A review on Botswana coal potential from a pyrolysis and gasification perspective

Mmoloki Makoba, Daniel Erich Botha, Mpho Thabang Rapoo, László Zsolt Szabó, Thapelo Shomana, Paul Șerban Agachi, Edison Muzenda

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

Abstract

Coal pyrolysis and gasification are promising options for the future of Botswana as the country has large coal reserves with severe limitations in terms of export options. Coal characterization facilities will be required in order to harness its full potential and methods such as proximate, ultimate and chemical structure analysis (FTIR, Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction techniques) were investigated. The paper presents a brief history of pyrolysis and gasification, typical types of the reactors as well as factors that influence product selection for Botswana coal. Coal pyrolysis and gasification are complex processes and it is difficult to define the mechanisms of product formation. However, there are several kinetic models that are relevant to the sub-bituminous coal of Botswana which were proposed by researchers to describe the formation of the compounds and mathematical models that were validated by other researchers on mass and heat transfer as also presented herein.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)80-96
Number of pages17
JournalPeriodica Polytechnica Chemical Engineering
Volume65
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2020

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • General Chemical Engineering

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