Preparation of neo-composite fuel with iron oxide enhancement: Effectiveness of partially replacing traditional fuel via biomass

The environmental impacts caused via coal combustion had become a critical issue in achieving carbon neutrality of iron and steel industry. Biomass substitution for coal was beneficial for resource recycling and shrinking carbon emissions, however, low char yield and low heat value of biomass limited the utilization in metallurgical industry. In this work, the energy value-added utilization technology of biomass/coal collaborative carbonization loading Fe 2 O 3 additive solved the dilemmas, which aimed to prepare carbon-based composite fuel. That the solid yield and heat value of composite fuel reached 57.31 % and 30.15 MJ·kg −1 , respectively, via loading 4 wt% Fe 2 O 3 and insulation for 30 min at 550°C. Moreover, the straw/bituminous coal co-carbonization was accompanied by the reduction of iron oxides, and the above reaction processes were highly coupled after increasing temperature. The reactive oxygen species and oxygen vacancies generated during the iron oxide reduction process, capable of adsorbing and promoting the collaborative carbonization of macromolecules in straw/bituminous coal. This study revealed the Fe 2 O 3 catalytic mechanism on the synergistic carbonization process of biomass/coal, which provided an effective path for the application of biomass energy in iron and steel industry.