The striking behaviour of copper catalysing the gasification reaction of coal chars in dry air

When copper acts as catalyst in the reaction of oxygen with coal chars, at a certain temperature there is a very high increase in the reactivity value, reaching a region of very low apparent activation energy. This temperature has been identified with that in which the particles of the catalyst wet the surface of the carbon and become mobile. The influences of copper salt and method of preparation of the catalysts, rank of parent coals, residence temperature, time and percentage of Cu and the temperature at which the reactivity is increased have been studied. In some cases this temperature is up to 190 K below the Tammann temperature of CuO (831 K).