Title screen

[References: 15 tit.]

The oxidation and pyrolysis of brown coal containing 5 wt % CuSO4 as an initiating additive was studied. The experiment was performed by thermogravimetry at a heating rate of 2.5 K/min in an atmosphere of air and nitrogen. The process characteristics in the pyrolysis and oxidation mode were evaluated, and the activation energy of the process was determined by the Coats–Redfern method. It was established that the addition of the initiating agent CuSO4 led to a significant decrease in the initial temperature of oxidation and pyrolysis processes to shift the reaction toward the low-temperature region. Maximum changes in the reaction initiation temperatures in the oxidation (?Ti) and (?Td) pyrolysis modes were 35 and 50°?, respectively. It was established that the introduction of CuSO4 led to a decrease in the activation energy of oxidation by 7.1 kJ/mol, and ?Ea was 10 kJ/mol for the pyrolysis process. A decrease in the residence times of a sample within the limits of the sublimation of volatile substances was observed: ?ti was 12 min for oxidation, and ?td was 18 min for pyrolysis. According to mass-spectrometric analysis data, the presence of SO2 (peaks at 230 and 320°C) was detected in the oxidation and pyrolysis reaction products of modified samples; this was explained by the chemical interaction of copper sulfate with brown coal components.