CO content in the gas products increased by 8.16%, the H-2 content increased by 8.39%, and the CH4 concentration in the gas products initially increased and then decreased. When the temperature is 900 degrees C, with power increasing from 0 to 400 W, the CO content in the gas products increased by 58.27%, the H-2 content increased by 81.33%, and the CH4 concentration in the gas products increased from 1.31 to 2.37%. The gasification reactivity and the concentration of combustible gas generated during ECG were higher than those during common coal gasification. Thermal electrons play important roles in ECG. These electrons could promote ring opening reactions and aromatic compound cracking and inhibit aromatization reactions while increasing the number of oxygen-containing functional groups in char, consequently enhancing the char gasification reactivity.

Automated summary

Electrochemical catalytic coal gasification experiments were conducted with Fuxin coal under different power and temperature conditions. The results showed that CO and H-2 content in gas products increased to different degrees, while CH4 concentration initially increased and then decreased. Thermal electrons were found to play a crucial role in promoting the generation of useful gases during ECG.