Pyrolysis Modeling of Combined Coal and Biomass Mixture in Entrained Flow Reactor

As an undergraduate student, I had the opportunity to work as a research assistant for a PhD candidate. His research entailed quantifying the thermodynamics and kinetics of a custom-made entrained flow reactor (shown to the right as of Fall 2012) with a combined fuel mixture of Pittsburgh #8 coal and switchgrass. These were quantified in Matlab and C++ programs, simulating the volatile matter composition, ultimate analysis of the fuel sample, and conversion rates for temperatures ranging from 600K to 2100K. The work was published here.