Reaction kinetics of fluidised bed gasification of Jordanian oil shales

Trying to achieve the optimal utilisation of oil shale resources, and the p roduction of a more environmentally acceptable fuel, as well as a solid was te with a low a sulphur content, thereby reducing acidic leachates, has led to this investigation. In this article, the influences of the bed temperat ure and the choice of fluidising gas on the quality and quantify of the pro duced fuel gas, using a continuous feed fluidised bed reactor, were investi gated. The composition and calorific value of the generated gas were determ ined. There was a nearly linear increase in the amount of fuel gas produced as a function of temperature, reaching similar to 350 kg per 10(3) kg of d ry raw shale and the gross calorific value ranged from 15 to 23 MJ.kg(-1) w ith CO and H-2 being the major constituents. Subsequent experiments were ca rried out, employing a thermogravimetric analyser under similar conditions as applied to the fluidised bed reactor. Gasification of the investigated s hales complied with first-order kinetics within the limits of experimental error and the activation energy and temperature at which maximum reactivity rate occurred decreased slightly as the shale particle size was reduced. ( C) 2000 Editions scientifiques et medicales Elsevier SAS.