Model of coal pyrolysis. 2. Quantitative formulation and results

The reaction rates are expressed in terms of concentrations of reactive configurations which are calculated by randomly distributing the functional groups among the a carbons. The probability of formation of a free unit (tar molecule) following a bridge dissociation is calculated by a similar random placement technique. The rates of change of the state variables and the rates of product formation are expressed in terms of the various reaction rates and the rate of loss of free units. Computer simulations are carried out for an hvc bituminous coal and a subbituminous coal and the results are compared with limited experimental data. A sensitivity analysis is carried out to study the importance of various structural and kinetic parameters relative to the yield of various products