During combustion coal undergoes thermal decomposition into gases and a solid. The kinetics of devolatilisation are under study. The kinetics of these processes are being studied. Combustion mechanisms in fluidised beds We are investigating the following problems. Fluidised bed combustors contain an inert solid, e.g. sand.
Gases usually burn above the bed or in the bubble phase.
The rate of oxidation of char has an unknown order with respect to oxygen. Heat and mass transfer coefficients are not well characterised for a burning carbon particle. The chemical reactions producing and removing ions in a flame are being investigated by sampling a flame directly into a mass spectrometer. Attention is being given to the thermodynamics and kinetics of reactions whereby stable negative ions form in the gas phase. Some experiments in a hot bed of sand fluidised by air, Chem.