ABSTRACT

The gasi“cation of coal or a derivative (i.e., char produced from coal) is, essentially, the conversion of coal (by any one of a variety of processes) to produce combustible gases (Massey, 1979; Radovic et al., 1983; Radovic and Walker, 1984; Garcia and Radovic, 1986; Calemma and Radovic, 1991; Kristiansen, 1996; Speight, 2008). With the rapid increase in the use of coal from the “fteenth century onward (Nef, 1957; Taylor and Singer, 1957), it is not surprising the concept of using coal to produce a ¢ammable gas, especially the use of the water and hot coal, became commonplace (Elton, 1958). In fact, the production of gas from coal has been a vastly expanding area of coal technology, leading to numerous research and development programs. As a result, the characteristics of rank, mineral matter, particle size, and reaction conditions are all recognized as having a bearing on the outcome of the process, not only in terms of gas yields but also on gas properties (Massey, 1974; Hanson et al., 2002).