Estimating Heating Values for the Simulation of Coal-Derived Products with Aspen Plus

Research and development into coal for building/construction applications are becoming more popular, e.g., coal as a filler in polymer materials [1]. These alternative applications will involve developing new processes which require simulations to predict process economics at scale based on mass and energy balances. For any coal processing method, understanding coal properties are essential, and so far, numerous experimental studies offer information on the thermal behavior with proposed heating value and density correlations [2]. However, most of this literature is limited because it provides information on the thermal properties of coal and not on coal derivatives formed via heat treatment. In any coal heat treatment process, understanding the thermal characteristics of coal-derived materials would offer valuable insight into assessing process energetics. This study aims to characterize the thermal behavior of bituminous coal undergoing thermal treatment and to simulate this behavior using Aspen Plus and the Kirov correlation for predicting heat capacity [3]. This study also aims to effectively propose a model that can accurately describe the heat capacity of the coal-based material as it becomes more vitreous. If successful, the model would serve as a framework for simulating processes that yield coal-derived alternatives and a foundation for scaling up these processes