Dissolution kinetics of solid fuels used in COREX gasifier and its influence factors

Carbon dissolution from solid fuels used in a COREX gasifier was investigated in a high-temperature furnace to investigate the influences of temperature, carbon structure and ash properties of solid fuels into molten iron on carbon dissolution behavior. The results showed that the final carbon content of molten iron and dissolution reaction rate of carbon increased as the temperature increased. However, the dissolution behavior of different solid fuels varied with their properties. At the same temperature, the dissolution reaction rate of solid fuel from high to low was coke, semi-coke and lump coal. The apparent reaction rate constants of solid fuel were calculated using the piecewise fitting method based on the experimental data. The analyzed results showed that the dissolution rates of solid fuels had a good correlation with their microcrystalline structures. Moreover, the carbon crystallite structures of solid fuels used in COREX had greater influence on dissolution behavior than their ash properties.