Catalytic Gasification of Petroleum Coke with K₂CO₃: Impact of Catalyst-Carbon Contact and the Role of the Boudouard Reaction at 950°C

The research analyzes the petroleum coke (petcoke) gasification catalysis process that includes potassium carbonate (K₂CO₃) as a catalyst while examining both catalyst interaction effects with carbon and the effect of the Boudouard reaction at high temperatures. The isothermal gasification examination under a CO₂ atmosphere at 950 °C was conducted using Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) combined with derivative thermogravimetry (DTG). The gasification of pure petroleum coke (0% K₂CO₃) demonstrated very low reactivity given its inherent low gasification rate when unaccompanied by a catalyst but petcoke mixed with either 10% or 60% K₂CO₃ exhibited rapid mass loss rates which were demonstrated through distinct DTG peaks and notable mass diminution during the isothermal condition. The Boudouard reaction (C + CO₂ → 2CO) served as the main chemical reaction mechanism at this temperature level because of thermodynamic favorability responsible for these patterns. A custom-built TGA setup started by purging the system with argon at 700 °C for 30 minutes then ran CO₂ flow for 2.5 hours to start the gasification process.The research shows catalyst dispersion plays a major role together with catalyst contact time for boosting efficiency when both experiments used 60% K₂CO₃ but the 10% loading showed slower reaction rates. The research results demonstrate that K₂CO₃ catalytic gasification operations show promise in effective petcoke conversion under CO₂ environments at elevated temperatures.