Nonisothermal Kinetics Based on Two-Stage Scheme for Co-Drying of Biomass and Lignite

This study investigates nonisothermal co-drying kinetics of two typical biomasses (cornstalk and red pine) with lignite in the presence of a nitrogen atmosphere using a thermal gravimetric analysis technique. The drying rate can be increased by either decreasing the blending ratio of biomass or increasing the heating rate. The activation energies of cornstalk/lignite blends and red pine/lignite blends in the two falling rate periods are less than that of their parent samples. In the first falling rate period, the dominant mechanisms of drying for lignite are described by the Avrami-Erofeev equation (n = 1.5), while the mechanisms for the cornstalk, red pine, and mixture samples are fitted to the Mample equation (n = 1.0). In the second falling rate period, the mechanisms are described by the Avrami-Erofeev equation (n = 1.5 or n = 2.0). The general kinetic compensation effect correlations are obtained for all samples within heating rates of 10-30 degrees C/min. Significant synergistic interactions between the Chinese lignite and cornstalk or red pine are detected during co-drying.