The WM apparatus has been developed into a bench-scale test that can apply heating rates and peak temperatures comparable to those occurring during coal devolatilisation in utility plant. In conjunction with standard microelemental analysis and TGA, measurements of char N content and reactivity can be obtained that appear to have the potential to assist in predicting a coal's behaviour in utility plant.More trials to test the applicability of the data for predictions of coal behaviour in utility plants are clearly required. These are currently in progress.Results obtained so far suggest that this (and other) new coal tests that could offer improved coal performance predictions for pulverised coal combustion are near commercial availability. Whether the need for them is sufficiently strong to overcome the natural reluctance of the industry to add to (and perhaps eventually relinquish) the long-established 'traditional' coal characterisation tests remains to be seen!
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