Co-combustion of lignite with distillation residue derived from rice straw pyrolysis oil was investigated
by non-isothermal thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The addition of distillation residue improved the
reactivity and combustion efficiency of lignite, such as increasing the weight loss rate at peak temperature
and decreasing the burnout temperature and the total burnout. With increasing distillation residue
content in the blended fuels, the synergistic interactions between distillation residue and lignite firstly
increased and then decreased during co-combustion stage. Results of XRF, FTIR, 13C NMR and SEM analysis
indicated that chemical structure, mineral components and morphology of samples have great influence
on the synergistic interactions. The combustion mechanisms and kinetic parameters were
calculated by the Coats Redfern model, suggesting that the lowest apparent activation energy
(120.19 kJ/mol) for the blended fuels was obtained by blending 60 wt.% distillation residue during main
co-combustion stage.